Wolf Fever

Chapter 15

HER STOMACH CLENCHING WHEN RYAN QUERIED HER about dream mating as he drove her to the hospital, Carol worried that maybe he believed in such a thing and was searching for the woman of his dreams. And she wasn’t it.

Still startled, she stared at him in disbelief. “Do you?”

“Of course not. But I wondered if you did.”

“Oh.” Her stomach unclenched several degrees. She thought about the stories Lelandi had told her and nodded. “Sure. Lelandi and Darien were dream mated. I didn’t know such a thing could exist until I heard of their case. Why bring it up?”

Ryan remained silent, and Carol huffed. “You tantalize me with some tidbit of news and then don’t share it with me? What if I were to do that with you? Say that you wouldn’t believe the vision I had this morning, but then not tell you what it was.”

“Did you?”

She paused and then let out her breath. “I’m not sure if it was the drug or what, but I saw a golden room and brilliant lights spilling into it from another room. I was drawn to the lights, as if I didn’t have any choice. And then shots were fired, and I heard…” She thought for a moment. Ryan glanced at her. She continued, “I heard Sam shouting. Then more shots rang out. So what brought on this dream mating query all of a sudden?”

Frowning, Ryan tapped his thumbs on the steering wheel and didn’t answer her for some time. Then he said, “Was the golden room a premonition of something to come, Carol?”

“It might have been nothing more than the effect of the drug.”

“Think carefully. You heard shots in the vision? Before Sam shouted?”

“The gunfire might have been outside of the vision. I might have heard it as I was envisioning the room.”

“No,” he said, his voice dark. “Shots rang out after Sam hollered. That’s why they fired in his direction. At the sound of his voice. No gunfire sounded before that.”

Carol considered the implications. Not good. She would be in a room headed toward another filled with bright lights where someone was shooting. Why would she do that?

“What are you thinking, Carol?” He reached over to squeeze her ice-cold hand. His hand felt warm and large and secure.

“The room means danger.”

“Then you’re not going there.” He glanced at her and continued to hold her hand.

“Right.”

He didn’t say anything for half a mile and then let out his breath. “Okay, so what happens in the room?”

“I don’t know. That’s what’s so frustrating about my visions. I don’t know what happens. What about your dream mating inquiry?” Carol watched him, chewing her lower lip. Had he dreamed of her? She was fairly sure she hadn’t dreamed of him, and she was certain she would have remembered.

“Tom said he was waiting for the woman who would reach out to him in his dreams.” Ryan glanced at her. “I thought you should know.”

“Ah.” Which meant that if Ryan wasn’t the one for her, she’d have to scratch Tom off her list, too. She sighed with disappointment. “That’s good to know. But a dream woman is no match for the real thing.” She folded her arms around her waist.

“Meaning?”

“Meaning that if the right woman came along, whether she was in his dream or not, I’m sure he’d want her.” She looked out the window. It appeared to be the start of another sunny day, not a cloud in the sky… too bad she had to work. After the terror of last night, it would have been nice to curl up on Darien’s porch with Puss sleeping on her lap, a cup of hot cocoa, and a good time-travel romance set in Scotland to read. Or if the house had been empty, she could have taken a nap with Ryan, although she might not have gotten any sleep.

But then again, she wouldn’t have taken that much enjoyment in either, knowing Matthew and Charlotte had to work longer hours to make up for her not being there.

“Jake doesn’t believe in dream mating,” Ryan said, as if that would make her feel better.

“Yeah. I don’t blame him really. I’m sure I’d never conjure up my soul mate that way, either. But still, it’s an interesting way to satisfy some needs before they can be truly met. Don’t you agree?”

Ryan pulled into the hospital parking lot, and Jake parked right alongside him on the passenger’s side. “I think any substitute for the real thing wouldn’t be half as satisfying.” He gave her a slow predatory grin.

Her body felt like she’d been roasting in the sun all day, but she managed a shake of her head and a small smile. “Lelandi warned me you were a wolf.”

He chuckled, but before he could say anything further, her door opened. She turned to see Jake holding it open for her, waiting for her to exit the truck.

“Thanks, Jake.” She cast Tom a sideways glance. “I hear you’re waiting for a dream mate to appear for you. Hope you don’t have to wait long.” She smiled, even though she was disappointed. She’d have to scratch him off her list of hopeful mates, which looked as though that left her only with Jake. She hurried inside the hospital as Tom turned to his brother and scowled.

“You told her that?” Tom asked his brother.

“Hell, no. I don’t even believe in that nonsense.” Jake looked at Ryan, who raised his brows as if he didn’t know what they were talking about.

Ryan stalked after Little Miss Nightingale. What part of—he was her protector at all times—did she not get?

“Who the hell else knows?” Tom asked Jake, following them into the hospital as Mervin brought up the rear.

“I swear I didn’t tell anyone about our conversation. I don’t know how Carol found out.”

Ryan wasn’t one to eavesdrop, normally, unless it suited his purpose in his P.I. work. But if Tom wasn’t truly interested in Carol, and she had hopes he might be, Ryan hadn’t wanted her to be disappointed. He stalked after her as she headed down the hall of the clinic, while Tom, Jake, and Mervin trailed behind them.

The place smelled of disinfectant and fresh floor wax, rubbing alcohol, and, in the staff lounge, harsh coffee brewing. Ryan couldn’t imagine working in a hospital environment, day after day. He much preferred the fresh out-of-doors, where he met with the residents and businessmen as mayor while coming up with plans for improving the city; the fragrance of new leather in his truck while he was in his P.I. surveillance mode; and the aroma of cocoa java bubbling at his office, compliments of his administrative assistant. Ingrid dutifully kept the business going whenever he was on an assignment elsewhere.

A tall male nurse named Matthew approached them, wearing blue scrubs and carrying a chart. He looked official as he headed toward Ryan and Carol in the wide hall washed in light. With dark hair and eyes, and a build that was a little scrawny and wiry, he looked like most of the other grays in Darien’s pack. The guy cast Carol a harried smile, and that bugged Ryan more than he wanted to admit. Matthew pinned Ryan with a look that meant he didn’t like Ryan following Carol so closely.

“He’s her bodyguard,” Jake said, explaining the relationship.

Matthew’s expression remained hard, and he said to Carol, “I’m sorry I didn’t make it to the gathering. Work, you know. But if you’d like to go out tonight…”

He let his words trail off. If Ryan had been Matthew, he would have scheduled the date, not left it up in the air like that. The other thing that bugged Ryan was that the rest of the pack knew about Carol’s abduction already, so this clown had to. Otherwise, he was certain Matthew would have asked why she needed a bodyguard. So why didn’t Matthew say anything about her being kidnapped and offer her consolation, protection, or anything? The guy was a total loser when it came to winning a woman over—that’s why.

“Where did you want to go?” Ryan asked Matthew. “On a date?”

Matthew’s jaw dropped. Carol looked like she was fighting a smile. Jake grinned. Tom shook his head. Mervin stared at Ryan as if he had lost his mind.

Ryan folded his arms. “I go where Carol does. So…” He shrugged. “Where did you have in mind?”

Matthew stiffened and spoke again to Carol as if Ryan hadn’t just addressed him. “I’ll talk to you later. Have to see a patient. Another case of the flu, I’m afraid. I’ve heard she came to the gathering last night.”

“The gathering?” Carol glanced in the direction of the waiting area and saw Marilee reading a magazine. “The masseuse?”

“Yeah. The other, Becky? The librarian? She was already in here earlier.”

Carol frowned. “Diagnosis?”

“Flu.”

“Great. Then they exposed Lelandi.”

“Yeah, well, I’m sure Darien’s not going to like it, but then again, they probably didn’t know they were coming down with it,” Matthew said.

“Marilee could have known,” Ryan argued. “She began coughing when I danced with her. She said it was allergies. If she’s got the flu, she could very well have suspected that’s what she had. She may have been worried that Darien wouldn’t let her come to the gathering.”

Matthew clenched his medical chart, his neck muscles tightening. “That’s the problem with a Private Dick. Everyone’s guilty until proven innocent.”

“Have anything in your past you’re afraid to share with the pack, Matthew? I understand you came here after your brother and his family and you had difficulties in a former pack. Anything that could create problems for you here if your past came under scrutiny? I’d be happy to look into it for Darien as a favor to the family.”

Matthew’s face reddened, and Ryan wondered what the nurse might have to hide. Carol looked like she didn’t appreciate Ryan bringing it up here in front of Jake. But if the guy was going to attack Ryan’s business ethics, he was fair game.

“We’ll get together another time for a date.” Matthew gave her another hint of a smile, cast a deadly look at Ryan, and hurried off.

Satisfied that he’d chased off a potential suitor who wasn’t good enough for Carol, Ryan waited for her to go about her nursing business.

“Being in charge of my social calendar is not what you’re paid to do,” she said with mock indignation.

“I’m getting paid to guard you wherever you go and no matter who you’re with, Carol. That’s the deal.” Ryan smiled.

Carol did not look too disappointed that he had put a damper on the date with the male nurse, however, Ryan noted.

Jake grinned at the exchange and then grew serious and started giving orders. “Mervin, take a chair and sit by the back door so you can make sure no one we don’t know goes in or out of there. Tom, you can watch the entryway and waiting room. I’ll check out the exam rooms and the perimeter of the place while Carol sees her patients. And, Ryan, let either of us know if you need a break, and we’ll stick close to Carol then.”

Ryan offered a single nod.

Jake gave Carol a last command also. “You see only special patients, not any of the others, Carol. One of us has to be with you at all times.”

Exasperated, she sighed. “Fine. I have work to do.” She headed into an exam room and busied herself with something nursing in nature, Ryan assumed, while he watched her back. Afterwards, she went to her station, took the first patient’s chart, and then returned to the waiting area.

Ryan wanted to speak with her about what had happened between them earlier that morning. But he knew he shouldn’t, or he’d find himself sunk even deeper into a quagmire of trouble. The way she had looked at him in the kitchen that morning, flushed with awkwardness, had endeared her even more to him.

He figured everyone in the room—Darien, his brothers, Lelandi, even that lame Mervin—suspected more had gone on between Carol and him during the night than they’d admitted. And he regretted he’d have to be more… guard-like tonight. Sitting in the recliner would have to do.

His attention on Carol, Ryan felt like a puppy following his master around as Carol called out, “Miss Silverpenny?” But he didn’t mind, as long as Carol remained safe.

Silverpenny was a good gray name, and when the petite elderly woman stood up from a chair in the waiting area, Ryan relaxed a little. She appraised Ryan as she joined them and smiled at Carol. “How was the gathering, dear?”

“Great,” Carol said, walking at the woman’s slower pace to her nurse’s station and casting a look at Ryan as if she didn’t want him to contradict her.

But hell, he hadn’t danced with anyone in eons who’d made him feel like a randy teen like Carol had. And he would have remained on the floor, holding her close, swaying to a new song, if he hadn’t known he’d have to give her up to the other bachelor males after a dance or two. More than that, though. He hadn’t wanted her to dance with Jake or Tom, not close like he’d danced with her, and he’d been afraid Jake might have tried to butt in.

Folding his arms, Ryan leaned against the wall across the hall and out of the way as Carol helped the woman stand on a scale.

“I swear I shrank another inch and gained two more pounds,” Miss Silverpenny grumbled, her slim figure on the frail side.

Carol smiled.

The woman cast a glance over her shoulder at Ryan. “When she measures my height, she makes me remove my shoes.” She motioned to the thick wedge-soled shoes she wore, which would add an inch and a half to anyone’s height. She pointed an accusing finger at Carol, although her eyes twinkled with mirth. “And when she takes just my weight, she won’t let me remove my shoes.” They had to have weighed at least five pounds.

The woman reminded him of his cantankerous old Aunt Tilda, good-natured and harmless.

“Are you her boyfriend?” the woman asked, her tone serious now.

Ryan opened his mouth to reply in the negative, but Carol beat him to it, which bothered him to a degree. Not that he minded her telling the truth, but that she seemed so anxious to ensure no one thought he might be the one for her. What was wrong with him as a prospective mate, anyway?

“No,” Carol quickly said to her patient, shaking her head as if her word wasn’t enough to convince her.

The woman looked back at Ryan, raised her brows, and smiled a little.

“You might have heard I had some trouble last night, and, well, Ryan’s watching over me to make sure there’s not another… incident,” Carol continued, as she readied a thermometer to take Miss Silverpenny’s temperature.

The woman’s kindly eyes widened, and then she nodded firmly. “Yes, you know how it is here in Silver Town. Everyone was alerted to the problem with the reds, and should anyone see any sign of them, they’re to be reported.” She waved her hand at Ryan.

“As for Ryan, I thought he was your boyfriend.” She said it as if she hadn’t heard Carol say he wasn’t. “You can tell by looking at a man if he’s good or good-for-nothing. Ryan has nice smile lines beneath his eyes. Not much in the line of wrinkles between his brows, which would indicate he frowns a lot.”

Then she directed her comment to Ryan. “Welcome to the…” She stopped speaking when a human man walked into an exam room across the hall with Nurse Matthew. “…to the neighborhood.”

“Thank you, Miss Silverpenny, but I’m just here for a short stay.”

“You’re taking our pretty little nurse away with you? Oh my, whatever will we do without you, Carol? She hasn’t been with us for very long, but we adore her. Anyone who steals Darien’s ribbon in a game of tag, other than Lelandi, of course, is someone to be admired.” She seized Carol’s hand and squeezed. “We’ll miss you.”

Carol’s cheeks flooded with color. Ryan loved the blush on her cheeks. She didn’t try to explain any further that she wasn’t going anywhere and, instead, took the woman’s temperature and then her blood pressure. Afterwards, Carol escorted her down the hall, led her into an exam room, and sat her in the chair across from Doc’s, while Ryan closed the door for privacy.

“Is he going to stay with you all day?” Miss Silverpenny asked. “Night, too?” She smiled broadly.

Yeah, she was just like Ryan’s Aunt Tilda. If his aunt knew he was staying with Carol, she’d have him mated to her already, at least as far as gossip went.

With her pen poised over the patient’s chart, Carol cleared her throat and asked, “What are you having trouble with today?”

“Allergies. Doesn’t matter if I’m a wolf…” She glanced at Ryan. “…or running around as an old lady. I can’t quit sneezing. If it’s not that, my skin’s itching to high heaven. But if I took that darned allergy medicine the doc gave me, I’d be sleeping my life away.”

“Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil from salmon, herring, and sardines can help as natural anti-inflammatory agents,” Ryan said, trying to be helpful.

Carol opened her mouth to speak, but Ryan kept talking. “My Aunt Tilda had trouble with grass, ragweed, and mold. You name it, she was allergic to it. We didn’t want her shifting into the wolf because her feet and legs itched so much from walking through tall grass. She’d chew on her exposed skin incessantly until she turned back into her human form.”

“Ryan,” Carol said, her tone indignant. “You are my bodyguard. Not the doctor and not a trained nurse.”

“Sorry,” he said to Carol. He turned to Miss Silverpenny. “My apologies, ma’am. But if you try some of that fish oil, you never know. Good for your heart and whatever else ails you. And also, although it’s not been proven scientifically, my aunt’s allergies are better when she has a little homegrown honey daily.”

The old woman smiled at him. “Thank you, Ryan.”

“Is there anything else that is bothering you, Miss Silverpenny?” Carol asked, her tone clipped.

“Oh no, dear. Since I’m already here, I might as well see Doc while I’m at it, but my goodness, you ought to hire your boyfriend at the hospital.”

“The doctor will be here any minute.” Carol seized Ryan’s arm with one hand and the doorknob with the other, opened the door and pulled him out, and then shut the door behind them.

A woman had never accosted Ryan in such a rough manner, and while he didn’t think he’d like it if most anyone else did, Carol was another story. Hell, the woman was a tinderbox ready to ignite, and her firm touch was stirring up his libido all over again. Too bad they couldn’t put all that fire to good use.

Scowling, she guided him against a wall and released him, hands on her hips, brows furrowed in a cute little frown, standing so close to him to keep the conversation private that he could feel the heat from her sweet body. He wanted to pull her into a full body embrace, kiss her lips, draw the venom out of her bite, and prove to her that as much as he had irritated her, she couldn’t stay annoyed for long.

Drawing him from his wayward thoughts, she said, “Let’s get this straight. You are not a doctor or a nurse, and you’re not to give patients any medical advice.”

Jake approached from down the hall, wearing a big-headed smirk that Ryan interpreted to mean he’d been the subject of her ire before. Or maybe he was just amused at seeing Carol pinning Ryan to the wall with her verbal assault.

“In the exam room, you stand against the door and look like a bodyguard. Not my boyfriend. Not medical counsel. A bodyguard. Period,” she said to Ryan, her body so close to him that he could breathe in her peach scent, remembering vividly how he’d rinsed the soap from her skin the night before, every inch silky and soft. And later, when he’d kissed her soundly, his senses had filled with the delicious fragrance of her, the sweetness, the arousal, the heat of the moment.

The way her chest rose and fell with her hurried breathing and the flush of her cheeks stimulated some deeper need in him. Even the way she berated him appealed to him. He knew she was doing her job, making sure her patients got the best advice, although his advice came from his local doctor, so he knew it was sound. He loved the way she stood up for her patients, even if she had to know he was giving good information.

He wanted her. Wanted to take her all over again. To share the intimacy. To feel the heat burning between them and escalating.

A smile tugged at his lips as he bowed his head slightly in agreement, his face nearly touching hers. He wanted to kiss her in the worst way. He was sure his smile led to her reiterating her point.

“I’m serious,” she said, a little breathless and a lot flushed. He could tell she was as affected by their close proximity as he was. She motioned to Jake. “If you can’t be quiet, Jake can take your place.”

Jake lost the smirk and cleared his throat as he neared them. “Didn’t find anyone in the unoccupied exam rooms who shouldn’t be here. Outside the hospital is clear. Deputy Trevor’s watching things out front now. So far no problems with anyone coming in through the front door, and no one trying to slip in or out through the back door. How are the two of you getting along? Need a break, Ryan?” Jake’s expression was again amused.

“Maybe a little later,” Ryan said, never taking his eyes off Carol’s sharp blue ones. “I’ll practice being a bodyguard a while longer.” Hell, forget the recliner. He was guarding her body in bed again tonight. He smiled.

Carol turned away from him, whipped out the next patient’s chart, and stalked down the hall to the waiting area.

Jake chuckled. “She’s a spitfire when she’s angered. What did you say to rile her?”

“Told the patient she could use fish oil to help with her allergies. I also would have mentioned a dehumidifier if she was having trouble with mold. Worked for my aunt.”

“And you have a degree in?”

“Life.” Ryan headed after his charge.

Jake laughed behind him.

At first, Ryan couldn’t see Carol in the waiting area from his location in the hallway, and his heart pounded faster as he increased his pace. But when he reached the sitting area, he saw her waiting for a man whose whole expression brightened when he saw her. He was about Ryan’s age, limping toward her and smiling with a look that was an attempt at “Woe is me—give me sympathy.”

“Robert, did you need a wheelchair?” she sweetly asked.

She didn’t sound as professional as Ryan would have liked. Not as serious. More good-natured and, well, way too sweet.

As Ryan approached, the man’s amber eyes, pig-like in appearance, switched from Carol to Ryan, and he swore Robert looked like he was about to have a heart attack.

“The nurse asked if you needed a wheelchair,” Ryan said, his voice verging on a growl as he advanced toward the muscular man.

Carol’s mouth dropped open as she stared at Ryan. “Ryan McKinley, whatever is wrong? Mr. Grayce has lived in the area forever.”

Ryan glowered at the man and folded his arms. “You sure?”

After forgetting all about Tom, Ryan finally noticed him leaning against the check-in counter. Tom nodded to confirm Carol’s statement, his expression bemused.

Carol cast Ryan an annoyed look and then took Robert’s arm and helped him back to an exam room. Her hip pressed against the man’s as she eased him down the hall at a crawl, and Ryan swore the patient leaned into her more than necessary. She should have gotten him a wheelchair or, at the very least, crutches or something. She didn’t need to use her body to hold him up!

“Where are the wheelchairs?” Ryan growled.

Continuing down the hall with her charge without a backward glance, Carol ignored Ryan.

Half hiding a smile, Tom pointed to a storage room. Ryan stalked inside, grabbed a wheelchair, and hurried it after the limping man. Just in case the man was truly hurting, Ryan couldn’t slam the chair into the back of Robert’s legs like he wanted to, but he’d give the poor guy a seat so he wouldn’t have to limp all the way to the exam room.

Ryan stopped the wheelchair and seized the man’s arm, assisting him into the seat, and then grabbed hold of the handles. He gave Carol a smile as her mouth gaped wide again. Then she snapped it shut.

“The least I can do as your bodyguard, Carol, is help with your patient.”

As red as her face was, he was certain that, at the first opportunity, she would attempt to replace him as her bodyguard with anyone else. Mervin even.

He sighed heavily and wheeled Robert into the room Carol motioned to. He had never suspected that guarding the woman would be this difficult.

And this was only the first hour.