“Thank you, Cynthia,” Dr. Schaffer said, his voice warm. “I think I can manage Mr. Landry on my own. Why don’t you call it a day and head on home?”
Cynthia’s face lit up, her expression going from polite to genuinely happy.
“Are you sure?”
Dr. Schaffer nodded, tucking the chart under his arm and stepping closer to Dylan. He put his hand on Dylan’s upper back, and Dylan nearly fell to his knees at the sensation of the doctor’s massive hand spanning the width of his shoulder blades.
“I’ve got this. You go on home and have a nice weekend.”
Dylan stood frozen, Dr. Schaffer towering over his meager five feet and eight inches and making him feel absolutely tiny.
“Thank you, Dr. Schaffer. I’ll see you on Monday.”
Cynthia walked back to the reception desk and started packing up her things, while Dr. Schaffer looked down at Dylan with a disconcertingly enthusiastic grin.
“Are you ready for your appointment?”
Something about Dr. Schaffer’s expression reminded Dylan of a cartoon wolf. It was all teeth, and there was a gleam in his eyes that left Dylan feeling like prey.
He trembled and then spent the next few seconds wondering if he was imagining the slight sharpening of Dr. Schaffer’s canines.
“Yes?” Dylan cleared his throat. “I’m ready, Dr. Schaffer.”
The doctor looked at him, his expression searching, and then nodded.
“Good. Come with me.”
The words were a command, accompanied by a firm pressure on Dylan’s upper back as he was led out of the waiting area and into the clinic.
Breathing through his nose, Dylan caught the scent of something that smelled absolutely wonderful. He inhaled again, trying to figure out what it was, and realized with a start that what he was smelling was Dr. Schaffer. Notes of cedar wood and leather mingled with a clean, masculine musk, the scent making Dylan want to push his nose into the doctor’s side andinhale.
The intensity of the impulse caught Dylan off guard.
“Here we are,” Dr. Schaffer said, ignorant of Dylan’s internal panic as he led him into an examination room. He lifted his hand off his back and turned to the sink next to the door, putting down his clipboard and washing his hands.
Dylan looked around.
The office looked like any other doctor’s office he’d been to, with a big desk by the window and an examination table next to the wall.
“Take a seat on the bench,” Dr. Schaffer instructed, glancing over his shoulder as he finished washing his hands. He grinned, looking wolfish as he ripped a piece of paper towel out of the dispenser and aggressively dried his hands. “We want you to be nice andcomfortable.”
Dylan hesitated, something about the doctor’s tone and expression not quite right, but then he decided that he must be imagining things and made his way over to the bench and sat down. Dr. Schaffer followed, grabbing his office chair from behind his desk and pulling it over so that he could sit down across from him.
The bench was positioned lower than the chair, and with their existing height difference already quite considerable, Dylan was left having to crane his neck to look up at Dr. Schaffer’s face.
“So, Dylan. You’re here for a mole you wanted me to look at. Is that right?”
Dr. Schaffer sat with his legs spread, feet planted firmly on the floor. He leaned forward, resting his hand on his knee.
Dylan looked down, flustered, and stared at the tips of the doctor’s big dress shoes. The oversized loafers looked huge next to Dylan’s ratty sneakers, and Dylan blushed as his mind made a mental leap and started wondering which other parts of the doctor were big.
His groin tingled, and it was an effort not to look between the doctor’s legs to check out his bulge.
Wrenching his mind out of the gutter, Dylan looked up. “That’s right. I noticed it about two months ago and figured I should get it checked out.”
Dr. Schaffer nodded, his face serious. “I can definitely take a look at that for you.” He scooted his chair forward. “Now, since you’re a new patient, I think it would be best if we did a full physical. Then, after we have that out of the way, I can have a look at your mole and see if it needs to be removed. Does that sound okay?”
Dylan swallowed. He had expected the doctor to have a quick look at his back and then be done with it. A full physical seemed excessive. He leaned back, feeling overwhelmed at having Dr. Schaffer so close to him.
