Santa’s Sexy Snacks

The rain came down in sheets, making it difficult to see the road. The swipe of my windshield wipers was relentless, yet alarmingly ineffective. Even with extensive defensive driver training as a police officer, I gripped my wheel tight.

The puppy wrapped in a towel in my passenger side seat whimpered. My fingers itched to comfort him, but I settled for my voice, “It’s okay, buddy. Almost there.”

At least I hoped so. I’d turned down the radio fifteen minutes earlier, hoping it would magically make the road more visible, but the glare from the streetlights made the lines blurry.

The back end of my patrol car fishtailed, and I carefully let up on the brake. I let out a breath when my headlights illuminated a familiar wooden sign for Annapolis Veterinary Care. I pulled into the empty lot, feeling hopeful when I saw the light on in the lobby and a lone figure moving around.

It would be Dr. Summit. He never minded when I brought in a stray. In fact, I suspected he stayed late on nights like this for this specific reason. After our last call, I’d heard the puppy whining in the alley. It was soaked and looked so tiny sitting there. When I picked him up, there was blood and an open wound on his stomach.

I’d wanted to end the night with a beer, sitting in front of the TV, watching SportsCenter, but one look at the bedraggled puppy, sitting in the rain alone, and the vision dissipated. I couldn’t leave him there, not with the storm bearing down. 

I tucked the puppy, along with the towel, under my jacket and strode quickly to the office. Opening the door, I blinked at the bright lights, wiping rain off my forehead.

“We’re closed.” A woman came around the corner and stopped behind the counter. Her blonde hair was slicked back into a ponytail, and she wore a white jacket, the name stitched on it indicating she was Dr. Lennox. Why did that name sound so familiar?

“I’m looking for Dr. Summit.” I lifted one side of my jacket to reveal the brown puppy.

“Oh.” She let out a soft sound and came around the counter to stand in front of me. She was close. Too close.

I breathed in the smell of her shampoo, something soft and flowery. Her fingers fluttered over the puppy. 

“May I?” She looked up at me with wide brown eyes flecked with gold and green.

I nodded, my throat suddenly constricting at the beautiful woman who stood before me. 

She carefully cradled the puppy in her hands as she cooed unintelligible words. The puppy preened at her attention. I stood a little straighter, too, wondering what it was would be like if she turned those hands and soft voice on me.

“There’s a cut on his stomach,” I finally ground out, my voice sounding gravelly, like I’d swallowed rocks.

She carefully turned him onto his back. “I’ll need to get a better look, but I think he needs stitches. Where did you find him?”

I followed her to the exam room. She set the shivering puppy on the metal exam table, and I moved closer running a hand over his small head and down his back, hoping he’d settle at my presence. 

“He likes that,” Dr. Lennox said, with a smile and a tip of her head toward where my hand rested on his back.

She washed her hands before giving the puppy a treat. After a few seconds, she looked at his eyes and ears. Then she rolled him onto his back and examined his stomach. She sighed. “He definitely needs stitches. It’s a good thing you brought him in. He wouldn’t have lasted long in this weather.”

I grunted, suddenly very uncomfortable with her praise. Dr. Summit took the animal and did her job. 

With one hand steadying the puppy, she said, “I should take care of it now before it gets infected.”

This is where I would normally have left, asked Dr. Summit to keep me apprised of the puppy’s health and his efforts at either finding the owner or re-homing him. 

“Are you here by yourself?” I hadn’t seen anyone when I’d come inside, but that didn’t mean anything.

“I sent everyone home because of the storm.”

My chest tightened at the thought of her being here alone, the unlocked door, the storm. Anything could happen. “You didn’t think you should head home, too?”

She smiled and threw a thumb over her shoulder. “I live over the garage.”

“Dr. Summit’s okay with you being here by yourself?”

She sobered, her shoulders tightening. “He left me the business, so I’d say he’s okay with it.”

“He’s retired?” I asked carefully.

“He’s supposed to be, but he still comes in from time to time. He has a few favorite patients he can’t bear to part with.” Her voice was filled with affection. 

“Hmm.” 

Her gaze bounced from the puppy to me. “He told me there’s a police officer who brings in strays, and on nights like these, I should stay open for him. I assume you’re that guy?”

I nodded tightly, rolling my shoulders back. 

She smiled up at me with admiration in her gaze. “I think it’s great.”

I rubbed the back of my neck, uncomfortable with her perusal. “Just doing my job.”

She smiled, amusement in her gaze as it traveled from my duty belt over my shiny badge to my face. “I thought your job was more people-related.”

“It is.” What was it about this woman? I couldn’t draw in a deep breath, and it had nothing to do with the uniform that was stretched taut over my bulletproof vest.

“Hmmm,” she hummed as she placed the puppy on his feet, her fingers probing his back.

If I closed my eyes, I could imagine the feel of her fingers ghosting over my chest, down my sternum, to my stomach. My abs contracted at the thought.

“Are you okay?” she asked me.

I opened my eyes, frustrated I’d let myself fall into a fantasy with her in front of me. “Of course.” 

She smiled softly. “You don’t need to stick around. I can perform the procedure without any assistance.”

My jaw tightened. “I’d feel better if I did.”

She raised a brow at me. “That’s not necessary.”

“I want to make sure he’s okay.” I nodded toward the puppy, whose head was starting to droop from sheer exhaustion. That wasn’t the only reason. I didn’t want to leave her alone with the wind howling and the rain pelting the roof.

She studied me carefully before she sighed. “Why don’t you lock the front door? I don’t think you’ll be able to relax until you do.”

I spun on my heel and moved swiftly to the door; the pressure on my chest eased slightly when I turned the deadbolt. 

The sky lit up with lightening, and there was a loud crack. The large tree by the road fell, blocking the entrance to the parking lot. The lights flickered and then went off. 

“What happened?” Dr. Lennox rushed into the room with the puppy cradled against her chest. 

It was dark, but I could see her face as she moved closer. She was scared.

“I think lightening hit the tree.” I gestured toward the parking lot.

“Oh no. It looks like you’re stuck here now.”

“We should move away from these windows.” Outside, the storm was still raging, and I was worried the other tree might be hit next.

I rested a hand on her lower back and used the authority I reserved for when I acted as a police officer to maneuver her back to the exam room. The lights flicked back on.

She handed me the puppy. “I need to get things ready. There’s a generator in case the lights go out permanently.”

I tucked him against my chest, his soft fur tickling the scruff of my chin.

She moved into the hallway behind the exam rooms and into a surgery room. She moved confidently, quickly gathering supplies. “He’s so sweet. You should keep him.”

My jaw tightened. My life wasn’t conducive to bringing home strays. “I’ve never kept one.”

She tipped her head to the side, considering me. “Why not?”

I tucked him against my heart, hoping the steady rhythm of my heart would soothe him. He was still shaking, either from being cold and wet or from the storm, or both. “If I adopt one, I might keep them all.”

She bit her lip as if suppressing a smile.

I wasn’t here to endear myself to her. I wasn’t even sure what I was doing. It was completely out of character for me to do anything other than to leave the stray in Dr. Summit’s capable hands.

“You should name him before I put him under.”

My stomach dropped. “Why?”

She gestured at a folder with a blank intake form stapled to it. “I have to write a chart for him, and he should have a name.”

I looked down at the way he was sleeping peacefully in my arms, remembering how forlorn he was in that alleyway—forlorn and soaked through. “Lucky.”

She smiled, brighter than I’d ever seen. “It suits him.”

Warmth spread through my chest. “What’s your name?” 

“Delilah,” she said softly as she gestured for me to set Lucky on the metal table.

Why did that name sound so familiar? It was unique and beautiful. Just like her. 

“My sister’s boyfriend is a police officer.”

It could have been anyone’s girlfriend, but something about her name was tugging at my memories. “Are you Remi’s sister?”

The realization had my heart beating faster.

She smiled softly. “The one and only.”

Remi was dating my partner, Colton, and Delilah was her sister. “You’re Colton’s ex.”

Delilah shook her head. “We dated in high school. It seems like forever ago now.”

I’d counseled Colton on this very issue. Dating his ex’s younger sister. It had been years, and since their breakup was amicable, I didn’t see the problem. But now that my partner’s ex was standing in front me, confident, professional, and achingly beautiful, I wasn’t so sure about anything.

“Do you know him well?” she asked, and I wondered if she still harbored feelings for him.

“He’s my partner.” The words felt like ash in my mouth. Even if I liked her, anything would most likely be off-limits. I didn’t think Colton would appreciate me dating his ex.

Her mouth dropped open slightly as she gazed from the puppy to me. “I didn’t realize.”

It shouldn’t matter, but I had to know more about her. “You okay with Colton dating your sister?”

She straightened, considering me before answering, “I never believed in things like soul mates, but they are so in love with each other.”

Read more in Irresistible Chance!

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