Doctor Dragon: Earth Dragons Series: Book 6

by Hartnady, Charlene

“If it weren’t for Cordia and Vicky, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere within a hundred miles of you. I dislike you intensely and that’s putting it mildly.”

  Druze shifted his weight. Something flashed in his eyes and his jaw tightened.

  “You were right on the money. You’re not nice at all. In fact, you’re a colossal asshole, in my opinion.”

  He sucked in a deep breath, his eyes widening. Britt could see he was preparing to blast her.

  She put up a hand. “Please don’t talk. I’m not done.”

  “Where do you get off talking to—”

  “Where do you get off acting like such a dick? I don’t think I’ve ever met a bigger one. The funny thing is, I don’t believe you’re a bad person. Even after everything…I don’t.” She shrugged. “That still doesn’t excuse your actions. Those were unforgivable. You are still my boss during working hours, but outside of that…I don’t take orders from you.”

  “We have to act like we’re dating. I’m not sure how we’re going to get that right if you hate my guts.”

  “I never once said that I hated you. I feel sorry for you, but…”

  Druze frowned. “Why would you feel sorry for me?”

  “Someone did a number on you and now you—”

  “Don’t you dare psychoanalyze me, Dr. Baker.” He shook his head. “You know nothing about me. Not one damned thing.”

  “I know you’re a lot sad and a little lost.” She spoke softly, feeling angry with him and sorry for him all at once. It was confusing. She wanted to outright hate him, but she couldn’t. Not even close.

  “Bullshit!” he snorted but she could see she’d struck a nerve.

  “All of that doesn’t matter anyway. I won’t be psychoanalyzing you anymore. We will do what we have to do to convince your people that we are dating. I only agreed to it because Stone insisted. He said that there was a huge fight out on the balcony.” She licked her lips. “A couple of guys got really hurt.”

  “I told you your bikini caused chaos. You didn’t believe me.”

  “I didn’t know. Point being,” she quickly changed the subject, “we remain professional during business hours. Otherwise, you stay away from me. There will be no more sex.” She emphasized the last.

  Druze laughed. The sound held no humor. His eyes remained cold. “Once was enough.”

  His words cut. “Twice,” she countered. “We had sex two times.” She held up two fingers.

  “Once, twice.” He shrugged. “There will be no more sex. I had you and now I’m done with you. It was a moment of weakness.”

  Her chest tightened but she ignored it.

  “I had expected more after hearing how fantastic humans were,” Druze continued, sounding bored.

  “Oh really.” She rolled her eyes. “The sex was mediocre was it?” She pretended to be unaffected.

  “Yes.”

  “That’s why you couldn’t keep your hands off me that second time?” She raised her brows. “That’s why you practically attacked me that first time?”

  “I hardly attacked you. As for the second time, I still had seed in my balls.”

  Britt choked out a laugh. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “You’re so full of shit!”

  “Believe what you want to believe, Dr. Baker. I really couldn’t care.” A one-shouldered shrug.

  “You told me how much you were into it. You screamed it, Dr. Druze.”

  “I did no such thing.” He looked at her like she had lost it.

  “Not with your mouth, Doctor. You told me with your body. The way you grunted and groaned. That look on your face. There’s no faking that. I didn’t need superior senses to be able to tell how much you loved the hell out of fucking me.”

  His eyes blazed, Druze looked like he was ready to break down a wall. Maybe two.

  “Now, since we got that out of the way. Will you be able to be professional at work and then still be able to pretend to date me, without trying to have sex with me again?”

  “Of course,” his voice was a deep rasp.

  “Are you sure?” She quirked a brow.

  “Yes.” He nodded. “Are you going to be able to pretend we’re dating since you dislike me so much?”

  “Of course.” She wasn’t sure at all. In fact, she’d been panicking about it.

  “I don’t know that I believe you, Doctor.”

  “Well, you can.” She tried to think of something to say. Some sort of argument but came up blank.

  “Let’s see.” He hooked an arm around her waist, and she arched away from him like he was burning her. Druze let her go. “That would be a fail.”

  “I wasn’t expecting that.”

  “You won’t always be expecting it. What if I have to touch you out of the blue? What if someone walked around that corner just then?” He pointed to the end of the hall.

  “We’re having a lover’s spat.”

  “Only we’re not lovers.” He raised his brows. “What’s up with that? If I were dating you, I would be fucking you. That much I can tell you.”

  His words affected her. Much to her dismay and horror. He wasn’t dating her though. This was all pretend. Druze actually wanted her gone. She needed to remember that.

  “I’m not sure how we can pull off this whole dating farce,” he went on. “No one will believe that a healthy couple who are attracted to one another aren’t having sex. We need to have a game plan for that.”

  “I…um…I want us to get to know one another better. We jumped into bed too soon. Sex would get in the way of the non-physical side of things.”

  “Weak but,” he lifted his eyes, “you’re a human, so I would buy it. Not sure how long it would hold water. You wouldn’t last that long if I was actually trying to get into your panties.”

  “That’s what you think. I could last months…years…millennia.”

  Druze laughed, and this time it looked real, which worried her. He hooked an arm around her again and this time she held still. “You’ve turned into a statue.”

  “It’s better than pulling away.”

  “Not good enough, Doctor.”

  Britt clenched her jaw for a moment and then pushed out a breath. She forced herself to relax against him. A hard wall of muscle. His chest heaved against her. His eyes…weren’t as cold as they had been before.

  “Better.” He leaned in. “I’m going to kiss you now, Dr. Baker. It won’t mean anything.”

  “I object. There is no one here to see. It—”

  “Exactly! Neither of us wants this, so let’s fuck up outside of the public eye. If we can’t make this believable then you go home.”

  “That’s what you want anyway, so why even try? Why practice?”

  His arm tightened around her. “I made a couple of promises to Stone. I intend to keep them, even if this…isn’t what I want. Do you want to stay, Dr. Baker?”

  “You know I do. I made a couple of promises of my own.”

  “Kiss me then. Now!”

  “You don’t get to tell me what to do unless we’re in there.” She used her eyes to gesture to the lab.

  Druze leaned in. His mouth hovered just over hers. He cupped her jaw with his hand. His very large, very warm hand. “This has to be believable or all bets are off.”

  “I know.”

  “Don’t disappoint me!”

  “You make it believable,” she threw back.

  Druze captured her lips. He kissed her once and then again, slanting his mouth over hers to deepen the kiss. She held back a whimper. What was wrong with her? It seemed like her body was still very much at war with her mind. Good thing her mind was the stronger of the two.

  Druze ended the kiss and stepped away from her, smoothing a hand down his lab coat. “Let’s get to work, Dr. Baker.”

  “One last thing.” She craned her neck to maintain eye contact. “Stone said to let him know if you abuse your power in any way. I meant it when I said to keep things professional.”

  “Of course.” He nodde
d once, then turned and opened the door, stepping to the side to let her in.

  By the look on Craig’s face as she entered, she could tell she had a lot of explaining to do.

  Chapter 19

  Five days later…

  Brittney was wearing that dress again. The red one. He hated that dress. Just like he hated that bikini. Just like he hated her.

  Dr. Baker.

  Brittney.

  Britt.

  It wasn’t true. He didn’t hate her. How could he? Not possible. She was impossible to hate. Smart. Beautiful and kind. He’d hurt her. Druze hated himself. Not just for what he had put Britt through but for everything that had happened too.

  Amethyst.

  If it weren’t for him, she’d still be there. Alive. Happy. He would hate himself for the rest of time. He didn’t deserve to be happy. Didn’t deserve love. Didn’t deserve…anything. It was good that Dr. Baker disliked him so intensely. It was for the best.

  Druze had been avoiding her and she had been letting him. It was no longer possible. Druze moved in next to her as she walked and clutched onto her hand. Dr. Baker tensed up. “What are you doing?” she whispered under her breath, glaring at him from under her brows.

  “Now, honey,” he smiled down at her. “Is that any way to speak to your boyfriend?”

  “I told you to warn me before…going into character.” She widened her eyes. “Not just to…touch me like this…out of the blue.” She looked flustered as she stared down at where they were still joined. Hand-in-hand. How fucking sweet.

  “We have to go out tonight. We have to be seen together,” he said. “There is talk that we broke up before we began. The males are starting to think they can move in.” There was an edge to his voice he didn’t like but couldn’t control.

  “I’m tired.” Her eyes were a little bloodshot. “I’m not sure I have what it takes to act. Not this evening at any rate.”

  “You’ll need to dig deep. We’re having dinner together.”

  “Now?”

  “Yes, the dining hall won’t be too busy but there’ll be enough people to get the word out that you are still taken.”

  Her eyes widened and she began to shake her head. “I don’t know if—”

  “We’re having dinner together, Brittney.”

  She stumbled but he tightened his hand around hers, helping her keep her balance. “Wow! You take this playacting to new heights. You didn’t even call me that when you were…when we were…when…”

  “When I was fucking you?” Druze worked at keeping his voice even.

  “Yes…exactly.” She nodded too fast.

  “I would call someone I was dating by their first name, so let’s go with it, shall we? It’s playacting.”

  “Fine!” She looked bored. “I don’t care either way.”

  Druze began to walk, still holding her hand. “Well you should because we have to be believable.”

  “We will be.” Britt fell in next to him.

  “Good! Just don’t get the wrong idea. I’m a really good actor.”

  “What?” She stopped dead. “You shouldn’t get the wrong idea! I’m an even better actor.” She put her hand on his ass and squeezed.

  He was damned if his asshole cock didn’t take note. They really were operating independently of one another. His dick needed to get the memo. This was pretend. That was all.

  “You tensed up.” She tsked him a few times. “Not good, Doctor.”

  “Only because your hand feels fucking amazing on my ass.” He repositioned her so that her back was against the wall. “And you had better call me Druze.”

  “What are you doing, Druze?” She sounded panicked although her voice was a whisper.

  “If we were really dating, I’d get you off with my hand right now.”

  “Here?” She looked up and down the hall.

  “It would take half a minute. Right here and right now…but we’re not, so no can do. We do need another practice run, though.”

  “I can get myself off, I don’t need you. I don’t want a practice run.”

  Dr. Baker getting herself off. That was an image he could do without. “I disagree. You’re tense and jumpy.” His cock still hadn’t gotten the memo.

  She made a noise born from anger. “That’s not what I think it is.”

  Druze smiled. “I’m a male, Brittney. I can’t help my body’s response. It doesn’t mean anything. Ignore it.”

  “There is no way I can ignore your giant cock pressed up against my stomach.” She pushed his chest. “It’s an impossibility.”

  “I apologize. I’m only saying it once. I will do my best not to…react to you but…it’s going to happen again.” His voice was laced with frustration. “You will need to ignore it.”

  “I can’t!” She clenched her jaw.

  Fuckity fuck! This was bad. He caught the sweet, spicy scent of her arousal. Druze looked down and saw how hard her nipples were. Like they were trying to poke holes through her dress. That fucking red dress.

  Druze pulled away. He paced to the other side, looking down at how his pants had tented. Then he put a hand over his dick. “We’re in trouble here, Dr. Baker.”

  “We’re not. You can’t do that. We can hold hands and share the odd public kiss but,” her eyes widened, “none of that.”

  “And no talking about getting off, or sex.” He didn’t want her to wear that dress again either, but he didn’t tell her that. “It’s not personal. It’s chemical,” he added, not wanting her to get any ideas.

  She narrowed her eyes on him. “Agreed. I dislike you even more now than before.”

  Only because she wanted him to fuck her again even though she hated him. This was a disaster waiting to happen. “Suck it up, Buttercup!”

  She pouted at him, trying to give him a dirty look and failing. Dr. Baker was too nice to be mean.

  “One more thing before we head to the restaurant, you need to remember that everyone around us has superior senses, that includes hearing.”

  “I know that alr— Oh shit!” Her face seemed to pale. “I have to watch what I say?”

  He nodded. “We both do.”

  “I can’t look deep into your eyes and tell you what a jerk I think you are? Or hold your hand and casually mention, with a smile, that I think you suck and that I wished I was anywhere else but with you?”

  Druze shook his head. “We’re going to have to make small-talk. Our body language, as well as what we say to one another, will be scrutinized. We need to look like a couple in all ways.”

  “Holy crap, we really are screwed. I don’t want to talk to you about anything. We have nothing to say to each other. I wouldn’t know where to begin.”

  “I loathe small-talk. I would rather poke out an eye.”

  “What are we going to do?”

  Druze shrugged. “We’ll eat and find things to talk about. I’m going to compliment you and I’ll flirt with you. I’m going to touch and kiss you. You need to roll with it. If we can’t pull this off, you’re going home. Vicky and Cordia love you. Stone fucking loves you. You want to be here, am I right?”

  She nodded, frowning.

  “That means we make this work, one way or another. I’ll give it my best shot.”

  “Deal! I’ll give it my best shot too.” Dr. Baker held out her hand.

  Druze took her much smaller one in his hand and squeezed lightly while they shook. “Deal!” he agreed.

  * * *

  “We’ve got this,” Druze whispered into the shell of her ear. He had his arm firmly around her. His fingers were splayed on her hip.

  She smiled up at him, trying to make it look like she was…in love? Too soon for that if they were just dating. Trying to make it look like she like-liked Druze rather? That she was into him, when all she felt like doing was punching him. This wasn’t fun at all!

  “Where do you want to sit?” He threw her a half-smile that should have had her heart doing flip flops in her chest. Britt fought an eye-roll instead
.

  “Maybe somewhere quiet?” She winked at him when he looked down at her. Was she laying it on too thick? Probably. Oh well.

  “I like the way you think.” He squeezed her hip, steering her to one of the corner tables overlooking the view of the mountains. “I’ll go grab us a couple of menus. What can I get you to drink?”

  She lifted her eyes in contemplation. Not sure what she felt like. It had been coffee and water all day. “Maybe a soda.”

  “I was thinking more along the lines of a glass of wine. A good bottle of red?”

  “I’m not much of a red wine fan. See, I told you we don’t know nearly enough about one another.” She narrowed her eyes at him, trying to give him a cutsie dirty look.

  Druze chuckled, he leaned down over her, putting his hands on the table. “We can get to know one another and still have sex,” he spoke softly, his voice a deep purr.

  Britt leaned back in her seat, trying to put some space between them. “I disagree.” She smiled at him.

  Druze leaned in further, until his mouth was hovering just over hers. His eyes had lowered to her lips. Then he kissed her softly. A quick brush of the lips. Druze pulled himself up to his full height. “White wine it is then. I’ll be right back.”

  She nodded once. Wow! He was a fantastic actor. She was almost inclined to believe he was nice, although they both knew differently.

  “If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it.” Topaz plonked herself down next to Brittney without being invited. Her face was animated. “You’re dating Druze?” She looked completely shocked. “You’re really dating him?”

  “Yes,” Brittney nodded.

  “Is it true that the two of you had sex?” The other woman sniffed at her, even leaning forward. It was strange.

  “Um…that’s not any of your business.”

  “I’ll take that as a yes.” She bit down on her lower lip for a second or two. “I just can’t believe it.”

  “Why is it so hard to believe?”

  “Druze…Druze is…” She acted like she was thinking things through. “He’s not available. After what happened, he shut himself off.”

  Did she ask Topaz what had happened, or did she pretend she already knew?