Page 12 of Guarding the Doctor
Darla flinched so quickly I almost thought I imagined it.
“You don’t have to say anything,” she said quietly. “I just wanted you to know, since everyone on the team does. I didn’t want you to be caught by surprise if one of them said something. It’s fine if you don’t believe in fated mates, or if it feels too fast. All I ask is that you keep your mind open to the possibility that it might be true that we belong together.”
We hadn’t had a personal conversation yet or even touched each other, but something in her words rang true nonetheless. But maybe this was some forced proximity thing? Her friends hadfound their mates protecting someone, maybe she’d convinced herself I was the one for her based on that?
Suddenly I wanted nothing more than to go to bed. The last twenty-four hours had been a lot.
“I can keep an open mind I guess, but what are we supposed to do now?”
“I need to concentrate on keeping you safe so I can’t act on my feelings until this is all over,” she said. “So nothing changes between us now, but when you’re no longer in danger, maybe we can go on a date or something?”
I nodded, unsure what else to do. I mean, I was attracted to Darla. More attracted to her than I’d been to anyone else in my life. But fated mates? I was analytical. I needed data. I needed to research this.
Unfortunately all I really wanted to do was pull her against me and kiss her, but that was obviously a really bad idea, so I just asked, “Is that it?”
For some reason I had the impression that I’d hurt her feelings.
“Yeah.”
“Okay, I’m going to go do the dishes so I can get to bed.”
“I’ll take care of the dishes,” Darla said.
I didn’t even argue. I needed to be alone. I had a lot to process what with uncovering a nefarious plot, finding my friend wolfed out and dead, and learning that a vampire thought fate had brought us together. As a physician, I believed in science, but I wasn’t arrogant enough to dismiss that there were many things in this world we couldn’t explain yet, such as shifters. But I’d feel better once I’d done one of my favorite things – research.
I settled into bed with my iPad then spent way too long googling, searching for information on fated mates, how people became shifters, and the details vampire physiology. By the time I fell asleep, I was more confused than when I started.
I snapped awake when someone knocked on my door. It was still dark outside, but the first hints of light were peeking through the ever present winter clouds.
“Yes?”
“We need to leave in thirty minutes,” Darla called through the door. “Do you want coffee?”
“God yes.”
I tossed on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt – I’d change into scrubs at the hospital – and headed to the kitchen. Martha and Darla were sitting at the table, a carafe of coffee, a plate of toast, and a jar of red liquid sitting between them. Martha poured some into a juice glass. I had a feeling it was not tomato juice.
“Is that… blood?”
Darla downed it like she was doing a shot of tequila. It was too early in the morning for me to see people drinking blood.
“Yeah,” Martha replied. “It keeps us healthy.”
I knew that vampires needed to have a minimum amount of blood, ideally every day, to keep their strength up. Not wanting to embarrass them, I grabbed a cup and joined them at the table, pouring myself some coffee. It was hot and strong enough to melt steel, just the way I liked it.
“Mmm.”
“Have some toast,” Darla ordered, giving me a strange look as she slid the plate towards me.
“I don’t eat breakfast, but thanks.”
“Why don’t you eat breakfast?” she asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t really get hungry until late morning.”
Both of the women stared at me, like the idea of someone skipping a meal was foreign to them. I remembered learning in medical school that supernatural populations had much faster metabolisms than humans did. That would make them have larger appetites.
“You can’t work on an empty stomach.” Darla sounded stubborn.
