Take me now, p.1
Take Me Now, page 1
part #1 of Light My Fire Series Series
Take Me Now
Light My Fire Series
J.H. Croix
Contents
1. Farrah
2. Cooper
3. Cooper
4. Farrah
5. Cooper
6. Cooper
7. Farrah
8. Farrah
9. Cooper
10. Cooper
11. Cooper
12. Farrah
13. Farrah
14. Cooper
15. Farrah
16. Farrah
17. Farrah
18. Cooper
19. Farrah
20. Farrah
21. Cooper
22. Farrah
23. Cooper
24. Farrah
25. Cooper
26. Farrah
27. Farrah
28. Cooper
29. Farrah
30. Cooper
31. Farrah
32. Farrah
33. Cooper
34. Farrah
Epilogue
Find My Books
Acknowledgments
About the Author
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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Copyright © 2023 J.H. Croix
All rights reserved.
Cover design by Najla Qamber Designs
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No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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To Erin - you make me look like something other than a hot mess. Thank you for your kindness, patience and detail-wizardry.
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Chapter One
Farrah
I hurried to the front of the vet clinic, practically skidding through the door into the reception area. Our office manager and ruler of our vet clinic universe was out today. That left me handling my vet tech duties and fumbling through managing the reception area as well.
My shoes squeaked on the tiled floor as I came to a stop just as my eyes collided with who had to be the sexiest man I’d ever seen. He was holding a cat carrier and peering inside it.
“Hi, can I help you?” I asked, my voice sounding a little breathless.
The man glanced up, and my hormones clambered up to take a thorough look. He had dark hair with a wave that curled along his collar paired with cognac eyes. He was dressed simply in a T-shirt with a battered denim jacket thrown over it. The jacket hung open, revealing the muscled planes of his chest. The T-shirt did little to disguise them. He had broad shoulders and easily cleared six feet tall, based on my guess.
“I’m here. With Humpty. He has an appointment.” He pointed at the cat.
I glanced down at the calendar. Fortunately, our office manager extraordinaire, Tiffany, had left us a paper calendar. Although Alice, my boss and the vet here, and I were savvy with the computer scheduling program, Tiffany anticipated we’d be too busy to deal with it on our own.
“You must be Cooper. Cooper Hughes?” I prompted
“That’s me.” His voice was low and gruff.
He held my gaze directly. I felt somehow as if this man, who I had now spent maybe two minutes with, could see right through me.
I shifted on my feet. “Great. Well, come on back.”
I rounded the desk and opened the door that led into the back hallway. Humpty let out a disgruntled wail when Cooper lifted the cat carrier.
Cooper glanced toward me. “He hates being in this thing.”
Cooper had a straight nose and cheekbones that angled up almost dramatically. But it was his strong jaw with clean lines that got to me.
When he smiled a little, his eyes crinkled at the corners and his mouth kicked up higher on one side. My hormones let out a noisy cheer and butterflies flitted about in my belly.
I cleared my throat, trying to stay focused. “Most cats aren’t fans of cat carriers.”
Cooper walked by me when I gestured him through the door. I scurried ahead in the hallway. “Right through here.” I walked into one of our exam rooms.
Alice was still finishing up in an exam room farther down the hallway with another patient, an exuberantly friendly and elderly lab-mix dog. I closed the door once Cooper was in the room. “You can just set his carrier right there on the table.” I pointed at the stainless-steel exam table in the center of the room.
“So what’s going on with Humpty?” I asked as I stood opposite from Cooper on the other side of the table.
Humpty studied me through the bars of his carrier. He was a rather rotund orange cat.
Cooper took a breath and squared his shoulders. “He keeps scooting his butt around. Like a lot. I looked it up online, and it says he might need his anal glands expressed.” He let out a sigh. “Apparently, some people do this themselves. I’m pretty sure Humpty will hate me forever if I even think about trying to do that.”
I chuckled. “He probably wouldn’t love it. If he’s scooting around like that, it’s possible we need to do that. But let’s have our vet take a look. If that’s the issue, we can take care of it today. I can show you how to do it if you’d like.” When Cooper’s brows hitched up skeptically, I grinned. “Or you might decide to bring him to us regularly for it.”
Cooper looked at Humpty before nodding. “I’m pretty sure I’ll be bringing him here.” When his eyes met mine again, he shrugged, offering a sheepish grin.
“Understood. I’m a vet tech, and it’s not my favorite thing to do.”
Just then, there was a quick knock on the door, and Alice stepped through. She cast a smile at Cooper. “Hi, I’m Alice, the vet.” She stopped in front of Humpty’s cat carrier, peering inside. Humpty shifted backward slightly, eyeing her with deep suspicion. Glancing at Cooper, she added, “He looks thrilled to be here.”
Cooper cracked a grin. “He’s not so sure about this whole situation. I’m Cooper. This is Humpty.”
“Humpty might need his anal glands expressed,” I chimed in. “Apparently, he’s been scooting his butt around.”
“All over my apartment,” Cooper added.
Alice’s eyes twinkled as she lifted her hands to tighten her auburn ponytail. “Well, then, let’s take a look. Do you mind if I take him out?”
“Go for it.” Cooper gestured toward Humpty.
The moment Alice opened the cat carrier, Humpty barreled out, jumping off the table and leaping from the floor to the counter, where there was a sink with some cabinets above it. Cooper moved to catch him, but he zipped around the room so fast that he made it challenging. His size didn’t slow him down one bit.
It was a scramble, but I managed to get ahold of Humpty and held him in my arms while he wailed in protest. Cooper grinned. “You’re faster than me.”
“Well, I’m used to catching cats who hate coming here.”
I stepped to the side of the table, carefully placing Humpty on it, all the while keeping a firm hold on him. Several minutes later, Alice had checked him over and glanced at Cooper. “It’s definitely his anal glands. Farrah can help with that. It might comfort Humpty if you stay in the room. Meanwhile, I don’t know when he had his last annual appointment, but we can schedule one for him.”
Cooper shrugged. “I don’t know. I got him as a rescue. How about I schedule one on my way out?”
“Sounds good,” Alice replied. Just then, the chime from the reception area rang out in the hallway. “I’ll handle that. You’ve got this?” She glanced at me with her brows arched in question.
“Absolutely. Anal gland expression is my expertise,” I deadpanned.
She chuckled before departing the room. That left me in there with Cooper and Humpty. Everything went to shit. Literally.
Humpty was absolutely not a fan of the process and made his displeasure known with dramatic wailing and irritated wiggling. By the time it was all said and done, I was totally flustered, and Cooper was doing his best not to laugh. I finished the job, and we got Humpty cleaned up and back in his carrier. He was so offended by the situation he wouldn’t even accept a treat from me.
After I washed my hands and changed out of my lab coat, I looked over at Cooper. “Well, that could’ve gone better.”
Cooper threw his head back with a laugh. My belly swooped.
When he leveled his gaze with mine again, he said, “I really appreciate this, and I will definitely be using you all to do this in the future.”
Chapter Two
Cooper
The vet tech stood in front of me. We had just wrangled Humpty back into his cat carrier, and I could feel him looking at me. He was deeply offended by the situation. Maybe I hadn’t had him that long, but he let his feelings be known.
Meanwhile, the vet tech, whose name I couldn’t seem to recall, turned away to wash her
I should’ve been grateful for the distraction Humpty offered. Yet it didn’t do much good. This woman encompassed all of my focus.
She said something as she turned around, drying her hands on a paper towel. “Cooper?” she prompted.
I gave my brain a hard kick. Focus.
“Yeah?” I returned as if I didn’t even notice she had said something before that. My awareness had heard her distantly, but I didn’t know what the fuck she said.
“I was asking how long you’ve been in Willow Brook.” She blinked, and her eyes looked even brighter and greener when her lashes lifted again. She glanced away when the door to the exam room opened.
Alice, whose name I actually remembered, looked at her. “Farrah, I was wondering if you can be out front in a few minutes? My next appointment will be here soon, and I’m running behind with this one.”
Farrah? How the hell had I forgotten that name?
Farrah nodded. “Yep, we’re just finishing up. I’ll walk Cooper and Humpty out.”
Alice gave me a quick smile. “Nice to meet you, Cooper.” Her eyes shifted to Humpty. “You as well, Humpty.” She looked back at me. “He’ll get over it. I promise.”
“I hope so. Thank you.”
“Of course. I’ll see you and Humpty when he’s here for his annual checkup.”
Alice left with a wave just as Farrah let out a low and throaty little laugh. Everything this woman did was like a direct hit into a vein of desire. What in the ever-loving fuck was going on with me? I wasn’t in the habit of getting so sucked into a woman that I couldn’t even remember her name—much less being affected by a woman’s laughter.
Humpty hissed from his crate.
“Farrah isn’t the most common name,” I observed. “The only Farrah I can think of is Farrah Fawcett. I had a crush on her when I was in high school.”
Farrah, the living and breathing one standing in front of me, snorted. “My parents named me after her.”
I studied her honey-blond hair with the curl at the end of her ponytail and her big green eyes with thick lashes. “It suits you,” I offered.
Farrah’s eyes twinkled. “I actually liked Farrah Fawcett. She was my personal role model and an inspiration when I was growing up.”
“Oh?”
She nodded. “Mom was a fan of Farrah’s when she was really popular in my mom’s younger days. I always wanted to meet her. She seemed badass and beautiful. Even though she’s gone, she’s still an inspiration to me. I figure I might as well embrace my namesake.”
I lifted Humpty’s carrier and held the door as Farrah walked through, smiling up at me. Her lips were maybe a foot away from mine, and I wanted to slide my arm around her waist, pull her close, and kiss her. For God’s sake, she had just “expressed” my cat’s anal glands. Nothing about this moment should’ve been sexy.
Except she was sexy as all hell. She stirred up desire and muddled my thoughts just by existing near me.
“And do you think you’ve lived up to her?” I asked lightly, telling myself I was just making casual conversation.
“Bullshit,” my skeptical, cynical mind retorted.
That side of my brain taunted, but even stronger than that was a fierce voice. That one was fucking loud. Forget her.
A new but far too familiar sense of bitterness rose inside. I ignored it.
I wanted to linger as we reached the door that led out to the reception area. I wanted to have this conversation. Farrah was badass and beautiful to me. Yet I sensed she didn’t feel that way, and I wanted to know why. I wanted to know all of her secrets.
I opened the door just as she reached for the handle, and our hands brushed. A sizzle of electricity raced up my arm, spinning into the heat that had been simmering on low burn ever since I’d looked into Farrah’s eyes.
She looked up at me, her eyes widening slightly as if she had felt the same jolt of electricity. She shrugged as she took her next step, replying, “I don’t know. I don’t think so.”
The next thing I knew, my mouth got ahead of my brain. “You’re definitely beautiful.” I was completely serious, my voice sounding almost earnest.
She missed a step, stumbling and catching her balance before she spun back to face me. “Oh!” Pink tinged her cheeks. Need sank its claws deeper. “Thank you,” she finally said, looking so surprised I didn’t even know what to think.
How the hell did she not know she was beautiful? Surely, she had men beating down her door.
“Hi, Farrah,” a voice said.
Holy hell. I hadn’t even noticed someone was out in the waiting area. I kicked my brain into gear. Cynical didn’t even come close to capturing the man I’d become in the last year or so of my life. I hated it.
Farrah glanced over, smiling when she saw the woman who stood there.
“Cooper, nice to see you!” exclaimed Janet James, the owner of the favorite coffee shop in town.
I forced myself to step away from Farrah, creating what I hoped was enough distance for me to think. I dipped my chin as I smiled at Janet. “Hey there, Janet. How’s it going?”
Humpty let out a disgruntled meow from his carrier as Farrah set it on the reception counter.
Janet looked at Humpty. “This must be your cat?”
Since I rented from Janet, she knew I had a cat, but she hadn’t officially met him. “Sure is. This is Humpty. He just had his anal glands expressed, and he’s not happy about it. I hope he forgives me soon.” I shrugged.
Janet burst out laughing. “That’s why I’m here.” She gestured to a cat carrier on one of the chairs. “I just got a cat from the rescue program. He’s old and really affectionate, but he scoots everywhere.”
Farrah laughed as she rounded the reception counter. “Let me check Cooper out and then Alice can take a look. If that’s the issue for your cat as well, I can also show you how to take care of it yourself.”
Janet was already shaking her head. “I’m game for many things, but not that.”
I chuckled as we stepped to the reception counter together. “That’s pretty much what I said.”
“Remind me how you ended up with Humpty,” Janet prompted.
“Wes convinced me to adopt him,” I explained, referring to a friend from work. Like me, Wes was a hotshot firefighter. He also helped his mother with a local animal rescue program.
“Wes is a convincing guy,” Janet agreed with a grin.
“They’re never short on cats at the rescue program,” Farrah chimed in as she tapped on a keyboard. “That’ll be fifty dollars.”
“Well worth it.” I slipped my wallet out of my pocket and handed over a credit card.
“I’ll pay extra,” Janet chimed in. “Can it go toward the vet care you provide for the rescue program?”
“Absolutely,” Farrah said.
“You can charge me double, then,” I offered. “Honestly, though, you should probably be charging more for that.”
Farrah shrugged as she swiped my credit card and handed it back. “We try to keep our fees affordable, and that’s pretty standard.”
“Cooper is a firefighter. He must know Jonah,” Janet said to Farrah.
Farrah’s pretty green eyes lifted to mine. “Oh! Jonah is married to Alice, if you didn’t know.”
“Ah, no wonder she looks familiar. I think I met her for like a minute at Wildlands last month. We were getting together after work, and Jonah left early.”
