Filed To Story: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Travis smiled. This was progress. “Is it alright if I hold your hand?”
Olivia nodded.
“If you don’t want it, you can touch your ear,” he reminded her.
“Holding hands is fine,” Olivia confirmed.
Travis held Olivia’s hand between his, and he savored the sensation of the sparks that prickled his skin.
“Why don’t you tell me about yourself?” Travis asked.
“I thought that Talia told you already.”
“Your voice is like music to my ears. Please, tell me whatever you are willing to share.”
This compliment caught Olivia by surprise, and her face exploded in fierce blush.
Travis panicked when the heart rate machine started beeping frantically. “Did I do something wrong?”
He pulled his hands away, but Olivia was quick to grab his hand.
“No, no,” Olivia said. “It’s just… what you said… it was nice.”
Travis exhaled helplessly. “You better get used to it.”
“To what?”
“To me being nice.”
Olivia was flustered. “Why would you be nice to me? Look at me.”
“I am looking at you, Olivia. Your eyes are pure, and there is not a shred of malice inside you. You smell of sweet mangoes, and I can assure you that I never saw a more beautiful female in my life, and I believe that I never will.”
The machines were going crazy again, and the door flung open to show two nurses. Jill and Cathy.
Cathy pushed buttons on the control panel to lower the volume. The beeping was deafening.
“Doctor Travis,” Jill called sternly. “How can you just sit there and not assist the patient?”
Travis smiled goofily. “What do you say, Jill? Isn’t she the most beautiful female on the planet?”
Jill huffed. “Are you flirting with…” She stopped when Cathy swatted her arm.
“What?” Jill asked Cathy who was giving her eye signals Jill didn’t understand.
Eventually, Jill got it and shouted, “Did you finally find your mate!?”
“I did,” Travis said. “This is Olivia, my mate. Olivia, the noisy one is Jill, and the perceptive one is Cathy.”
Olivia blinked, unsure how to respond to this.
Jill’s face darkened. Why did he call her the noisy one?
“Listen, Doctor…” Jill’s next words were muffled in Cathy’s palm.
“We apologize for intruding,” Cathy said with a knowing smile. “Doctor Travis, if you can verify that patient’s health is not in danger, maybe you could disconnect her from the machines.” She started dragging Jill out. “If you need us, you know where to find us.” Cathy and Jill disappeared behind a door that closed behind them.
Travis turned to look at Olivia. “Will you be OK?”
“With what?”
“With me giving you a checkup.”
Olivia shrunk under the blanket.
Travis lifted his hands defensively. “Take your time. I promise to be gentle.”
Olivia thought that she was silly. Yes, he was her mate, but he was also her doctor, and somehow… his proximity made her feel safe. She shouldn’t make him unwanted because someone else hurt her before.
Travis’ eyebrows shot up when he saw Olivia pushing the blanket lower.
“Can I examine you?” He asked to what she nodded.
“Let me know if any of this is uncomfortable.” Travis moved slowly by checking her pulse and blood pressure, and then he asked her to lie down.
“I will lift your gown to inspect the incision. You can raise your arm if I’m hurting you,” Travis said with so much tenderness that Olivia felt like crying.
She didn’t dare to look down, but she felt the breeze and then his fingers pressing slowly around the area that was covered with gauze.
Travis swallowed hard. That was his mate, right there, and she was perfect in every way possible, but he couldn’t pretend that he didn’t see her ribs sticking out to stretch her skin covered in bruises. Luis was lucky to be dead.
“I don’t see any bleeding or signs of infection,” Travis said while forcing his voice to stay even as he pulled her hospital gown lower.
Normally, he would focus on the injury and not on the person. That approach allowed him to remain objective and act rationally, but when it came to Olivia, his years of training and practice were for naught.
It was not fair. Meeting mate should be magical and full of physical affection and carnal pleasures, yet instead of rejoicing the fact that he found his mate, Travis was in agony.
Everything within Travis screamed to hold the female in front of him, to kiss her, possess her, and complete mating by sinking his teeth into her neck to mark her as his, and he had difficulty keeping his urges in check. If he rushed Olivia into something she was not ready to accept, he would be the same as the abuser who brought her into this state.
He was better than that.
“Let me help you sit up.”
Olivia blinked to see Travis offering his hand for her to take, and she did.
His other hand landed on her back as he gently supported her to sit.
“I will listen to your lungs and heart. Can you breathe in and hold it for a second?”
Olivia inhaled a shaky breath, acknowledging that the scent of bergamot full of good memories was wafting from Travis.
The stethoscope moved over her back, and she reminded herself to breathe.
Olivia’s time as a child in the hospital of the Red Moon pack held some of her best memories. She wished to go there, to that time of innocence when she believed that the worst things in life were injuries warriors sustained, and her father could fix them all with a few stitches and a bottle of medicine.
The last few years left horrible scars on her soul, and she wondered if she would ever be complete again. Wasn’t she just a burden? Luis would call her all kinds of names and tell her that she was useless and that she was lucky he was putting up with her.
Just by looking at Travis, Olivia could tell that he was a kind man. He didn’t deserve a mate like Olivia, broken. Wouldn’t it be better just to let him go? But Talia made her promise not to reject him…
“How are you feeling?”
Travis’ voice sounded close to her ear, and she whipped her head to see that his chin nearly rested on her shoulder. Close. Super-close.
From this distance, she could see every speck of blue in his gray eyes full of concern.
“If my proximity is making you uncomfortable…” Travis’ voice trailed when Olivia reached to touch his forehead. Her fingers trailed over his temple, and then she brushed his ear.
“You should touch YOUR ear if you want me to step away,” Travis reminded her.
“I don’t want you to step away,” Olivia said in a small voice.
Travis’ heart soared. Progress! How far can he push it without pushing too much? “Can I hug you?”
Olivia nodded faintly. It was barely noticeable, but that was definitely a nod.
His arms moved around her, and he pulled her to lean on him as he awkwardly bent behind her to maximize the surface of her back touching his chest.
Travis stuck his nose at the base of her neck, and he took a deep breath that filled his system with the scent of sweet mangoes.
“Bergamot,” she whispered.
“What?”
“Bergamot. Mint and citrus.”
Travis knew what bergamot was, but he had no idea why she brought it up. “Do you want me to get you some?”
“You are doing it.”
Travis realized… “Is that how I smell to you?”
“Yes.”
“Do you like that scent?” Travis asked.
“I always did.”
“Good.”
“Is it?”
“Of course. It confirms your wolf is here. I will get you better in no time.”
Olivia smiled at his words. “How about you come in front?”
Travis was not willing to let go of her, no matter how awkward his posture was. He waited for that hug forever!
“Is my checkup done?” Olivia asked when she realized that Travis was not moving a muscle.
“Yes. I disconnected the machines.”
“Can you help me lie down and come next to me?”
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.