A Mating of Convenience

by Elyce de Reefe

  “Come to me now.” His extra-large body blocked her view of the dark-haired man completely. The overhead lights glinted off his short blond hair, and he had the most intense cobalt blue eyes she’d ever seen. They were almost glowing. “Let me take care of everything.”

  Nina wrapped her arms around herself, unable to process this turn of events.

  “Come on,” he coaxed, beckoning gently with the fingers of one hand.

  He shifted his weight slightly, leaning back. Nina felt herself drawn forward, taking one tiny step in his direction. And then another. Like in a dream, she inched toward him. Toward safety, her overloaded brain tried to insist. And then, somehow, she was there, in front of him, and he enfolded her in warm, solid arms.

  Her breath left her in a whoosh. She felt him leading her gently away from the drama in the center of the room, talking softly, but her mind had kind of shut down by that point. All she knew was that he was warm and comforting around her, enveloping her almost completely, and she melted gratefully into him. And then he said the words that she would never forget.

  “You are under my protection. No one will harm you. Isn’t that right, Lucas?”

  Lucas. The man with the gun. The man whose sister had been shot. And it quickly became clear that he was the leader, and Boaz, because of course the large man was Boaz, was the only thing standing between her and that gun. Him, and her ability to treat gunshot wounds.

  Nina shivered and became fully aware of her surroundings, lying in the comfort of the giant king-sized bed in Boaz’s room. He sat on the couch he’d been sleeping on the night before, drinking coffee and watching a muted TV. There was a plate of what looked like muffins and bagels on a tray on the coffee table in front of him, along with a second cup, a coffee urn and a milk and sugar set. It was a disarmingly domestic scene.

  She was wondering how long she could get away with pretending she was still asleep when he turned his head and those amazing blue eyes met hers.

  “Coffee?”

  “Um… maybe in a minute.” She rose and made her way to her suitcase, tucked away in the closet. He’d tried to get her to unpack, but so far she’d resisted his efforts. Still, the whole arrangement was weirdly civilized, considering the circumstances. She pulled out a comfortable pair of grey herringbone slacks and a tailored white button-down with some stretch to the fabric. Nina had learned early that she had to dress professionally if she wanted to be taken seriously, but she hated being uncomfortable. Stretch cotton was the answer.

  She headed into the bathroom without another word. She had no idea what the day would bring, but she wanted to face it with as much armor as possible. At the very least, she’d have to check in on her ‘patient.’

  As she went through her morning routine, Nina wracked her brain trying to remember what Boaz had said to her at the lab. If she’d known that was the most talkative he’d ever be, she might have paid more attention. Her main recollection was that he had been reassuring her that everything would be okay, and for some reason she could swear he said something about the new moon. Which made no sense at all. And that she was his now. With obvious, ominous implications. Although at the time, it seemed like a really good thing to be, since he didn’t seem at all interested in shooting her.

  She sighed and plugged in her blow dryer. She had to get out of here, but how? And where would she go? Her lab had been completely destroyed. She couldn’t go home. They knew where she lived. She could head to her sister’s, but did she really want to lead these guys there?

  Maybe Simon. If she could find a way to escape, she’d head for him. She could hardly believe she was considering doing that on purpose. Normally she tried to keep her distance from her… boss. But, needs must. Simon at least had a prayer against these guys. She hoped.

  Nina took as much time as she possibly could in the bathroom, but eventually she had to come out. With her hair in a sleek twist and her makeup in place, she looked as professional as she could manage. Stepping back into the bedroom, she did her best to ignore the tightening in her belly.

  Boaz was sitting where she left him, the remains of a muffin or possibly a bagel on a small plate in front of him. He looked over at her with those intense blue eyes but didn’t say anything. She fought the urge to nervously smooth down her clothes. If nothing else, she had to at least look like she was in control of the situation.

  “I’m ready to check on my patient,” she announced, wincing at the tiny tremble in her voice. Maybe he wouldn’t notice.

  “Breakfast first.” Boaz placed a plate and cup and saucer on the table next to him.

  Nina crossed the room to join him. Protesting would only underscore her lack of power. But she took the chair cattycorner to the couch, rather than sitting next to him. He didn’t comment, just poured coffee into the cup and slid it over to her. “Milk? Sugar?”

  “Milk, please.” Nina had to glance away from his impassive face. She wanted to stare at the chiseled perfection of his cheekbones, the rugged masculinity of that square jaw. What at first glance had seemed somewhat ordinary all-American features—a broad forehead and slightly too square jaw—somehow combined with those high, slanted cheekbones and surprisingly sensual mouth to create something extraordinary. Mesmerizing.

  She dropped her eyes to watch his hands instead as he passed her the pitcher. They made it look tiny and delicate. She tried not to think about how small and vulnerable her hand looked next to his as she reached out and took it. Wordlessly, he offered her the plate of muffins and bagels. She shook her head, but he didn’t lower the plate.

  “Eat. Aster is doing fine.”

  Repressing a sigh, she took a muffin at random. Aster. That was what everyone called her “patient.” If they were going to insist she was Lucas’s sister, Nina wasn’t going to argue. But she didn’t know quite what to say.

  “Good,” she managed. “But I still need to check her for infection and change her bandages.”

  “After.”

  Nina broke off a small piece of muffin and popped it in her mouth. An explosion of flavor, cranberry-orange, flooded her senses and suddenly she was ravenous. She made quick work of the muffin after that, realizing she’d eaten almost nothing the day before.

  She took a sip of coffee and thought back. Yesterday had been a bit of a blur. After being terrified, kidnapped and awake for over twenty-four hours, then performing a complicated surgery—on a wolf, no less—she’d stumbled through a shower and fallen into bed feeling like a zombie. Boaz had foisted a roast beef sandwich on her after she’d woken from a pretty much all-day nap. But with his silent, hulking presence standing over her watching, she’d only been able to choke down about a quarter of it.

  Now she finished her coffee and eyed the plate. Maybe just half a bagel. No. Better to get on with things. She stood, hoping to seem like she was in charge of this show. It didn’t work.

  “Let me make sure Dean is awake,” Boaz said, pulling his phone from his pocket and typing in a brief text.

  He held up the coffee urn. Wordlessly, she sank back down to the chair and lifted her cup for a refill. They sat there in silence for a while. Nina was thinking about taking that bagel, just to have something to do, but decided enough was enough.

  “So. What happens next?” She wasn’t sure she actually wanted to know, but not knowing wasn’t any better.

  “Next?”

  Nina almost rolled her eyes. Really? She took the bull by the horns and all she got was a one-word answer? Not even an answer. A question.

  “After I check on Aster.”

  He shrugged. “That depends. You can stay with Dean. He might have some questions for you. Or he might want to be alone with Aster.”

  “Questions?” She tried to keep her voice neutral. Not like that sounded ominous or anything. What happened to “I’ll take care of everything?”

  “About your research. The Sickness.”

  “The sickness?” That piqued her interest. “The genetic disease Marten was worried about? H
e’s interested in that too?”

  Boaz gave her a hard stare. “All the People are interested in the Sickness.”

  She asked more questions, but try as she might, she couldn’t get anything more out of him. “Dean will tell you,” was all he would say.

  So she tried a different track. “So, um… After I check on Aster and Dean asks me questions, then what?”

  “Dinner probably. Maybe lunch.”

  She just stared at him. He poured himself another cup of coffee. He could not possibly be that dense.

  “I’m talking about me. What happens to me? I can’t just— stay here.”

  “You stay.”

  “But—”

  “The knowledge you have about our kind is forbidden. You cannot leave.” He paused. “Not until after the ceremony, anyway.”

  “The ceremony? What ceremony?”

  Of course, that was when his phone chirped with an incoming text. He glanced down. “We’ll talk later. Right now, you need to check on Aster.”

  And that was all that he would say.

  Chapter 3

  Nina grabbed her medical bag and followed Boaz down the hallway, past the door to the small bedroom where she’d performed surgery the day before. Surgery for a bullet wound that had gone completely through the patient’s body. The bullet wound that should have killed her, but somehow didn’t.

  She knew from scrubbing up yesterday, the door next to it was a bathroom that connected to another bedroom. Opposite the doors, a balcony railing overlooked the great room below. Boaz said nothing as he turned and headed down the stairs. They’d whisked her by so fast the day before that she hadn’t really taken it in, but as she made her way down, she could see the great room was comfortably furnished with large overstuffed leather couches grouped around a huge stone fireplace. There was a beautiful oak buffet along the wall at the bottom of the stairs, and across the room stood the front door. Large double-hung windows seemed to look out on a covered porch. It was a gloomy day, but she could make out a grassy meadow shrouded in mist beyond that.

  Boaz turned at the bottom and headed the other way, toward the kitchen. There was a large island with stools on one side and what looked like a breakfast nook in the far corner. There was also a large dining room table set at an angle between the breakfast nook and the living room area. With cathedral ceilings, blond wood trim, and hardwood floors, the place was gorgeous.

  Boaz placed the tray on the kitchen counter. Granite, she noted, complemented by stainless steel appliances. He turned and headed back toward her where she hovered uncertainly between the stairs and the island. He met her eyes and indicated the hall to her left with his chin, which she assumed must lead to more bedrooms, since it was directly below his bedroom above. But the first doorway on her right opened into a mudroom, which she vaguely remembered coming through the day before.

  Boaz didn’t say a word as he led her out the back door and down a tree-lined path to a trailer. It was an attractive white doublewide with black shutters set in a clearing in the trees. A slate patio graced the front. When they reached the structure, he took her hand— almost making her jump. He led her up the three steps and knocked once on the door. It swung open to reveal Dean.

  Boaz released her hand and ushered her inside with a gentle touch. Just the fingertips of one large hand against her lower back, but Nina was uncomfortably aware of just how wide the span of that hand was, before it dropped away. The skin of her back seemed to tingle where the pads of his fingers had been, even through her clothes. She fought a confused shiver.

  “Dean,” Boaz said in greeting.

  “Boaz. Dr. Evans. Come right in.”

  Nina gave Dean a tight nod. She’d met him the day before, of course, since he’d refused to leave the patient’s side. He’d even provided a transfusion for her.

  Nina shuddered, remembering how certain she’d been that the transfusion would kill her patient. That she, as the doctor, would be the one to suffer the consequences. She could still hear Lucas’s harsh voice when she closed her eyes. “You had better pray to all your gods that Aster survives. Otherwise things will go very badly for you.”

  Then they left her alone in the room with only the patient—a bloody, unconscious wolf—and Dean. Although it looked like a dog to her. A badly-injured dog.

  The moment Lucas left, he turned on her. “She needs a transfusion immediately. I am a universal donor. Get your equipment.”

  “Don’t be absurd. You can’t give a transfusion to a—” she broke off, not wanting to make the mistake of calling the patient a dog again. That hadn’t gone over well. She got the distinct impression dog was considered a bad word.

  “Do it! Now.” He got right in her face, growling in a way that made the hair stand up on the back of her neck. His slight French accent did nothing to soften the words. She swallowed and tried to back up, but he grabbed her by the arm and held her in place. “Now,” he gritted out. “Or you will not like the consequences.”

  “Fine,” she snapped out. “But I’m doing this under duress.” She glanced down at the blood-soaked creature on the bed. The poor thing. It definitely needed something. “If this goes wrong, it’s on you.”

  “Fine,” he agreed, the one word hard and final.

  So she’d performed an immediate transfusion, with her stomach in knots and trying desperately to act like she was in complete control. He’d relented then, reassuring her it was the right thing to do, that he was certain it would help. Nina only gave her a tiny bit of blood at first, certain it would have a negative effect. But impossibly, Aster had seemed to improve— almost immediately. The poor animal’s breathing became less labored and her heartbeat steadied. Nina bit her lip and let the flow continue.

  Once the transfusion was complete, Nina let out her breath and began prepping for surgery. Surprisingly, Dean turned out to be a decent assistant, scrubbing up in the adjacent bathroom and squeezing his hands into a pair of her size-small surgical gloves. Yes, he’d helped throughout the surgery, but it was safe to say she and Dean didn’t see eye to eye on medical procedures. He wasn’t even a vet, but he considered himself an authority on wolf-medicine. It had been a contentious morning.

  But he was all smiles now. He looked charmingly handsome, in a boyish, fresh-faced way, with glossy auburn hair flopping in his smoky, light green eyes. A far cry from the haggard, tight-faced man of the night before.

  “Come in, come in,” he repeated, and Nina realized she had stalled just inside the door. “Dr. Evans, welcome to my lab.” He gestured around the room with obvious pride, and Nina felt her mouth drop open.

  The entire main part of the trailer had been converted into a very well-appointed laboratory. The countertops were an attractive blue stone, almost royal blue, and the cabinetry underneath was pristine white. But it was a piece of equipment set on the top that caught her attention.

  “That’s my microscope!” Her beautiful compound microscope sat on the counter directly behind Dean. She knew it was hers, because of the small, metallic ladybug sticker her sister Eva had snuck onto the side the last time she’d been well enough to visit her lab. Nina still remembered discovering it the following day and smiling. As if her sister wasn’t a grown woman. She still acted like a kid. But the microscope in question looked to be in use at the moment.

  Dean grimaced slightly. He had the grace to look embarrassed, at least. “We took the liberty of… liberating some of the equipment before we burned down the lab,” he admitted. “It seemed a shame to waste it. And I needed it to review the samples you were working on.”

  He meant her first lab. She didn’t think they’d taken much last night. Or no, it would be two nights ago now. She shook her head. Maybe they had. Boaz had taken her back to her apartment to pack, so maybe…

  She gazed around the room in dawning anger, noting her centrifuge near her compact samples fridge. The centrifuge alone had set her back more than four thousand dollars. “This is my equipment. All of it.” She swept her gaze
around the room one more time. “Except that vortexer.” She looked more closely. “That’s from the medical facility.” She stared at him, and she had a feeling her mouth might be hanging open. “You took… everything.”

  “Had to. The stuff you were working on… I couldn’t let that go. The data had to be destroyed. Well, removed, anyway. I needed to know what you were working on and I didn’t have any equipment here. It only made sense to confiscate as much as we could.”

  She couldn’t stop inventorying all her stolen equipment. “Looks like you had a very successful confiscation.”

  “Pretty much,” he said cheerfully. “Look at it this way, at least it’s not destroyed.”

  “Well,” Boaz said, drawing her attention. A tiny smile tugged at one corner of his lips. “I’ll leave you two science types to work this out.”

  He paused in the doorway, his expression hardening. “She doesn’t leave your sight,” he said directly to Dean.

  Dean nodded, his face also taking on a more serious expression. “Right.”

  “Nina.” Somehow Boaz made her name both a goodbye and a promise. He would be back. Their eyes met for one silent moment. For some reason, her throat went dry.

  She managed a quick, sharp nod of farewell and turned away, trying to pretend his leaving didn’t bother her in the least. She heard him close the trailer door and descend the steps. And just like that, she was alone with Dean. Again.

  She had the strange sensation of being adrift on an unknown ocean. Which was ridiculous. She’d spent hours with Dean the day before. But then she’d had a purpose to occupy her. A patient to distract her. And now—

  “Aster is here? I need to check her wounds. Change her bandages.”

  “She’s sleeping.” He indicated the short hallway at the end of the trailer with his chin. “You can check her when she wakes up.”

  “She could be running a fever. The risk of infection—”

  “She’s fine, Doctor. I promise. Right now she needs sleep more than anything.”