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“HomeSweetHome”—MotleyCrüe
Inever should have spoken his unusual name aloud. It was like summoning the dragon by speaking its name. He was dangerous—to my sanity and my well-being, and I was intelligent enough to realize that.
The problem was, he was also like the sun. Brilliant, bright, and intoxicating in his heat. So captivating that you wanted to stare at him and be close to him, even if you knew you’d get burned.
I cleared my throat. “Mr. Dupré,” I began.
“I liked Ogun better. Unless you want to call me Voodoo,” he interrupted. The sexy rumble of his voice was making it really hard to stay professional, but it was imperative that I did so. I wasn’t an idiot. I’d seen him on his motorcycle wearing that leather vest. That was a life I didn’t want any part of—no matter how tempting it might be.
“Mr. Dupré,” I firmly reiterated. “You and your dog are my clients. It would be highly inappropriate for me to have a relationship with you.”
“I’m not asking for a relationship,” he argued. “It’s dinner. Di-nner. Food. With company at the same table. That’s it.”
I was a barely out of school vet. I’d gotten lucky when Dr. Moran hired me as the third vet. I’d done my internship in his clinic and he’d taken me under his wing. The last thing I wanted to do was screw shit up by dating a client. Well, technically, the client’s owner.
Except I really wanted to. I’d been seeing Mr. Ogun Dupré come in with Zaka since he got the gorgeous German shepherd as a little puppy. The first time he showed up with the fluffy black bundle, I fought not to be a stuttering mess. Ogun was that good-looking.
Which was why I’d worked especially hard to stay professional. Not that it helped. Each time he came in, he asked me out, and each time it got harder to refuse him.
Ogun Dupré had been in for countless visits, because though Zaka was extremely intelligent, he was a naughty and inquisitive puppy. He’d severed a tendon squeezing through some construction materials, he’d gotten bit by another dog when he got loose, he’d gotten sick from eating the neighbors’ plants, swallowed a sock, and that was only the major stuff.
This was a follow-up from his adventures with a porcupine. Poor thing had quills all through his muzzle, in his gums, and even one ear.
There was a knock on the door, then Veronica stuck her chestnut head in. “Hey, Doc, is it okay that I brought Sasha up to the front desk? She was raising holy h—um, a ruckus in the back.” She gave a nervous grin to Ogun as she bit her lip, and of course he flashed her his beautiful smile.
“Hey, Veronica. How are things?” he asked her in that way-too-sexy voice of his. He came across as a broody grouch when I first met him, but he’d quickly warmed up to us in the office. New people, not so much.
I’d seen him in the grocery store and a few times around town. He always looked like he might set someone on fire with a look. I’d watched people take a wide berth around him in the store aisle and sit further away from him in restaurants. In a way, it made me feel bad for him, but he didn’t seem bothered by it.
Before Veronica could answer him, I answered her.
“Sure, that’s fine. Just be sure to hang on to her when we bring Zaka out,” I instructed her. “Shut the door completely until we’re done,” I politely dismissed her. Not that I didn’t like her; I simply didn’t like to watch the flirting between her and Ogun.
When I turned back toward him, I jumped because he had silently moved to stand right in front of me. His one step forward sent me one step back until my back was against the door.
The teasing look had vanished, and in its place was that dark, heated gaze he so often had. The one that sent my heart rate into overdrive and shivers down my spine.
He slowly licked his bottom lip as his pale eyes stared into my soul. One hand reached up and grabbed the two ends of my stethoscope. Using it much like a lasso, he reeled me in. “What are you afraid of?”
“I—I, uh, it’s not appropriate,” I stuttered.
“Bullshit,” he softly replied, causing his warm breath to feather across my cheek. “That’s the only argument you ever have. I think you’re afraid that dinner wouldn’t be enough foryou—that if I got a taste of those plush lips, I wouldn’t stop. Then you’d go up in flames and there’d be no turning back.”
It was unnerving that it seemed like he could read my mind. So of course, I denied it with a laughing scoff. “You’re delusional!”
His lips curled again, but this wasn’t his flirty smile. It was sinister, and oh so damn sultry it made a fine sheen of sweat break out over my upper lip. “If that’s what helps you sleep at night.”
My breath caught, and it took a moment to get myself together. With an overly bright smile, I took a deep breath and said, “Okay, well, Zaka looks great. I’ll go and get his chart closed out.”
With a mirthless chuckle, he shook his head. “You know I’m not giving up.”
“You should,” I said on a heavy sigh.
“But I won’t,” he smugly replied before stepping back far enough to let me open the door. The scent of his cologne followed me as I left the room, and I gave a silent sigh.
I was passing on the information regarding Zaka to the receptionist to enter in the computer when Sasha jumped up and rushed past me. I tried to grab her collar, but she was fast.
“Sasha!” I called but she was already focused on her target. Shit balls.
