“Come in,” Blake says, his eyes locked on mine.
The door swings open. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”
I can’t see the doctor with Blake’s big body obstructing my view, but what I can see is Blake’s eyes, the green barely visible behind his tightly slit lids. In unison we slide our gazes off each other and toward the OB who is standing just inside the room next to Cassie.
It’s not my usual doctor, which I expected because they told me Dr. Evans was on call and delivering a baby. No, this doctor is not her. He’s a he. And a handsome he at that.
He smiles, his teeth straight and white. “Ms. Moorehead, I’m—”
“Daniels.” Blake’s body is rigid, and he somehow has managed to place his shoulder between the doctor and me so that I have to lean to make eye contact with the OB.
Dr. Cole frowns and studies the file in his hand. “Oh, my apologies, I must’ve . . .” He flips a page.
“No, it’s okay. You’re right.” I squeeze Blake’s hand. “Moorehead is my last name. I just . . . I’m changing it.”
I plan on changing it to Daniels once we get married, but until then I wanted to have the same last name as my daughter. It sounds silly, what with Stew being a major grade-A fuckface, but with everything Axelle has gone through, changing my name felt like abandoning her.
The doctor grins again, his eyes moving between Blake and me and then to my ring finger. “For legal purposes, we’ll need to keep Moorehead, but how about I call you Layla?” He gives me a kind and professional smile before scribbling something in my file.
My hand, pinched in Blake’s tight grip, starts to ache.
“Two weeks until your due date.” He puts down my file and washes his hands. “Are you having any issues you’d like to discuss, questions?”
I shake my head. “No.”
Dr. Cole plops down on the rolling stool while Cassie takes his side next to a tray of supplies that from a quick glance only contains rubber gloves and lubricant. “If you could go ahead and lie back for me, pop your feet in the—”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa . . . hold on there, doc.” Blake moves what seems like one step but places his entire body between the male doctor and me. “I hate to be a dick, but—”
“Blake!” I whisper-yell and hope my embarrassment and irritation at his behavior comes through. I love that Blake is protective, but this is the friggin’ OB’s office for crying out loud.
“Where’s Dr. Evans?”
“Mr. Daniels, Layla’s regular doctor is on call, so she’s at the hospital, delivering a baby.” Cassie’s explanation is rushed, as if she senses the tick in Blake’s time bomb. “I can assure you Dr. Cole will take good care of—”
“Oh”—a humorless chuckle rumbles in Blake’s chest—“I’m sure he will.”
I hook my fingers in his back belt loop and tug. “Stop it! You’re being ridiculous.”
Dr. Cole looks amused by Blake’s outburst, which I know will only piss Blake off more. “I’ve been studying obstetrics and gynecology for over—”
“Yeah? Me too, but I didn’t get a fancy degree. You go to school for what? Ten years to study * . . . as a dude? Yeah . . . no. You’re not getting your fingers or eyes anywhere near my woman.”
I groan and drop my chin to my chest. This is happening. Is this seriously fucking happening? I can’t even raise my eyes to see the expressions on the doctor’s and Cassie’s faces, but their silence speaks volumes.
“Now, if you could please find a female doctor or nurse to check Layla, that’d be fan-fucking-tastic.” He leans back so his butt hits my knees, creating a barrier between us while hiding my body. “We’ll wait.”
The warble of the rolling chair and shift in the tension tells me Dr. Cole has stood up. “I can’t even imagine what you think my intensions are, but I’m a medical doctor and have been for five successful years. I’ve not given you a single reason not to trust me with—”
“You’re a dude, right? Gotta dick? Those are my reasons. Unless you tell me now that you’re gay, and from the looks of you I’d guess you’re not, you need to find a female for this exam. Sorry, bro, but doctor or not, you’re male, and no male is getting up close and personal with her.”
“Oh my . . .” My face is on fire so much so that it starts to numb. “I can’t believe this.”
Without another word, the sounds of feet shuffling quickly and the door closing are the last things I hear before Blake’s strong arms wrap around me.
“Don’t hate me, Mouse. Please . . . I just can’t sit here while any man puts his face between your legs.”
I smack his side. “That was humiliating. He’s a doctor.” My body melts deeper into his while he runs his big hand through my hair in long and lazy strokes.