Chapter 2
Wren
“Right, Lyssa.” I smile at the young dragon shifter sitting on the exam table as I prepare the syringe. “Just a little pinch and we’ll be done.”
She’s maybe twenty-three or twenty-four, with long auburn hair pulled back in a sleek ponytail and striking eyes. Like all shifters, she’s beautiful. I’ve been on the island for over a year already, and I still get floored at how gorgeous they all are.
“I hate needles,” she admits with a nervous laugh, looking away from the vaccination I’m preparing. “I know I’ll heal the second you pull it out of my arm. I know I’ll barely feel a thing, but I still hate them.”
“That’s okay. A lot of people do.” I pull on a fresh pair of gloves and grab an alcohol swab from the container. “The good news is that this will be over in just a few seconds.”
I tear open the swab packet and clean a spot on her upper arm, just below her shoulder.
I know that I technically don’t have to swab shifters since they heal too quickly to get an infection, but old habits die hard.
I would hate to go back to the Mainland in a year or two and end up injecting a human without following the right protocols because I became complacent here on Draig Island.
“Take a deep breath for me,” I instruct, picking up the syringe and removing the cap.
Lyssa obeys, her eyes squeezed shut.
“And exhale slowly.”
As she releases her breath, I slide the needle into her arm, quick and smooth. She barely flinches. I depress the plunger, administering the Hemorrhagic Fever vaccination, then withdraw the needle.
“All done.” I press a cotton ball to the injection site, applying gentle pressure. Again, unnecessary, but I do it anyway. Shifters who come through my rooms tell me it helps take away the sting.
Lyssa’s eyes pop open. “That’s it?”
“That’s it.” I smile as I dispose of the needle in the sharps container and peel off my gloves. “You did great.”
She holds the cotton ball in place, grinning. “I knew I was being a big baby. Although I have to say, you have such a gentle touch.”
“That’s sweet of you to say.” I make a note in her file, documenting the vaccination with the date, time, and batch number. Then I go to my computer and do the same on the online registry for the Mainland’s records. “Were there any side effects from last year’s vaccination?”
“Nope, nothing at all.” She examines her arm where I injected her. “See.” She smiles. “It’s all healed up already.”
“That’s great,” I tell her. “If you have any concerns at all, don’t hesitate to call us.”
“I will. Thanks, Wren.” She hops down from the exam table.
“You’re all set, then.” I walk her toward the door. “Take care of yourself, Lyssa.”
“You, too!” She gives me a warm smile before heading out.
I walk her out into the reception area, where Sally sits behind the front desk, typing away on the keyboard.
I wave as Lyssa heads toward the exit, then turn back to Sally. “I’m going to grab my lunch and—”
I stop mid-sentence because Sally is staring at me with the strangest expression on her face. It’s somewhere between amused and mischievous, and I know that look. Nothing good ever comes from that look.
“What?” I ask, tempted to look over my shoulder. “What is it?” I press when she doesn’t answer right away.
Sally glances at her watch, and her grin widens. “I know it’s lunchtime, that you want to head out, but your favorite shifter is on his way here with a runner.”
My stomach does this stupid little flip that I hate. I try to keep my expression schooled, even as heat creeps up my neck.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I frown. “I don’t have a favorite shifter.” I snort.
“Really now?” Sally grabs a file from her desk and holds it out to me, smirking. “I could swear that you did. Runner’s name is Kaine. Grimalicious is on his way as we speak.”
I take the file from her, refusing to meet her eyes. “Perfect. I’ll wait for him to get here. If Grim hears you call him that, he’ll have a fit.”
“And you’d love every second, with drool at the corners of your mouth.”
I snort-laugh. “Bullshit.”
Sally leans back in her chair, arms crossed, looking far too pleased with herself. “You do know that I’ve seen the way you look at him, right?”
“I don’t look at anyone in any particular way,” I lie, flipping open the file and pretending to read it, even though the words blur together.
“Wren.” Sally’s voice drops into that knowing tone that makes me want to hide under my desk. “I’ve seen the way you look at Grim. You practically stop breathing when he walks into a room.”
I squeeze my eyes shut for a second, then open them and meet Sally’s gaze. There’s no point in denying it.
“Fine. Yes. I find him…somewhat attractive. Okay? Are you happy now?”
“Somewhat attractive?” Sally laughs. “Girl, you look at that male like you want to lick him from head to toe.”
“Sally!” My face is on fire now.
“I’m just saying.” She holds up her hands in mock surrender. “There’s nothing wrong with it. He’s gorgeous, even if he is the grumpiest bastard I’ve ever met.”
I slump against the counter, clutching the file to my chest. “He isn’t nice at all. In fact, he’s rude at times and barely says two words to anyone. He’s just…good eye candy. That’s all it is.”
“You’d love to climb him like a pole and ride him like a rodeo cowgirl.”
I choke out a laugh. “That’s not true. I like to look. I don’t want to touch.”
“Nope, you want to grope.” Sally tilts her head. “Have you ever thought that maybe under all that moodiness is a nice guy who just needs someone to break through his walls?”
I snort. “You’re giving him way too much credit. And besides, even if I wanted to go there, I won’t because we work together. I have this little rule.”
“What are you talking about? You’re in completely different departments,” Sally tells me.
“We both work for the Vaccination Center, which doesn’t even employ a whole lot of people,” I counter. “I’m not interested in him like that. I just like looking at him, okay? That’s all it will ever be. Besides…” I trail off, staring down at the file in my hands.
“Besides, what?”
“He doesn’t even know my name,” I admit in a soft voice. “After all these months he’s been working here, he doesn’t know I exist. He’s barely even glanced at me, let alone shown any interest.”
Sally’s expression softens. “Wren—”
“It’s fine.” I force a smile. “Really. I’m perfectly content admiring him from a distance.”
“You need to do something to get his attention,” Sally insists. “Say something. Smile at him. Drop something so he has to help you pick it up.”
“No way.” The very thought makes my stomach twist. I’m not that girl. I’ve never been that girl. I’m the quiet one, the one who blends into the background. “I can’t just—”
The front door swings open.
And there he is.
Grim.
Actually, “Grimalicious” is right.
I swear my heart stops beating for a full three seconds.
He’s so ridiculously good-looking that it’s almost offensive.
Tall doesn’t even begin to describe him, since he’s freaking huge; all broad shoulders and thick muscles that strain against his white shirt.
His long dark hair is pulled back in that messy half-knot he always wears, a few strands hanging loose around his face.
But it’s not just his size or his looks that make my knees weak. It’s the way he moves. Like he’s constantly on the edge of violence.
There are spatters of blood on his white shirt, dark stains across his chest and abdomen. It should horrify me. It should make me recoil.
Instead, it does something entirely different.
Something that makes my thighs clench together and my breath catch in my throat.
What is wrong with me? I should run for the hills. Instead…I want to climb him like a pole and ride him like a cowgirl. Sally is right about that.
He’s carrying an unconscious shifter male over his shoulder like he weighs nothing. It’s clear that the guy is enormous, but Grim handles him like he’s carrying a bag of groceries.
“Where do you want him?” Grim growls.
Holy hell, his voice is like gravel and smoke and sin, and it does things to me that are completely inappropriate.
My nipples tighten against my scrubs, and I swear my ovaries just popped off several eggs in rapid succession, even though I’m on contraception that prevents such things from happening.
Say something, Wren. Anything.
But my mouth has gone completely dry, and all I can do is stare at him like the complete idiot I am.
Sally clears her throat pointedly.
Right. Work. I’m at work. I can do this. I can string a sentence together.
I force myself to move, even though my legs feel like jelly. I open the door to the clinic and gesture toward the gurney. Apparently, I can’t string a sentence together.
Arghhh!
Grim stalks past me, and I catch his scent. It makes my head spin. He dumps the unconscious male onto the gurney with zero ceremony, then straightens and looks at me.
Up close, he’s even more devastating. His jaw is tight, shadowed with stubble. His dark eyes are hard and cold.
Why does he have to be so grumpy all the time?
“Well?” he rasps, one dark eyebrow arching. “Aren’t you going to vaccinate him?”
Shit.
I realize I’m just standing there, staring at him like a complete moron. Heat floods my cheeks, and I nod quickly. I still don’t trust myself to actually speak.
What the hell is wrong with me?
I turn away from him so that I can focus on the task at hand. My hands are shaking just a little as I prepare the vaccination, but I manage to keep it together with some deep breaths. I’ve done this hundreds of times. I can do it with Grim standing six feet away from me, watching my every move.
I can.
I hope.
I wipe down Kaine’s arm and administer the vaccination. My hands are steady now, muscle memory taking over. I make a note in the file, documenting everything properly. Then I go to my computer and do the same.
When I turn around to tell Grim we’re done, the room is empty.
He’s gone.
So is Kaine.
I hear footsteps in the hallway. Grim must be taking him to the holding cell we have here at the clinic. Someone from law enforcement will collect him later, once the sedative wears off.
I release a breath I didn’t realize I was holding and sag against the counter.
Smooth, Wren. Really smooth. No wonder he doesn’t know your name.
I clean up the exam room, disposing of the used supplies and sanitizing the gurney. My movements are automatic, giving my racing heart time to slow back to a normal rhythm. I’m just finishing up when I hear Sally call out from reception.
“Wren! You coming, or what?”
Right. Lunch.
I take one last look around the exam room to make sure everything is in order, then head out to the reception area. Sally is already grabbing her purse, a knowing smile still playing at her lips.
“Ready?” she asks innocently, like she wasn’t just mercilessly teasing me ten minutes ago.
“Yeah, let me just—”
Movement catches my eye through the big glass double doors at the entrance. Grim is walking toward his vehicle, and as I watch, he reaches back and pulls his shirt over his head in one smooth motion.
I make a strangled noise that I will deny making until my dying day.
His back is a masterpiece of muscle and ink, covered in dark tattoos that wind across his shoulder blades and down his spine.
Every movement makes those muscles flex and shift under his skin, and I can see the individual ridges of his abs from here when he turns slightly to toss his bloodied shirt into the back of his SUV.
He’s so damned pretty. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone that big before. His muscles have muscles. It’s obscene. It should be illegal. Someone should arrest him and throw away the key.
I’m vaguely aware that my mouth is hanging open, but I can’t seem to close it.
Sally’s laugh breaks through my trance, and I snap my gaze away from the window, my face burning hot enough to fry an egg on it.
“You have it so bad,” Sally says, not even trying to hide her amusement.
I can’t deny it. Not after she just caught me gaping at Grim like a sex-starved lunatic. My cheeks are probably the color of tomatoes.
“I’m in lust with the biggest asshole I’ve ever met. That’s all it is. Pure, superficial lust.”
“Is that what you’re calling it?”
“Yes.” I grab my purse from under the counter. “I mean, I don’t think I’ve ever even seen him smile. Not once. He’s not my type at all.”
“And what is your type?” Sally asks as we head toward the door.
“Nice guys,” I say firmly. “Guys who smile and say hello and actually know my name.”
“Boring guys,” Sally laughs.
I shoot her a look. “Safe guys.”
“Same thing. If I weren’t already married and totally in love with my husband, I would take that one for a spin. I’m pretty sure he knows his way around a woman’s body and then some. It wouldn’t be boring at all.”
“Sally!” I gasp, and she laughs.
We step out into the midday heat, and I deliberately don’t look toward where Grim’s vehicle is parked. I don’t need to torture myself any more than I already have today.
“It doesn’t matter, anyway,” I say as we walk toward the small café down the street where we usually grab lunch. “I’m most certainly not his type, so there’s no use even thinking about it.”
Sally loops her arm through mine. “How do you know what his type is?”
“Have you seen the female shifters on this island?” I gesture vaguely. “They’re gorgeous. All of them. Tall, athletic, beautiful. I’m…” I trail off, not wanting to say it out loud.
“You’re what?”
“I’m short and plain and mousy,” I finish quietly. “I’m several pounds overweight… Okay, more than just several.” I sigh. “I’m the girl guys like Grim look right through.”
“Wren—”
“It’s fine,” I cut her off, forcing brightness into my voice.
Sally opens her mouth like she wants to argue, but then seems to think better of it. Instead, she just squeezes my arm and changes the subject to something about a new restaurant opening up near the market district.
I nod and smile and make appropriate responses, but part of my mind is still back at the clinic, replaying the moment Grim looked at me with his cold stare and growled, “Well? Aren’t you going to vaccinate him?”
He doesn’t even know my name.
It’s better that way. It really is.