“I am never wrong,” he says as I take his hand. “But on this occasion, I will not carry you.”
Something tells me Dominik is in for a very rude awakening with what he’s taken on. And I am one hundred percent going to enjoy it.
Lucy
The doctor is female,thankfully, because the way Dominik is behaving, I can’t imagine anyone of the male gender would have lasted long.
She has waist-length brown hair and a kind face, introducing herself as Éva. I would guess she’s in her early fifties but looks younger.
“Do you wish your mate to be here with you while I complete the checks?” she asks.
“I honestly don’t think you or I have a choice if you value your doors,” I respond with a reproachful look at Dominik who is pacing around like he wants to wear out the honey-colored parquet flooring.
“Come with me,” she says in her soft, accented voice, and we follow her through a set of white double doors fitted with shining brass art deco handles and into a light, airy consultation room.
She gestures for Dominik to sit to one side of her desk, in a dark shadow, and then asks me to go behind a set of screens, remove the clothing on my lower half, and get onto the examination table.
I find I’m trembling as I do as she asks. This is the first time I’ve been seen by a medical professional since I took the test andtwo lines showed up. I know I should have been speaking to my GP, but it was something I kept putting off, promising myself I’d do it later, when I was less busy.
But in reality, I’d been pretending to myself if I ignored the pregnancy, perhaps it would just go away. It’s these thoughts now which intrude into my conscious thought process as I get onto the exam table and Éva asks if I am ready.
I hear a low growl as she parts the screens and pulls them back again. I give her a weak smile.
“How far along are you?” she asks me.
“Two months, I think. I haven’t really been paying much attention since I did the test,” I say weakly.
“Okay, then let me have a look, and we’ll see if we can get a more accurate idea.” She gives me a supportive smile.
I find I’m holding back tears. I don’t cry at anything. It was always a sign of weakness beaten out of me by my uncle, but here and now, I feel so incredibly vulnerable, I’m holding on by a thread.
Which is when I feel a hand in mine and look up to see Dominik standing at the head of the exam table glaring down at Éva.
“Is everything all right, Lucy?” he asks in his deep, rasping baritone, making the room reverberate with his accented tones.
“Yes,” I reply, even if my voice doesn’t really fill anyone with confidence, especially me.
“If you hurt, I will deal with it,” he intones.
If Éva is concerned at his words, fortunately, as she’s working down the business end, she doesn’t show it.
“I am fine, Dominik,” I respond.
He squeezes my hand gently and briefly glances down at me before returning to his glare directly at Éva. I probably shouldn’t be reassured by a powerful vampire holding my hand and sending a death stare at my healthcare provider.
But instead something blooms within my chest, something warm. Something I’m not sure I’ve ever felt.
Safe.
It is literally the antithesis of what this should all be.
“Okay,” Éva says, moving back from me, “everything looks good.”
I’m absolutely sure I hear Dominik release a breath he actually shouldn’t have had.
“But you are not two months pregnant, Lucy.” She fixes me with the parental gaze all doctors seem to be taught in their first week at medical school. “I believe you are much further along, and I’d like to do an ultrasound.”
A wave of heat followed by a chill rolls over me.
