ROMANCE: SHIFTER: Shifter to the Max Collection (Dragon, Bear, Wolf and Panther Shifter Romances) (Paranormal Fantasy Romance Collection)

by C. J. Ayers

  “Where am I?”

  “County General Hospital.” Her voice was clipped. “You were shot multiple times and stabbed.”

  He rubbed his neck and cringed when he couldn’t feel bandages. “I know.”

  “Would you like to tell me how your wounds managed to heal before I even put stitches in?” Shane closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He should have expected a question like that. Someone must have found him and called an ambulance. Amanda and Henry would have just taken him home.

  He decided to avoid the question. “I still have bullets in me, don’t I?” He probably would have healed before he was on the O.R. table. Shit. Today was not his day.

  She pursed her lips. “Yes. You do. Based on the location of the bullets and the scaring where they entered you, you should have some very serious internal injuries.”

  “Let me hazard a guess. I don’t?”

  She crossed her arms over her chest, drawing Shane’s attention away from her face. From what he could tell, she had quite the body under those baggy scrubs. “Correct. But we still need to get the bullet that are still in there, out. A few went clean through, but there is one in your thigh and one in your shoulder.”

  “Okay.”

  “I’d like to take them out.” He surveyed her. Her matter-of-fact attitude combined with the girlish roundness of her face turned him on. He blinked, trying to rid himself of the image of mounting her here on the hospital bed.

  Shane leaned back. He wasn’t quite sure what to do with this doctor. She wasn’t pushing him about the healing, but he couldn’t take the risk that at some point she would. Or would mention it to someone else. He wasn’t sure how to keep that from happening.

  He spread his arms. “Do your worst, doc.”

  She turned to the counter where a tray was laid out. He could see a scalpel and what looked like large tweezers. She washed up and pulled on gloves. “Your leg please,” she said, her voice muffled by the mask she wore. He stretched out his leg. There was only the faintest mark where the bullet had entered his leg.

  She rubbed a wet cloth onto the area. “This is a topical anesthetic. I’m going to inject a bit of local into the area so you won’t feel it.”

  “You don’t have to.”

  “It’s going to hurt. A lot. I have to reopen the wound.” Her eyebrow was raised, and she was looking at him like he was insane. To her, maybe he was. But it wouldn’t hurt him that much. He’d had more painful injuries. Injuries that took days to heal. Young, male wolves were constantly fighting each other. He remembered his first major leg break. Setting that on his own was one of the most painful moments of his life.

  “I’ll be okay.”

  She sighed and shook her head. “If you need it after I start, tell me.” He shrugged and she bent began her work of digging into his thigh with the knife. The room was filled with the soft, wet noise of flesh being separated, and blood being spilt.

  “So, are you in the military?”

  “What would make you think that?” He looked down at her head. Her hair looked soft. He wanted to run his fingers through it, grab it. The cool and professional way she was handling a knife was just making her more attractive to him. He enjoyed a tough-as-nails professional woman.

  “Uh, the healing. Maybe you were in a military experiment or something. A super soldier experiment?”

  He laughed, hard. It was such a ridiculous leap, but the reality was even more insane. “No, doc. I’m not the next Captain America. I’ve just always healed real fast.”

  She blushed at his words. He could feel the heat coming off of her. He heard the plot of metal hitting metal. “That one is out.” She packed the wound with gauze and picked up a hooked needle and thread.

  “Just start on the other. Don’t bother to stitch it back up.”

  She raised her eyebrow but put the needle and thread down. “Lay back please. And remove the top of your gown.”

  He pushed the shoulder of the scratchy paper gown down his arm. For a moment he considered taking it all the way off, letting her see all of him. But her scalpel was in his shoulder before he could decide either way. She was so close to him that he could smell her now. The Clorox smell had been overpowering. But this close…she smelled like lavender. He wondered if it was her perfume or her shampoo. Either way it was nice.

  She finished, inspected his newly healed leg wound and straightened up. “I would like to keep you over night to confirm that you don’t have any lasting internal injuries.” It didn’t seem likely that she was going to give up trying to figure out what was going on with him. He knew that on the surface, his labs weren’t that different from a normal human’s. But if anyone looked further (and how could a curious doctor not?) they would see that there were strange markers in his blood. Markers that belonged to wolves.

  He laughed and stood up, the gown sliding down his chest. “Sorry sweetheart, you’re going to have to give me that paper that says I’m leaving despite doctor’s suggestions because I’m not staying here.” He couldn’t allow any more lab tests to be done. He would have to get a copy of his lab results to see how much blood they had drawn and if they had anything left.

  She pursed her lips. “Fine.”

  “Where are my clothes?”

  “They were cut off. Do you have anyone I can call for you?”

  “Thanks, but no, sweetheart.”

  “Don’t call me that. It’s Doctor Green to you.”

  “Alright Doctor Green. Where can I get some clothes?”

  “I’ll have a nurse bring some in.” She turned on her heel and left. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He saw the bag containing his personal items sitting on the counter. He grabbed his phone and dialed his sister.

  Twenty minutes later he had his ride set up, he had signed his release papers and he was wearing a shirt and pants that were too big. He handed off the papers to a nurse, figured out who else was on his case, and walked through the ER waiting room.

  He felt eyes on him as he crossed the room, but didn’t look back until he was outside.

  She stood at the door of the hospital watching him go. The look on her face said she wasn’t going to give up trying to figure out why he healed so quickly. It would have been easier if he had a doctor that didn’t care. He looked back and gave her a wave. She turned around and went back inside. Goodness, she was delectable. What in the world was he going to do with her?

  Chapter 4

  Lexi couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched. She had felt it all day. The gentle prickle at the back of her neck. She knew what it was like to be stalked. And she wasn’t going to be a victim again.

  She woke up later than she usually did. She hadn’t been that tired after a night shift in a long time. Her brain had been working overtime, trying to figure out what was going on with the John Doe. Was it some form of hyper-metabolism? He looked healthy otherwise so she didn’t think it was that. Even his labs were a little odd, but nothing so out of the ordinary that she would have assumed anything was wrong with him if she had just been looking at the charts.

  As she put on her workout gear and made herself a quick breakfast, she tried to put the John Doe out of her mind. It wasn’t just his medical information that interested her. He interested her. Any red blooded girl would have been interested. His dark hair looked so soft. And it was clear that he took good care of himself.

  She shook off the thoughts. It wasn’t like she had time to date. Or that she even wanted to. She had had enough of men and their craziness for a good long while. One ex-boyfriend behind bars was enough. She didn’t need to complicate her life.

  She left the house and headed to the gym. It was twenty minutes into her spinning class that the feeling started. At first she assumed that it was someone in her class. She was usually one of the more advanced students, so the newbies would sometimes watch her to make sure they were doing it right. But the longer it lasted, the more it felt…ominous.

  The moment classes were over s
he sprinted to the locker room and splashed water on her face. She gripped the edges of the counter and looked at herself in the mirror. “You’re being silly. The anniversary is coming up. You’re fine.” She took a deep breath and ignored the looks of the two other women who walked in. She gave herself another minute to cool off before heading back to her car.

  It was broad daylight in a crowded parking lot but she couldn’t help but slide her keys between her fingers. It was something she learned in her self-defense classes. She got into the car and headed home.

  She showered quickly. Halfway through the shower she began to relax. She wasn’t being watched. She didn’t know anyone who would want to watch her. She didn’t have friends outside of work. Not really. She didn’t date. There was nothing going on. She was being paranoid, she reasoned.

  If she continued to freak out, she would call her shrink and make an appointment. She had properly convinced herself that she was imagining it until she made it to the grocery store. And then the feeling was back full force. She shoved food in her cart, not bothering to check the list she had made.

  She turned down the bread aisle and almost slammed her cart right into the very man who she had been fixated with most of the day. “John Doe!” she wanted to hit herself in to forehead for calling him that. But she never got his name. “What are you doing here?”

  He smiled and pointed to her cart. “The same as you’re doing, I expect. Grocery shopping.”

  She laughed and rubbed her arm. “That makes sense. Well, I’m glad you’re doing alright.” She turned the cart, but he caught her arm.

  “Doctor Green—“

  “We’re not in the hospital. You can call me Lexi.”

  “Alright, Lexi.” He smiled a wolfish smile, like he was going to devour her. It should have made her uncomfortable, but instead, it made her stomach tighten with desire. “Running in to each other is apparently fate, so let me take you to dinner. A thank you for saving my life.”

  “It’s really not necessary—“

  “I insist.” The words were so firm that she stood up straighter. She wondered if he had been in the military at some point. He certainly looked like he had just walked out of a boot camp.

  “Um, okay. Sure. It’d have to be during the day though. So lunch, not dinner. I work at night.” She slammed her mouth shut, willing herself not to keep talking. She was rambling.

  “Whatever works for you.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to her. “Give me your number, I’ll call you.”

  She typed in her number and handed the phone back to him. ”I’m Shane, by the way,” he said.

  “Oh, yeah, calling you John Doe on a date probably wouldn’t be great.” He laughed and nodded. She took it as her que to end the conversation. “Okay then. See you later, I guess.” He smiled, she grabbed her bread and turned away. He was cute, she thought. But did she really want to date? Not really. Okay, fine, if she was being honest with herself, she sort of did. But she was afraid that it would be like her ex all over again. That was why work was so much easier: she was calling the shots.

  She checked out and tossed her groceries into the trunk of her car. She had to get home and do some cooking, she had to go back to the hospital soon.

  The night started off normally. A broken wrist, a guy with a massive asthma attack, a pretty bad allergic reaction, so Lexi was able to check her phone around nine. She had a text from Shane.

  Lunch on Monday @ Leonardo’s on 5th street? Noon?

  She quickly sent an affirmative reply. She had two days to prepare. Everything would be fine.

  Chapter 5

  She told him to pick her up at the hospital. It made the most sense. It was central, and she practically lived there anyway. She didn’t want him to know where she lived. Not yet. She called her therapist to make sure she wasn’t being crazy. He said, “Do what makes you feel safe.” She wanted to throw the phone across the room when he said that. That was the whole problem. She almost never felt safe.

  He didn’t seem to think it was odd. He turned it into a joke about how much she worked. The text read: You really do live at the hospital. It didn’t sound judgmental either though. Or she may have been reading too much into it. That was always a possibility.

  She had her scrubs for her shift in her purse, but dressed in a nice, purple top that made her eyes pop and a pair of fitted jeans. He was right on time. His car pulled up to the hospital entrance, and he got out. He looked amazing; he wore a fitted button down shirt and slacks that showed off his muscular thighs. He took her hand and led her to the car. He even opened the car door for her.

  “How are you?” he asked once they were on the road.

  “Good,” she answered honestly. Usually she said good and meant tired, or stressed, but today she meant it. “This is probably a stupid question, but the doctor in me has to ask it. How are your injuries?”

  He laughed. It was a low rumble that made her toes curl. “They’re fine. I feel absolutely fine.” She nodded. She desperately wanted to ask him about the healing but she figured she wouldn’t get any more of an answer than she did when she was digging bullets out of him. “I hope you like Italian,” he said, quickly changing the subject. She could tell that he wasn’t comfortable talking about the injuries.

  “Yeah, I like it a lot.”

  He smiled. From the side she could see how much it lit up his face. “Good. Leonardo’s is the best in town.”

  For the rest of the car ride they chatted idly. She found out that he invested in restaurants (which is why he knew Leonardo’s so well). He found amazing chefs and helped them with marketing, and their platforms. None of the restaurants that he helped with every failed. It was interesting to her that he picked a business that was so prone to failure. Most restaurants didn’t survive their first year in business.

  “That’s part of the challenge. Keeping people coming back. Making a name. I went to college for marketing and advertising, so figuring out all of that is the easy part. The hard part is finding a chef whose work you care enough about to represent.”

  “So I’m guessing you like food?” She asked as they entered the small restaurant.

  “That’s an understatement.”

  It was the middle of the afternoon and the place was packed. Shane gave his name to the hostess and her eyes widened. “I’ll have the chef come right over to your table!”

  Shane nodded. “Tell him there’s no rush.”

  She quickly brought them to a table that was near the large window, and rushed off to the back. “So you helped with this restaurant?”

  Shane smiled. “I did. And within the first year Leonardo was doing so well that he bought me out my share. I still come here all the time though.”

  A young man, much younger than Lexi would have expected arrived at their table. Shane stood up and embraced him. “Leo!”

  “Shane!” Leo looked at Lexi and took her hand. He kissed the back of it. “And who are you?”

  “Lexi,” she blushed as Leo eyed her. It somehow didn’t feel sexual. It was almost as if he was sizing her up, trying to decide if she was good enough for Shane.

  “Shane, you need to warn me next time you bring beautiful women into my restaurant so I can wear my shirt without tomato sauce stains.” Lexi looked at his shirt. It was white and indeed speckled with sauce stains. “I’ll get you two the special, yes? And Lexi?”

  “Yeah?”

  Leo nodded towards Shane. “He’s a good guy, don’t let him fool you into believing differently.”

  “Thanks for the glowing recommendation Leo.”

  The young man shrugged but didn’t look apologetic. “I better get back there. They can’t boil pasta without me.”

  Shane turned to Lexi. “He seems fun!” She said.

  “He really is. And he’s a great cook.” He then asked her about her work at the hospital and why she picked being in the ER. She told him all about her residency and the mentors she had.

  “So basically doin
g emergency surgery in the ER was super fun. It keeps me on my toes and I have to think about things constantly and quickly. But sometimes people come in and we can’t save them. That sucks, but we do what we can.”

  She was interrupted by their waiter, who brought them two enormous plates of food. “This looks delicious!” Lexi picked up her fork, excited to try the food in front of her.

  “Dig in,” Shane said with a smile.

  “I love food, I can’t help it,” Lexi said before she tried the first bite. She stifled a moan, it was the best thing she had ever eaten.

  “I like a girl who enjoys her meals,” Shane said with a smile. He picked up his fork and began to eat. Lexi watched him as she took her next bite. He was so controlled and graceful. Lexi slowed down her eating, trying to savor the delicious taste of the pasta sauce and chicken.

  Lexi was thrilled when they brought over a soufflé for desert. She speared a bit of the chocolatey cake on a fork and her eyes rolled back in her head. This was the best thing she had ever eaten. It was soft and melted in her mouth. Sweet and tart. When she opened her eyes, Shane was staring at her.

  “What?” she asked.

  “I’ve just never seen anyone enjoy their food so much.” She flushed, feeling silly. “I don’t mean it in a bad way, it’s adorable.”

  Lexi could feel herself blush. She pushed the soufflé dish towards him. “You try it. It’s amazing.” He took a bite and chewed slowly.

  “You’re right, this is fantastic.”

  When the waiter brought the check Shane grabbed it before Lexi even was able to lift her hand. His reflexes were incredible. He wouldn’t let her pay. He moved to help her out of her chair, and placed his hand on the middle of her back, guiding her between the tables.