Forbidden Dragon (The Bride Hunt Book 5) Read online

  One thing was for sure, she was calling Todd this weekend. On second thoughts, she still had his card, she was sending him an email. She was going to have sex with him and she was going to enjoy it, so help her.

  Even if she made herself drink ten of those pink cocktails, she didn’t care. It was happening, and not just so that she could continue to work here, it was going to happen because she needed to show him … Granite. Also, she needed sex and really badly. Her whole body hummed with need.

  She sniffed her pits and prayed to god that he was exaggerating about the way she smelled. It was embarrassing.

  “I’m so sorry I’m late,” she was out of breath and feeling flustered.

  “No worries, Doc,” Rock smiled broadly. He was already lying on the gurney.

  “Give me just a sec to pull your file and then we can start.”

  “Sure,” he gave a nod.

  She walked over to the filing cabinet and looked under ‘R’, then she went back to the desk. Maybe she’d pulled his file earlier. Yup, there it was. She grabbed the folder and walked over to Rock. “My pen.” She felt her top coat pocket and then looked back towards her desk.

  “Everything okay, Doc?” Rock was frowning, his features pulled into a look of concern.

  “Yeah. No … maybe.” She bit down on her lower lip for a second. “Do I smell funny to you?” She walked back over to the big shifter.

  He pulled a face. “What do you mean by funny?”

  “Funny, as in, do I smell … nice?” She wasn’t sure how to word this without sounding like a complete idiot.

  He gave a nod. “Yeah, sure. You scent of soap and underarm. You scent of you,” he said, simply.

  Louise shook her head. “That doesn’t make sense.” She sank down onto the edge of her desk. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but do I scent of …” Pussy. She couldn’t say that. “Sexy things …?”

  He frowned.

  “I mean, god!” She covered her face with her hand for a second or two. This was embarrassing. “Granite said that my scent is driving you guys … his males … mad. He said I scent of … sex,” she whispered the word. “Is it true?”

  Rock shook his head. “I’m sorry, Doc, but you’re asking the wrong male. I am in love with Quartz. I have begun to fixate on her scent. No other female can compare. To me she scents of heaven, of everything pure and sweet and sexy.” He made a groaning noise. “It would be better to ask an unattached male. My senses are aligned only to her.” It was so sweet to hear him talk. She could actually see the love in his eyes. This Quartz was a very lucky lady.

  Before she could say anything, he was on his feet. “Give me a second.” He left. Went right out the door. Gone.

  Half-a-minute later he was back. He had someone else with him. “This is Mountain.”

  The guy’s head was clean-shaven. He gave a nod. “Good to meet you, Doctor.”

  Rock closed the door and then gave Mountain a nudge. “You need to go and scent the doctor.”

  He frowned. “I can’t do that.”

  “You can. She needs to know what she scents of. She is worried that her scent is giving the males the wrong idea. She’s worried that her scent is too enticing.” Rock gave him another small push. “It would not mean anything. She doesn’t wish to rut you.” Rock glanced her way. “When a male scents a female it is normally an initiation of sex.”

  “Oh!” She felt her cheeks heat. “This would be purely clinical. No initiation of anything.” She remembered how Granite’s nostrils had flared earlier, how he’d been breathing heavily through his nose. He’d been sniffing her, openly. Technically, he’d been initiating sex long before she kissed him. It didn’t make her feel any better though.

  Mountain nodded. He took a few steps towards her and sniffed the air. “Human females smell great to us shifters,” he commented.

  “Yeah, but that’s a generalization. Please can you add to that.” She couldn’t help that she smelled like a human woman.

  Mountain sniffed some more. “I scent soap and toothpaste. I also scent underarm … it’s an antiperspirant. You are wearing body lotion, something that contains almond extract.”

  “Anything else?” Rock asked.

  Mountain gave a nod. “You have a fruity scent, I can’t quite put my finger on the exact fruit.”

  Peaches. Granite had said peaches. She swallowed hard and gave a nod.

  Mountain breathed deeply through his nose and closed his eyes for a beat. “You smell great.”

  “Are you becoming aroused?” Rock asked.

  Oh god! Ground, swallow me whole. Louise didn’t know where to look.

  Mountain shrugged. “I am a male in his prime. It has been a long—”

  “Yeah, yeah…” Rock shook his head. “Do you feel like her scent is driving you mad, making you lose control?”

  Mountain frowned deeply. “Not a chance! I am a grown-ass male.”

  “Can you think straight?”

  Mountain visibly bristled. “Of course I can think straight. What the hell!” he growled the last.

  “Thanks, Mountain. The doctor was worried. It turns out her fears were unwarranted.”

  Mountain gave a nod and turned his eyes on her. “Take care, Doctor.”

  “Thank you.” She tried to smile but it felt tight and forced.

  Once the door closed behind Mountain, Rock turned to her grinning. “I think my king has a bit of a crush on you.”

  “What? No! No …” she added, feeling confusion set in. “No way is that the case.”

  “You heard Mountain. He is a virile male. He almost always takes two or three females back to the hotel with him.”

  Louise felt her eyes widen. “You have to be kidding me.”

  “Dragon shifters prefer one female but he has said that he is worried he will hurt just one female. Dragons have a ton of stamina and six months is a long time,” Rock shrugged.

  “I see.”

  “My point being, Mountain is particularly horny … excuse my candor. There are more like him, of course. If any male was going to pick up these types of scents on you, it would be him. He thinks you smell good; all human females smell really good to us but it was nothing out of the ordinary. I can call another male and we can conduct the same test but I’m sure it will have the same outcome.”

  “You’re saying that Granite likes me?” No damned way.

  “Emotion has nothing to do with it. He finds your scent intoxicating and instinct is driving him to rut you.” He gave a one-shouldered shrug. “I wouldn’t worry about it. He will not be as driven to follow his instincts after the Stag Run. Emotions are running high right now. The scent of testosterone in this lair is nauseating. It always is before a run. The males who are set to go are always the worst affected but we all feel it.” Rock pulled a face that would’ve been comical had she not been so shocked right now.

  “I can’t believe he finds me attractive.”

  “No, Doc. Attraction, in the conventional sense, has nothing to do with it. I’m not saying he doesn’t find you attractive,” he quickly put up a hand. “It’s not necessarily the case.”

  “Okay, so if—”

  There was a commotion out in the hall. Rock was the first to get to the door. As big as these shifters were, they sure could move. He turned back. “Get back, Doc.”

  She could hear meaty thuds. There was even a cracking noise. And loud grunting, followed by a yell.

  “A small group of males are fighting.” Rock closed the door. “Get to the far side of the room. One of them might shift and burst through the wall.”

  “What?” she yelled as she did as he said.

  “Don’t worry!” Rock gave her a tight smile. He followed her, standing in front of her. “I will protect you. Also, the hallways are mostly big enough to accommodate a shift.”

  “Mostly?” her voice shook. She didn’t like the sound of that.

  “Get down and stay behind me. You will be just fine.” He turned slightly to the side, givi
ng her a reassuring smile.

  The commotion went on for a few minutes. There were loud bangs, crashes and more yelling. She flinched at a particularly loud bang. One of her certificates fell off the wall, crashing to the floor below. The frame splintered and there was a distinct sound of breaking glass. Another frame fell and then another.

  A loud, terrifying snarl tore through the outside hallway. It was so loud she felt like closing her ears to ward off the noise. Her blood turned cold. The terrifying sound was followed by complete silence. She realized she wasn’t breathing and sucked in a deep breath.

  Rock turned to her and leaned down, offering his hand. She took it and he helped her to her feet. Louise smoothed out her coat. Her heart was thudding in her chest.

  The door opened and Granite took up the entire frame. The two lines between his eyes were so pronounced it was unreal. His eyes were so dark they looked black. Every muscle was primed. His hands clenched at his sides.

  “My lord, I …”

  He ignored Rock, his intense gaze still locked with hers. The air thinned. The earth may even have stopped mid-rotation. In that moment it felt like they were the only two people in existence. “Are you okay?” His voice was loud, deep. It caused a shiver to run down her spine.

  She nodded once. “Yes.” It came out soft and breathless.

  Granite looked over at Rock for the first time. “Take care of the human,” he snarled, then he closed the door.

  “Yup …” Rock nodded. “He wants to rut you bad,” he whispered before giving a chuckle.

  “Stop!” She wacked the side of his arm. She wasn’t buying it. Not for one second. Even if it was true, Granite still didn’t like her and neither did he find her attractive. He just liked the way she smelled ‒ how weird was that? The guy was bad for her. No! Risking her career wasn’t worth it. Not even close.

  “He’ll be over it by Monday, Doc. I can see that you are concerned. Don’t be.” Rock began to pick up her ruined picture frames.

  Louise wasn’t worried. Not at all. At least she knew what she was dealing with. Granite could go on his Stag Run and she was hooking up with Todd. By next week this would all be behind her. She could forget today ever happened.

  Chapter 12

  Sometime after midnight, same day …

  Granite knocked. He counted to ten before knocking again. Harder this time. Adrenaline coursed through him. Where was she? Why was she taking so damned long? He could hear movement from behind the door.

  He knocked again, holding back so that he didn’t break the door down. Fuck! He was done waiting. Patience was never one of his strong suits. It never would be.

  Granite walked in. The chain on the inside of the door snapped like a string.

  The doctor turned to him, her eyes wide. Her hair was pulled into an untidy bun. Tendrils of curls framed her face.

  She wore an oversized t-shirt; it was a faded black … more grey than black. She wore oversized boxer shorts. Those looked new. They were blue and white. Her legs weren’t bad. Short but shapely. Her skin was a milky white.

  She had her arms wrapped around her middle. Covering her breasts. He had no idea why. It didn’t seem logical that she would do such a thing.

  The sense of urgency returned with a vengeance. “Get dressed, you’re needed. It’s a medical emergency.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s Breeze.”

  “Oh my god! Is the baby okay? Is Breeze okay?” she asked, in quick succession as panic set in. Her eyes widened and her arms fell away from her body, her need to hide from him momentarily forgotten.

  He gave a shake of the head. “I’m not sure.” He rubbed his eyes and his face. “It looks like she’s gone into labor but it’s too early. She’s worried, afraid and so is Volcano.” He huffed out a breath. “I’m pretty fucking freaked out myself.”

  “Wait a minute.” She was frowning heavily. “I saw her yesterday and she said she had a week to go.”

  “You must remember that our females are only pregnant for four months. They sometimes carry a week overdue, anything less is considered early. Our young are small and helpless. Whelps born too soon often perish,” his voice cracked ever so slightly. He cleared his throat.

  “It’s only a matter of days though.”

  “At least six days. It might be too soon.” He had to look up at the ceiling. His throat was clogging and his eyes were stinging. Fuck! This wasn’t happening.

  When he looked back at her, the human gave a nod. “Okay, fine, I’m not a gynecologist but I worked the emergency room. I’ve delivered babies before.” It looked like she was trying to convince herself. She looked around her chamber and back again. Her eyes were wide, her skin pale. “I delivered quite a number of babies in Ethiopia as well. Shit!” She walked towards him, looking paler by the second. He could hear how her heart-rate had picked up. He could scent fear on her. “I don’t have any of the instruments I need. None of the drugs, especially if the baby is a preemie.” She pulled in a deep breath. “I’ve got this though. No problem! We had nothing in Ethiopia either but then again … not all of the babies made it.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “I know Breeze personally. She’s a friend … What if I mess up? What if … I’m not the right person for the job?” She shook her head.

  He gripped her shoulders. “You need to calm down. Volcano and Breeze are panicking enough for all of us. We’ve had so few births over the years. None of them were early. Our healers are not equipped. You are the most qualified. You won an award for your efforts in Ethiopia.”

  She gave a humorless laugh. “My efforts were geared at birth control.”

  “I read the newspaper article.”

  Her eyes were filled with fear. “I was in the right place at the right time. The birth went like clockwork.” She was too modest. A female was too late getting to a hospital. The baby was coming. Her mate had called for a doctor and Louise happened to be close by. She helped birth the child in the back of a car. “Anyone could’ve delivered that child. All I did was catch. That reporter exaggerated the whole thing. He made me out to be some kind of hero. I’m not.”

  “Bullshit! You’re a good doctor. I believe in you.”

  She filled her lungs with air and slowly exhaled. “Okay,” she gave a nod.

  “I will make sure that a healer is close by. You need to understand that dragon females prefer to give birth alone. At the most, they will have a healer with them. Too many people will freak her out even more. Her instincts will be to send you all away.”

  “Are you sure you shouldn’t just send a healer in then?”

  He shook his head. “You are the most qualified. You need to trust me on this.”

  She nodded. “Understood, but I might need to consult with a healer so have someone ready. Also, I need some supplies from my work chamber.”

  Granite gave a nod. “Make a note of everything you need.”

  “Okay …” She scanned the room, seeing a notebook next to her bed. Within no time she handed a list to Granite.

  He held the white paper in his hand. “You have half a minute to get dressed. Put on your white coat and meet me outside.”

  He didn’t wait for her response, instead, he left her chamber and handed the note to Rock. He figured that the human would need supplies and that the male was one of the best equipped to understand what they were.

  Rock frowned as he read the list.

  Just then, she emerged. The coat buttons were done up wrong and she wore a pair of flip flops. They were a bright red. She carried her black medical bag.

  “Hi, Doc,” Rock said, he held the paper to his face. “What is a sphygmomanometer?”

  “It’s that cuff that tightens around your arm to measure a person’s blood pressure. Sorry I should have written it in layman’s terms.”

  The male gave a nod, he smiled. “No problem! A stethoscope is that instrument you use to listen to our heart?”

  The doctor gave a nod. “I normally take that with me but for so
me reason I forgot it on my desk today.”

  “Oxygen tank and mask,” Rock read to himself. “Top drawer, right-hand side … extra masks,” he gave a nod. “A pulse oximeter is that thing that goes on your finger?”

  “Yeah. I can’t think of anything else that will be of any help. It’s not like I can put in an IV or inject either of them.” She chewed on her lower lip.

  Granite could see her nerves kick in. “You’ll do just fine. Rock here will wait outside Volcano and Breezes’ chamber so that he can go and fetch something if you suddenly need it.” He looked Rock in the eye, giving the command and giving her assurance all at once.

  “I am lightning quick.” The male winked at the human and Granite felt like punching him. This was a serious situation and he was making light of it.

  “Go!” Granite growled, a bit too harshly.

  Rock set off like his ass was on fire. Granite took the bag from the human who tried to protest. He shook his head. “Use your energy to walk.”

  Her eyes were wide but there was determination in their depths. It didn’t take long to make it back to the chamber. He rapped twice on the door and entered. The chamber was large.

  “Not big on waiting for someone to let you in,” the human said.

  “No time.”

  Breeze lay on the bed, her mouth was pulled into a grimace and her eyes were squeezed shut. Her face was red and sweaty.

  “Thank god you’re back!” Volcano barked as he caught sight of them. The male was pale, he looked like he had just seen a ghost.

  He heard the human swallow hard. Heard her heart-rate pick up a notch. Granite put his hand on her back. “You’ve got this. I’ll help where I can.” He held back, not wanting to spook Breeze.

  She gave a nod and walked to the bed.

  Breeze was breathing heavily. Puffing, in and out in quick succession. “It’s happening so quickly!” she shrieked. “Oh god! It hurts.” A tear slid down her cheek. It took another few beats before Breeze’s breathing eased enough for her to talk. The female was so freaked out she didn’t react to the fact that there were so many of them in the chamber. Granite didn’t think that she had even noticed that he was there.