Rebel Doc on Her Doorstep

by Lucy Ryder

  From one night…to forever!

  Dr. Paige Carlyle knows all about bad alpha boys. So when one breaks into her home, she’s ready to knock him out. But surely he’s not supposed to look that hot!

  Surgeon Tyler Reese wasn’t expecting a warm welcome home, but the cute, fiery pixie in residence is a complete surprise! Unable to avoid each other, soon their uneasy attraction leads to one unforgettable night. Tyler wasn’t staying forever, but now he might not be able to walk away…

  Paige uttered an ear-piercing shriek and stumbled back a couple of steps, nearly falling over a deck chair.

  “Stop doing that!” she said, catching herself. For a few moments her heavy breathing filled the darkness, reminding Ty of things he hadn’t had in a while. Things he’d convinced himself this morning that he didn’t feel for Paige Carlyle.

  Things that should have scared him into escaping back to California but kept him glued to the lounge chair because he was tired of running. She stomped closer and demanded, “What are you doing sitting out here? It’s freezing.” He reached out, snagged her hand and pulled.

  Paige gave a startled “oomph” and tumbled right into Ty’s lap. “Wh-what are you doing?” she squeaked, as light from her apartment spilled over her shocked face.

  And then Ty did what he’d told himself he didn’t want. He swooped down and crushed her soft mouth with his. He’d meant it as punishment for everything she’d put him through, but the instant his mouth touched hers he wanted more.

  Dear Reader,

  I just love writing about quirky characters, and my heroine, Paige Carlyle, is as quirky as they come. Growing up in a houseful of alpha males, it was stand up for herself or get stuck doing sweaty sporty-guy laundry forever. And Paige is no one’s fool. She’s smart, independent and prepared to take down intruders fairy-commando style, totally surprising Dr. Tyler Reese, who’s returned to the Olympic Peninsula to reconnect with his father and recuperate from an accident that threatens his surgical career.

  Frankly, a feisty, quirky woman is exactly what the handsome surgeon needs to jolt him out of his funk. Maybe she hadn’t quite meant to knock him unconscious, but, hey, for a girl who’s spent most of her adult life with her nose buried in medical textbooks, having a hunk fall at her feet is the biggest thrill of the decade. Despite himself, Ty finds himself falling—in an entirely new way—for his very distracting neighbor. Of course, he tries to deny his feelings—silly man—but he’s a smart guy and finally admits to himself that Paige is as perfect for him as he is for her.

  I hope you find yourself falling for Paige and Ty’s story, too.

  Happy reading,

  Lucy

  REBEL DOC ON HER DOORSTEP

  Lucy Ryder

  Books by Lucy Ryder

  Harlequin Medical Romance

  Resisting Her Rebel Hero

  Tamed by Her Army Doc’s Touch

  Falling at the Surgeon’s Feet

  Caught in a Storm of Passion

  Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.

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  This book is dedicated to my great-niece Coral-Mae, who was born during a screaming deadline. Excellent timing, kiddo, but you’ve brought such joy to us all. We really look forward to all those weekly photos.

  And also to my nephew, Jason, who has just graduated cum laude. Congrats to our very own Dr. Jay Bass.

  Praise for Lucy Ryder

  “Resisting Her Rebel Hero is an absolute delight to read…the sexy writing and refreshing characters leave their mark on every page.”

  —Harlequin Junkie

  Contents

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  EXCERPT FROM TEMPTED BY THE BRIDESMAID BY ANNIE O’NEIL

  CHAPTER ONE

  DR. PAIGE CARLYLE jolted awake from her first decent sleep in over a week. One minute she was dreaming about lying on the deck of a sleek boat while a hot captain rubbed oil all over her body, the next…nightmare city.

  Frozen with fright, Paige strained for the noise that had awakened her. Vaguely aware that her heart was pounding like that of an overexcited kid pigging out on Halloween candy, she held her breath until… There, she thought when the sound came again. There it is. A heavy thud followed by…cursing?

  In the darkness her eyes widened and her heart rate doubled, banging against her ribs like it was practicing for a world heavyweight title.

  You have got to be kidding me!

  An intruder?

  What the heck had happened to the Chamber of Commerce’s pledge that crime was non-existent in Port St. John’s? What about her landlord’s blithe assurances that she could sleep with her doors unlocked?

  Yeah, right, she snorted. Try telling that to her intruder.

  A large male intruder by the sounds of it.

  Had she locked the front door? The sliding French doors leading to the deck? Dammit, she couldn’t remember. But she’d been in the seaside town eight months and hadn’t developed any reckless habits of leaving everything unlocked, so she was almost certain she had.

  But “almost” wasn’t certain enough, she told herself frantically. Not when a woman’s worst nightmare was about to unfold. Oh, God. Not when she didn’t have a weapon to defend herself with.

  Why hadn’t she just stayed in the city where everyone locked themselves behind thick doors and deadbolts? Yeah, and while she was at it, why hadn’t she just robbed a bank to pay for med school instead of signing her life away on a scholarship?

  If she had she wouldn’t be here now. Instead of paying off her debt, she’d be working as a pediatrician. Probably from behind bars but, what the heck, at least she wouldn’t be—

  Black dots began to appear in her vision and she realized she was still holding her breath. Expelling it on a quiet rush, Paige tossed back the covers and eased to the edge of the bed, searching in the dark for her cellphone.

  It wasn’t there and for one panicked moment she couldn’t remember where she’d left it… Instead, her hand came into contact with a heavy flashlight she’d used a few nights earlier when they’d had a blackout.

  Okay. Weapon? Check.

  Nerve? Oh, boy.

  With the heavy weight in her hand, her head cleared enough to recall the brotherly advice she’d received over the years. But actually doing it was a far cry from practicing on three hulking males who thought it hysterically funny to simply put a big hand on her head and hold her an arm’s length away while she “practiced” taking them down.

  Bolstered by the fact that she knew a few badass moves and could totally defend herself—she hoped—Paige breathed in and out a few times then headed for the door. She carefully poked her head into the passage, swallowing a squeak of terror when she heard a crash and another round of inventive cursing.

  Gulping, she slapped a hand over her galloping heart before it crashed right through her ribs and went tearing off down the stairs, probably to escape out the front door.

  Oh, yeah. She was totally kicking this badass thing.

  But that was okay, she thought, lifting the flashlight like a baseball bat and giving it a practice swing. The flashlight could probably crush a skull o
r break a kneecap. Maybe. Probably…in the hands of someone weighing more than one twenty-five soaking wet…but it was all she had.

  Tiptoeing to the landing, Paige peered over the railing where light from a nearby streetlamp shone through the stained-glass door inset, illuminating the entrance like a church. She hoped it wasn’t a sign that she was about to sing with the angels.

  Squaring her shoulders, Paige descended the stairs, bare feet silent on the treads, muscles tensed in preparation for a quick getaway through the front door, and…rolled her eyes.

  Look at her, all brave and fierce.

  If her brothers could see her now they’d probably die laughing. Or disown her.

  There was another loud thud and a couple of beats later a round of pithy curses. Huffing out a breath that disturbed tendrils of wild bed hair, Paige tightened her grip on the flashlight and reached for the landline phone mounted on the wall. She heard the voice of the 911 operator in her ear asking about her emergency and it took a few seconds to realize the intruder was moving again.

  Towards her.

  Eek.

  She caught a brief glimpse of a huge black shadow, arm outstretched like the walking dead, and before she could stop herself she opened her mouth and let rip with a scream worthy of a B-grade slasher flick.

  The hulk stopped, swayed for a second before shoving out a hand to steady himself against the wall. A deep voice snarled, “What the—? Who the hell are you?”

  She let out another shriek and reacted by heaving the heavy flashlight at him. She heard it connect solidly, he gave a soft grunt, and the next second toppled. Just like a giant redwood. Whomp! Landing hard enough to shake the earth.

  For several long moments he didn’t move and neither did Paige as the flashlight spun in crazy circles on the wooden floor. The impact must have switched it on and with each rotation its beam briefly illuminated the man lying face down on her entrance floor.

  Just like a corpse on TV.

  When he remained motionless, Paige grabbed the flashlight mid-spin and trained the beam on him, ready to whack him if he so much as twitched.

  Beam wobbling in her sweaty grasp, she edged closer and gingerly stretched out a leg to poke him with her foot. He gave a low groan and she jumped back, a strangled squeak catching in her throat.

  After a minute of nothing but Paige’s ragged breathing, she prodded him a bit harder. Okay, so it was more of a kick but she needed to make sure he wasn’t lulling her into a false sense of security before grabbing her and giving her a coronary before she turned thirty.

  When he didn’t move or make any more creepy sounds, she leaned a little closer…and… Holy cow…sucked in a shocked breath.

  He was gorgeous.

  At least what she could see of him under all the scrapes and bruises. She didn’t know what she’d expected an intruder to look like, but yeesh, gorgeous wasn’t it.

  Damn. What a waste of man candy.

  Had she…?

  Her heart skipped a couple of beats until she saw that his right hand and arm was encased in a cast. Exhaling in a gusty whoosh, she decided that no way had she done all that. Besides, she was five-five and he was…over six feet…and solid looking. Big enough to squash her like a bug if she hadn’t panicked and thrown the flashlight at him.

  He was all hard angles and masculine power, with the face of a warrior angel…fierce and awesome male beauty relaxed in…

  Paige gulped.

  Oh gosh, she thought a little hysterically, had she just killed the hottest guy in the northern hemisphere? A guy who looked like he’d gone a couple of rounds with the Exterminator and survived. Only to be felled by a…a—

  Reality finally hit her and she sagged against the wall, a shaky laugh escaping. It was filled with more than a little hysteria because… Wow. She’d done it. She’d totally taken out the bad guy.

  In her head she did a little victory dance. She was awesome! Who’s the girl? Who’s the—?

  From down a long tunnel she heard a tinny voice telling her to remain calm, that the police were on their way. Baffled, Paige looked around and noticed the receiver hanging from the wall unit by a long spiral cord. And blinked.

  Oh. Right—911.

  Eyes locked on the hot guy, she fumbled the receiver with shaking hands and lifted it to her ear, managing to whack herself on the cheek in the process.

  “Ouch.”

  “Hello, ma’am. Ma’am, can you hear me? The police are on their way. Are you hurt?”

  Blinking back tears that were most likely from fear and the massive doses of adrenaline still pumping through her system, Paige managed to croak out, “N-no, I’m n-not hurt. But I’m p-pretty sure I just k-k-killed the hot guy.”

  Her breath escaped in a loud whoosh. A seriously hot guy came willingly into her house and what did she do? She killed him, that’s what, she thought with a splutter of hysterical laughter. Frankie was going to disown her.

  *

  Dr. Tyler Reese swam up through thick layers of consciousness aware of a vicious pounding in his head. Having recently become familiar with the sensation, he let out a rough groan, thinking he was back in the ER after his accident.

  A low husky voice ordered him not to move but he disregarded it and lifted a hand to his head before recalling that his arm was encased in a cast from elbow to knuckles. And the move had him sucking in a sharp breath of agony that had nothing to do with his headache.

  “I told you not to move,” the voice said, sounding a little exasperated. “And use the other hand before you give yourself another bruise. But I warn you. Try anything funny, and it’s lights out.”

  His head pounded harder and a burning pain radiated out from his shoulder. He knew without being told he’d dislocated it—especially as the pain was accompanied by the almost overwhelming urge to toss his cookies.

  Wasn’t that just freaking peachy? Another damn injury to add to the ones he’d recently acquired.

  “What the—?” he slurred, prying open his lids and blinking up into the faces swimming a couple of inches above him. Faces that looked remarkably like…faeries? He blinked again and two momentarily became one.

  Yep. A freaking crazy-haired faerie. Although what the hell one was doing almost cross-eyed half an inch from his face was something he wasn’t ready to contemplate.

  He narrowed his gaze until his vision cleared, revealing a faerie that was more likely to grace the pages of a graphic novel than a children’s bedtime story book—which meant he was hallucinating and his mild concussion had just been bumped up to serious head trauma.

  Realizing he was scowling up at her, she gave a startled squeak and scuttled out of sight—too fast to see if she had any wings. The sudden move made him dizzy so he closed his eyes to prevent a brain aneurysm and gave a silent snarl.

  Great. Just freaking perfect. His life officially sucked. He’d escaped an aggressive drunk intent on mowing him down only to be felled by a pint-sized attacker intent on splitting his head open like a watermelon.

  What the hell had he done to deserve this?

  His musings were interrupted by a soft sound of throat-clearing and a shaky but peremptory, “Hey.”

  He cracked open an eye and mulled over the fact that she was still there, and couldn’t decide if it was good or very bad. Good that he wasn’t hallucinating and bad because…yep, there was still a wild-haired, wide-eyed faerie staring at him like he’d crash-landed in her flower patch.

  Then he spotted the flashlight raised ready to bean him if he so much as twitched and he decided that if he was hallucinating she would be dressed in gossamer wisps, not a huge ratty old USMC T-shirt, looking fierce and crazy and ready to inflict more pain.

  His heavy sigh emerged as a low groan. So much for that fantasy. He’d finally lost his mind if the sight of this wild exotic creature made him want to smile when he had absolutely nothing to smile about. His surgical career might very well be over thanks to a drunk who’d sideswiped him, leaving him with broken carpals a
nd ulna in his dominant hand, along with damaged ligaments.

  Suddenly his well-ordered life had been invaded by a horde of women eager to take care of him and to escape the chaos he’d packed a bag and headed for the one place on the planet he’d been happy—his father’s house on the Olympic Peninsula.

  It had been an impulsive decision but Ty wanted to be alone. What better place than his childhood getaway in Port St. John’s? He’d spent summers here escaping from the rigidly stifling atmosphere of his mother’s house until he’d turned eighteen. Maybe he should have called first, but his battery had died and, frankly, it hadn’t even occurred to him that Henry Chapman wouldn’t be home.

  Or that he’d be attacked by a wild faerie commando barely reaching his chin. It was humiliating, dammit. He just hoped his friends never found out or he’d never live it down.

  And another thing—what the hell was this creature doing in his father’s house?

  He pushed up with his good arm, intending to demand answers, and promptly froze when pain had him sucking in an agonized breath. Sweat popped out on his forehead and he was forced to sag embarrassingly against the nearest wall to breathe past the nausea.

  “Who…are…you?” he gritted out in a voice guaranteed to send hospital staff running. “And what the hell did you throw at me?”

  The faerie arched her brow at him as though he was a grumpy adolescent who’d momentarily forgotten his manners. “You first,” she said, with only a hint of a quiver in her voice.

  It both irritated and earned his reluctant admiration because it took guts to hold off a guy almost a foot taller and a hundred pounds heavier with nothing but a firm little chin, a steely-eyed stare and a flashlight. All while dressed in nothing but a huge, faded T-shirt and a kick-ass attitude.

  That mouth—wide, lush and soft—was another matter altogether. A mouth like that gave a man ideas. Ideas that would probably earn him another concussion.

  “That way we can get the introductions out of the way before I inflict any more pain on you,” her mouth said, completely destroying the fantasy forming in his head.