AVOIDING THE
BADGE
Arizona K9 #1
by
Dorothy F. Shaw
Genre:
Contemporary Romance
Pub
Date: 9/4/2018
Rayna
Michaels may be a veterinarian, but she knows a little something
about the human heart—especially when it comes to worried pet
owners. Law enforcement’s bonds with their K9 partners are
legendary, and Derek Hansen is a perfect example—he’s had his dog
Axle in more times than she can count in the last few months. And
Derek’s sculpted muscles and heart-stopping smile would be truly
irresistible, if only he wasn’t an officer of the law…
Derek can’t get
Rayna’s stunning face and no-nonsense smarts out of his mind. Any
excuse to see her will do, until he works up the nerve to ask her
out. He’s not sure where her resistance to cops comes from, though
he’s more than willing to prove he’s one of the good ones. But
when casual dating turns into explosive lovemaking, Derek knows he
has to come clean about his past before the woman he loves finds out
what he’s been hiding and turns tail to run…
“Ahem... Heeeee’s heeeere.”
At her head vet tech’s declaration, Doctor
Rayna Michaels looked up from the lab report she was reading in the back of the
main treatment area and furrowed her brow. “I’m sorry. Who
is ‘he’?”
Andrea leaned her hip against the counter and
dipped her chin. “Seriously?”
“Always.” Careful to keep her expression
blank, Rayna stared at the woman.
Andrea sighed and rolled her eyes. “He as in the hottest pet owner we have.” Even as Rayna
returned her focus to the lab report in her hands, Andrea continued. “Come on,
really? He as in ‘the cop’ who’s so freaking hot
we could fry an egg on his unbelievable abs. We haven’t seen the abs, but we
all know he’s got them. In spades. The same he
who’s so totally into you—so into you that the rest of us are green with envy.”
He was not and they were not. Rayna sighed and
set the report back on the counter. Yes, she knew exactly
who Andrea was talking about, but no way was Rayna going to let her vet tech know that.
And yes, Officer Derek Hansen was
handsome—very handsome in fact. The kind of handsome every hot-blooded woman,
self-assured man, or more specifically a gay man—her receptionist Billy had
pointed out last time Officer Hansen had been in—on the planet took notice of.
If they didn’t, they were likely dead, because very handsome
was not only accurate, it was also an incredible understatement.
Dark, close-cropped hair, just a little longer
on top. Dark, straight brows. Green eyes. Full lips. Always clean-shaven, but
Rayna bet he looked good with a five o’clock shadow, too. His nose wasn’t
perfect, but it fit his face perfectly. And then there was
his body...
Rayna sighed. Great. The mere thought of how
good-looking Hansen was had heat spilling through her system like warm syrup.
If she hadn’t put the report down, she could’ve used it as a fan—though that
would’ve been way too obvious. “I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to be a bit
more specific.”
“I swear, Doctor Michaels. Sometimes I don’t
even know what to do with you.” She threw her hands up in the air with a harsh
sigh, then let them flop back down at her sides. “Fine. Officer Derek Hansen is
here with Axle for yet another ‘checkup.’ Specific
enough?” Andrea smirked.
“Well then, let’s hope Axle is okay. I know
Officer Hansen has been a tad...cautious, possibly overly so, since his canine
partner was injured. But honestly, as you know, there is nothing
wrong with taking good care of your animal. Especially one as important as
Axle.” She smiled, knowing her statement was only going to annoy Andrea
further. Which served as a fantastic distraction from the heat rising in her
body. Rayna cleared her throat. “What room is he in?”
Andrea let out an exasperated groan and
grabbed a file off the counter. “Exam room four. And not for anything, but he’s
been in twice already this month. This makes visit number three. I think it’s a
sign.” Andrea grinned and started to turn away, but then stopped. “All
professionalism aside, enjoy the view for the rest of us, please? You know
we’re all going to want a full report when you’re done in there.” After a wink,
she headed for the short hallway leading to the front of
the office.
Rayna watched her go before picking up the lab
report and reading it over once more. Deep breaths, in and out. In and out. In and—
It wasn’t working. Desperate for some relief,
she fanned herself with the lab report.
Around six months ago, Officer Derek Hansen’s
canine partner, Axle, had been injured in the line of duty. Apparently, her
clinic had been the closest place to where the injury happened, and when he’d
burst in the front door, of course she’d immediately treated
the animal.
The injury hadn’t been anything too serious,
thank goodness. Axle had needed a small laceration stitched up, but the animal
had also popped his kneecap out of joint on his left hind leg. Leg injuries
could lead to hip issues with many big dogs, but shepherds especially. Ensuring
Axle was healed properly was essential for his career as a police dog, but more
importantly, the animal’s overall well-being and quality
of life.
However, after the dog had healed, Officer
Hansen continued to bring Axle into the clinic—to the tune of every three
weeks, give or take, for what he called “regular checkups.” It didn’t mean
anything more than that the man was caring for his animal. Rather typical for
an officer and their canine partner. Those teams never left each other’s side.
Besides, who was she to turn away a patient?
Hansen wasn’t a man of many words, but he was
always polite, respectful. And, of course, considering Rayna was counted as a
red-blooded woman, she’d also noticed he was gorgeous. How could she not? She
had a pulse, after all.
Still, checking out her patients’ owners
wasn’t something she made a habit of, or ever did, so she made sure to keep
their dealings strictly business. It would be unprofessional and highly
inappropriate for her to act in any other way.
Every time he’d been in the office, Rayna
tried for all she was worth to not focus on how
beautiful he was or how incredibly well built his body was, but with each
visit, she failed. Plus, whenever she was in one of the exam rooms alone with
him, her skin got warm all over, and without a doubt her face was the shade of
a fire truck, her spray of freckles becoming little red
spotlights.
Worse, each visit, she emerged with the
effects he had on her nervous system on display for all to see. As if she were
having some sort of allergic reaction, the skin covering her sternum and neck
was completely flushed and blotchy. Her entire office staff would not let her forget it.
Frankly, not noticing the officer wasn’t
possible. After all, how could anyone with a set of functioning eyes not notice a well over six-foot-tall, hard-muscled,
incredibly gorgeous cop?
The answer was plain and simple: they couldn’t.
Rayna grabbed her mini medical bag filled with
doggie treats and moved to exam room four’s entrance. With another deep breath
to cleanse her mind and hopefully cool down her body, she pressed her palm to
the metal panel of the door.
As she was about to push it open, Andrea
sauntered back into view, a stack of files in her arms. “Good luck! He looks
really, really good today,”
she whispered.
Rayna’s eyes went wide. She was going to kill
Andrea if Officer Hansen heard the woman’s comment. “Are
you done yet?”
Andrea grinned from ear to ear. “Nope. I have
to get these files updated in the system.”
Reining in the nervous tension crawling up her
spine, Rayna switched topics. “How many more appointments are on the schedule for today?”
“Lucky you, none. He’s your last one. You get
to take all the time you need.” Andrea placed the
files on the counter and sat in front of the computer.
“Great.” What on earth did luck have to do
with it? And wait, he looked good today? How was
that different from any other day? The man always looked
good. Like when he crossed his thickly muscled arms over his very broad chest,
the veins in his forearms stood out in harsh relief against his tanned skin.
A flash fantasy of running her tongue along
all those perfect veins made—oh dear, she hoped like hell the heat rising from
her stomach to her chest like a wildfire would settle enough for her to do her job.
And do it without her face glowing bright as the Arizona sun.
Dorothy
F. Shaw lives
in Arizona where the weather is hot and the sunsets are always
beautiful. She spends her days in the corporate world and her nights
with her Mac on her lap. Between her ever-open heart, her bright red
hair, and her many colorful tattoos, she truly lives and loves in
Technicolor!
Follow
the tour HERE
for exclusive excerpts and a giveaway!
No comments:
Post a Comment