Out of all the things that could happen, a pint-sized Chihuahua named Zeus bites her. I shake my head to myself as I pull into the hospital emergency drop-off area.

“Wait here,” I say, exiting the car. I grab a nurse and wheelchair and head back out to the car.

“This is so unnecessary,” Teegan says when I open her door.

“Would you rather me carry you?” I inch the wheelchair toward her.

She says nothing—and even knowing her as little as I do, I know this is a great feat for her—and hobbles out of my truck and into the wheelchair.

“I’m going to park and then I’ll be in,” I inform the nurse.

“No, no. You go. I’m fine.” Teegan grips the arms of the wheelchair.

I understand women’s lib and all that, but it’s frustrating how independent she’s trying to be right now. Completely disregarding her, I look back to the nurse. “She’s ornery and crabby. I’ll be there in a few minutes. You’ll understand when I take my time to stop for a coffee.”

The nurse laughs. “Oh, you’re a funny one,” she says to me then turns her attention to Teegan. “Boyfriend?” She spins Teegan around toward the entrance of the hospital.

“No,” Teegan bites out.

“Then he’s available? Yummy.” She flips her blonde hair over her shoulder, catching another look at me.

I climb into my Bronco, round the bend of the ER drive, and find a parking spot. I’m halfway to the door when my phone dings with a text from Jagger.

Shit, I forgot about drinks.

I slide the phone back in my pocket and spot Teegan in the waiting room. Her head is buried in her phone as the room buzzes with activity. The room resembles rush-hour L.A. traffic and I imagine we’ll be here until after dinner, so I lean against the wall at her side.

She doesn’t look up from her phone. “You don’t have to stay. I called my friend.”

“That’s fine, but I’m staying.”

She glances up at me with a tired look on her face. “If you’re worried I’m going to sue you or your customer, don’t. I’m not that hard up for cash.”

“I’m here to make sure you get taken care of. That’s all.” My mom raised me to be a gentleman and there’s no way I’d just drop Teegan here and run. Especially not when I feel responsible in a roundabout way.

“Fine. Suit yourself, but we’ll be here for a long time. It’s a zoo.”

“I’ve got nowhere else to be.”

“That’s not saying much about your life.”

I give her a blank expression that says I’m bored with her personal digs and her lips turn up into a smile—a smile that transforms her entire face into a gentle, soft expression. You’d never guess she’s got a mouth on her.

“Teegan Lowery,” a nurse calls out.

“Well, that was fast.” I push her toward the nurse. “So much for your assumptions.”

“Don’t jinx us. We still have to see the doctor.” She uses her hands to propel herself forward and I’m left hanging back.

Letting a frustrated sigh escape, I follow behind. “You’re pretty good with the wheelchair,” I say once I catch up to her and the nurse in the room.

The nurse busies herself taking Teegan’s blood pressure and pulse and asking what happened.

“She was bit by a dog on the ankle.”

Teegan shoots me a dirty look. “I can speak for myself, thanks.”

“You shouldn’t talk while having your blood pressure taken.” I eye the inflated cuff on her arm.

She huffs and stares off in the other direction.

“He’s right,” the nurse whispers and then glances back to me with a flirtatious smile.

I smile smugly over to Teegan and cross my arms over my chest.

“Your blood pressure is a little high. We’ll take it again before you leave.” The nurse walks over to the computer and types something into it.

“From what I can tell she runs hot,” I say.

Teegan huffs again.

“Just trying to give the medical staff as much information as possible. I’d hate for them to miss something.”

“He’s not family. Can I make him leave?” Teegan speaks directly to the nurse.

The young nurse looks at her, to me, and back to her. “If you really want him to leave, we can have him wait in the waiting area.” She fiddles with the stethoscope around her neck.

“You’re really going to make this nurse who is just trying to do her job kick me out?” I lean back in the chair, making it clear I’m not going anywhere. I don’t know why, but it’s important to me to make sure that Teegan is okay.

A long breath leaves her lips and she rolls her eyes. “How long for the doctor?” she asks.

I mentally fist-pump at winning the fight to stay in the room.

The nurse lifts Teegan’s pant leg to inspect the bite and I focus on the smoothness of her skin. It’s obvious she doesn’t spend as much time outdoors as I do. Her skin is a creamy peach color and for a second the thought of those legs sliding around my tanned torso as I drill inside of her takes over my mind. I wonder if she’s as bossy in bed as she is out of it?

“Leo!” Teegan yells and I snap back to the present.

“What?” I shift in my seat, trying to make some extra room in my pants for my dick, which presently wants some one-on-one time with the woman sitting across from me.

“She said it’s going to be a while. Like hours.”

“And how am I supposed to change that?”

Her eyes move down my body and my dick twitches in my pants. “You’re not, but you don’t have to stay. I have a friend coming.”

Her phone rings and I cock my eyebrow.

“When your friend gets here, I’ll leave,” I assure her.

She nods, picking up her phone to answer it. “Hey, Soph. I think I’m in room nine or something… what?” The dip in her octave tells me her friend is giving her bad news. “It’s fine. The nurse said it’d be a while. Okay. Bye.”

“Your BFF not coming?”

Her teeth clench. “She’s coming, but she’s stuck on a deadline. She said she’ll be here soon though.”

I walk over to the bed, sliding the chair closer to her. “Looks like it’s just you and me then.” I click the remote on the television and extend my legs so my feet rest on the edge of her bed.

“I have to change into the gown.” She tries to walk to the bathroom.

I stand up, sliding my shoulder under one of her arms. “Here.”

She walks into the bathroom and instead of a thank you, the door slams in my face.

Someone needs to tell Teegan that you’re supposed to woo potential clients, not maim them.

* * *

Three hours later, her friend isn’t here and we’ve been told we’re the next to see the doctor. She’s sitting right next to me wearing nothing on her bottom half but a thin sheet. I deserve the fucking Nobel Prize for being able to sit next to her and not fantasize about what’s underneath her gown. Mostly, anyway.

“Seriously, what if I was having a heart attack?” she asks, dropping the magazine I bought for her an hour ago from the gift shop.

“Then I’m pretty sure you’d been handled already.”

An annoyed sound escapes her. I actually think I’m becoming turned on by her irritation. For some reason, I want to swallow down her huffs as my tongue explores her mouth.

“Well, I don’t have time for this.”

I look down at my watch. “It’s eight at night. You have a hot date or something?” Okay, I’m man enough to admit that I’m trying to pry personal information from her.

“No.”

“Boyfriend?”

Her eyes narrow into small slits. “No.”

“Then watching The Bachelor on your DVR isn’t that important.”

Her entire body tenses and I swear I can almost feel the sexual energy roll off her. I might become the second person in this room who needs to be treated for a bite wound tonight.

“Please, for the love of all that is holy, stop talking,” she says and rips the TV controller from my hands.

“Sure thing, princess.”

I remain silent until the doctor comes in, at which point Teegan mutes the television.

I’m not a fan of Grey’s Anatomy, but any moron knows McDreamy. The way Teegan’s jaw drops when he walks in, I’m sure she thinks he resembles the television doctor, too.

“Hello, Miss Lowery. I’m Dr. Phillips.”

Teegan still sits there with wide eyes staring at the man and so he glances to me and then holds his hand out.

“I’m Leo,” I say.

He smiles and nods. “Okay, well, I just need you to roll over. The nurse says the bite is on the back of your leg.”

“It is.” Teegan rolls on to her stomach and the gown she’s wearing opens up a little so I can see a sliver of her lace panties. It’s enough to know that they’re black and if I had to guess I’d say they’re made with a Chantilly lace pattern.

The doctor washes his hands and puts on some gloves. “I tried to warm my hands, Miss Lowery, but excuse me if they’re cold.”

“That’s fine.” Her syrupy-sweet voice grates on my nerves since I know it’s put on especially for him.

I watch on as the doctor inspects the bite. Luckily, Zeus isn’t a huge dog, but he did draw blood.

“Oh, your hands feel warm.” Teegan’s body relaxes into the hospital bed.

“I’m glad to hear that,” Dr. Phillips says, continuing to run his hands along her silky skin. “Do you know if the dog who bit you has its shots up to date?”

“I believe so,” she says.

“That’s good. I’m going to need to get the owner’s info from you so we can report it to the police and they can submit it to court to determine the dog’s status.”

“I didn’t realize that.” Teegan glances over at me and I think she’s looking to me to tell her what to do. I can’t say I want her reporting one of my customers’ dogs, but she’s within her rights to do so and I’m not going to try to stop her.

“Do you know the owner’s home address?” Dr. Phillips asks.

“Um…no. Sorry. I don’t know who the owner is. I think the dog was a stray or something.”

The doctor’s forehead wrinkles. “I thought you said the dog had its shots?”

“Well, it just looked like it did. I mean, you could kind of tell that it came from a good home and probably just got out of its yard that day.”

The good doctor purses his lips at that. “In that case you’ll need to be administered a series of shots to protect you from rabies over the course of the next several months. Sarah can administer the first one for you tonight and then she’ll apply some antibiotic ointment and bandage it up.” The nurse nods beside him while she watches on.

Teegan’s eyes go wide. “No! I’m not getting a bunch of shots.”

“You really have no choice, Miss Lowery. Rabies can be a serious—”

“I’ll be fine. I don’t want the shots,” Teegan says in a firm voice.

Dr. Phillips shakes his head. “If you’re going to go against medical advice I’m going to have to have you sign a form to that effect.”

Relief floods Teegan’s face. “I’ll sign whatever you want.”

“Okay then.” Dr. Phillips looks back down to her leg and his eyes bulge out and then his gaze shifts to me.

I purse my lips, seeing her gown has gaped open and one of her ass cheeks is visible. What a nice apple cheek it is. The black thong isn’t close to covering it up.

“Oh, sweetie, you know how overprotective I can be.” I grab the edge of the gown and cover her up.

She whips around, her hand fisting the material behind her.

“Don’t be embarrassed, I’m sure it’s nothing a good doctor hasn’t seen before, right?” I direct the question to the doctor, who is now stripping his gloves from his hands and throwing them away.

“Yes, no worries on that front.” Two dimples emerge when he smiles.

“Still.” Teegan shoots me her best death glare.

“Sarah will handle the rest,” Dr. Phillips says. “We’ll give you a copy of the medical diagnosis in case you find the dog’s owner and decide to sue or alert the authorities.” Dr. Phillips walks over with his hand out.

“Thank you.” Teegan’s voice has lost the flirting tone now.

“My pleasure.” He shifts his hand my way. “Leo.”

“Doc.” We each nod and I kind of like the fact he thinks I’m with Teegan.

The doctor leaves the room with one more glance toward Teegan. I grab her hand and kiss the top of it.

“I’ll be right back.” Thankfully, Sarah leaves before Teegan rips her hand from mine.

“What are you doing?” she asks.

“Just going along with the act. You didn’t want him to think you purposely showed him your ass, do you?”

“What?”

“Listen, I want to thank you. You didn’t have to pretend you didn’t know who the owner was, but—”

A purple-haired girl bursts into the room, heading right toward the hospital bed. “Tee, I’m so sorry.” She grabs both Teegan’s hands.

“It’s okay, Soph. I’m almost done here and then we can go.”

The girl glances down at Teegan’s leg and then realizes I’m in the room. A slow smirk emerges on her face. “Hi. And you are?”

“This is Leo Vaughn. The dog guy.” Teegan uses her thumb to point in my direction.

I extend a hand. “Pleasure. Soph?”

The girl looks to Teegan and then to me. “Sophie, actually. The Canine Couture guy?”

“That would be me.”

Her eyes slowly move from my head down my body and then back up. “Huh,” she says and then plops down on the bed next to her friend.

“I’m going to need you to roll over, Teegan,” Sarah says.

Teegan starts to move, but then directs her attention to me. “You can leave now.”

I hold up my hands. “I already got a peek at the goods. I’ve no reason to stick around.” The smile on my face should tell her I’m not serious.

“I’m sure that grossed you out,” Sophie interjects and Sarah sits on her stool observing the entire exchange.

My brows furrow, but I stroll out the door. “And to think I was just getting used to the idea of coffee being delivered to my door.” I hold my hand out. “Nice to meet you, Teegan Lowery. Good luck.” I’m almost out the door.

“I still have six days left,” she calls out from behind me.

“I thought you’d be done what with you hating dogs, always being annoyed with me, and now ending up in the hospital,” I say.

Sophie’s head volleys between us.

“You’ll find out I don’t give up just because things get hard.”

“Well then, I prefer my coffee black.” I wave my hand in the air. “Nice to meet you, Sophie. Make sure she gets home safely, okay?”

“Definitely.” Sophie’s expression almost seems awestruck.

“Good night, ladies.”

“Good… night. See you in my dreams,” Sarah says and the other two girls giggle while I step out of the room.