Quinn was hardly a normal man. He considered being a doctor a priority in his life, but unlike many physicians he knew, he was not a doctor first. His career was a calling, something he did to help humans, but it wasn’t something he’d ever have done if he’d gotten to stay in Ireland. In fact, as a young dragon shifter, he hadn’t even known what a doctor was. The shifters healed easily. If they were ever injured, it was only because of the dark magic employed by the witches.
First, before all else, he was a dragon shifter. After that, he was a brother to Kellan, Liam, and Brennan. They came first. But if he met a woman, and she became his mate like Clara had become Kellan’s mate, she’d become the most important thing in his life. Until that happened and he could trust her completely, he’d be hiding a big fucking secret from her. Kellan had hidden it from Clara, and it had almost gotten all of them killed.
Liam was right. He needed to quit dwelling on what he didn’t have and enjoy the warm summer air.
3
Juliana
After overhearing her parents’ conversation about her upcoming marriage, Juliana ducked into her room. She’d been taught from an early age to keep a bag ready in case they had to leave quickly. Her parents had helped her pack it when she was younger. It was supposed to contain her passport, two changes of clothes and undergarments, two bottles of water, protein bars, a flashlight, and two hundred dollars in cash.
Was that normal? How many parents taught their kids that skill? Maybe it was normal to have a bag for survival in case you were caught in a flood or a hurricane. That bag would likely contain a flashlight, a thick blanket, and maybe even a poncho, but how many seven-year-olds needed to have their passport packed and ready to go?
At the airport, she paused. She’d never left town without a bodyguard. Hell, she’d never done anything without a bodyguard. She’d traveled all over the world, but her bodyguards, Stefan and Cristian, had always been with her.
She wove her way through the security lines at Boston Logan International Airport, constantly glancing over her shoulder. She didn’t bother to hide her face. Her parents wouldn’t call the police—that much was clear. Oh, they’d fucking look for her. That was certain. They’d probably find her, too, but she wasn’t going to roll over and make it easy for them.
Oh, God. What if they had connections to the police? What if they were in bed with the FBI? There was nothing she could do about it now. She had to keep going. She shivered. It sucked to find out her parents cared more about their criminal ties than their own daughter. She doubted she’d find much sympathy from anyone because they were right—hadn’t she sat back and enjoyed their wealth? Hadn’t she driven here in a brand-new Mercedes convertible? And hadn’t she slung a two-thousand-dollar purse over her shoulder? All of those perks were paid for with their dirty money, just like the business degree she was so proud of.
She wandered through the terminal, looking for the first flight out. There. Leaving in thirty minutes at Gate B5 was a flight to Dallas Fort Worth Airport. She clicked through her phone and purchased a ticket. They’d find that purchase without any trouble, but she’d figure that out once she got to Dallas.
The flight passed with her in a daze. She was in the coach area, which was small and cramped. She’d never flown on anything except in first-class or on a private jet.
God, you sound like a spoiled baby. No wonder they thought you’d just accept Mihal as a husband.
In Dallas, there was no checked luggage for her to collect. She glanced at the car rentals, but that would leave a paper trail. Instead, she bought another plane ticket. A ticket from Dallas to Los Angeles, a ticket she never intended to use.
She hung around for an hour to check in for the flight to Los Angeles. Then, as they were boarding, she ducked under the rope with a quick excuse about needing the bathroom. She had no idea if the flight attendant would know she never got on the plane, and she didn’t really care.
As she left the airport, a blast of hot air hit her right in the face. There were buses everywhere, but she was pretty sure she’d have to use her ID to buy a ticket, and she didn’t want to waste her cash. The only way to leave no trace at all was to hitchhike. She imagined the look on her parents’ faces if they were to discover their precious daughter, who they saw as a commodity to be bartered, risking her life to ride in a car with a stranger.
She looked around for who might be the most receptive to allowing a young woman into their car—and who would be the least likely to be a serial killer. She looked younger than she was, so that might help. There was a young couple leaving the airport that looked like hippies. If she was in Europe, she’d assume they were backpacking and staying in a series of hostels. Here, she had no idea. Maybe she could pay them. She’d have to part with a little cash, but there’d be no record of it.
“Excuse me,” she said, doing her best to act like she was a confused college student.
The couple didn’t run away, but instead, they listened to her made-up story and then offered her a ride. “We’re going to Austin,” the man said.
“That’s wonderful,” she said and handed them twenty dollars for gas.
The couple had a regular kind of car, a Nissan, and very little luggage, so Juliana sat in the back seat, along for the ride until they stopped for a snack break in a little town just an hour outside Dallas. The sign read Cedar Lake.
“Cedar Lake,” she said out loud, just to try it out. Across the street was a cozy looking restaurant called the Bluebonnet Cafe. “I think I’m going to stay here,” she said.
The couple shrugged and hugged her goodbye, and then they were gone. She’d always been disdainful of small towns, preferring to stay in big cities only. Her parents wouldn’t think she’d stop here.
The next few days were a blur. Juliana found a hotel room, walked all over the town at night when the sun was down, and on the fourth day she was there, she rented a house. The house was perfect for her, but she needed security. After parting with some of her cash to have an alarm system installed, she decided she needed more security to ease her mind. She didn’t want anyone else to have access to her surveillance footage, so she went to the hardware store and bought four security cameras, one for each side of the house.
After a few tutorial videos and two more trips to the hardware store, she was able to figure out the installation herself. Within a few hours, she had three of the cameras up and working, but after a day in the blazing sun, she was ready for a break.
Not too bad for someone who’s rarely used a screwdriver. Fuck you, family, she thought.
They could try to trade her away like a piece of chattel and discuss her virginity like she was a piece of meat, but she wasn’t going to have it. She liked this little town and this house, but she’d run again if she had to.
She placed her light-weight aluminum ladder against the house and went inside for some water and a cool rag. She came back to stand on her front porch, drinking her water and marveling at the fact that she’d been gone from Boston for seven days without anyone having tracked her down yet.
To her left, movement caught her eye. She looked over to see her neighbor emerging from his front door. She stopped walking and stared. The man stepping onto his front sidewalk was unlike any she’d seen before. He was tall, at least six-foot-three, with broad shoulders and sandy blond hair. He wore running shorts and a t-shirt, which showed off his defined muscles and his golden-tanned skin.
Wow.
A flush passed over her body, just from the sight of him. Juliana had thought she’d seen some hot guys before, but not a single one compared to this guy.
Her water bottle nearly slipped from her hand, but luckily, she caught it before it could clatter to the ground and embarrass the hell out of her. She ducked back into the house before he could catch her looking. She was a hot, sweaty mess, and she wanted to look her best when she met this guy. Back inside her house, she peeked through the blinds, watching him as he took off running at a steady pace. She watched hi
s firm backside as he turned a corner and disappeared. She pressed her stainless steel water bottle to her head.
You did not come here to meet a man. That is the last thing you need right now. Get a grip!
Right. The best thing to do would be to finish her water and get right back outside to finish her security setup.
She tucked the camera under one arm, tightened her new toolbelt, and crawled back up the ladder. Maybe it was the light of the setting sun that hit her in the eyes, maybe it was the fact that she hadn’t eaten dinner, or maybe she was still distracted by the hottest man she’d ever laid eyes on. Maybe it was all three. Whatever it was, Juliana’s fourth camera installation did not go nearly as smoothly as the first three. She swayed, and then the ladder swayed. She grabbed for the gutter with her free hand, but it came loose. She fell to the side and right of the stupid ladder.
She tumbled sideways, and she tried to turn her body so she’d land in the shrubs, but she missed. Her body fell right onto the dirt with a sickening thud. She landed with her left arm directly under her body. For a brief second, it didn’t hurt. Then, a fire burned through her arm, a swift, stabbing pain that lit up every single nerve. She gasped and tried to push herself up.
“Oh, God.” The motion made the pain a thousand times worse. Agony spread from her arm to her head, and her stomach twisted. She saw spots for just a second, and then everything went black.
Juliana woke up with a mouthful of grass. Every single part of her body ached. She managed to get her head turned to the side. The sun had set, but not completely, so she hadn’t been out too long. This time, when she tried to push herself up, she got to her knees before her stomach rebelled. She had to lean over and hold onto the azalea bush, but she managed not to vomit.
Her arm was clearly broken. The bone wasn’t showing, but she couldn’t move her arm at all. She had to hold onto her broken arm with the other and press it tight to her chest.
She got up on one knee and then the other. If she could get to her phone, she could call 911. She got to her feet and took a few steps, leaning her head against the column on her front porch. Ah. Her phone was on the ground near the sidewalk. It must have fallen from her pocket when she busted her ass. She took a step toward it, lurching as her head spun. She really did not want to hit the sidewalk with her face.
She sucked in a very deep breath. “Almost there,” she said through gritted teeth, and then she tipped forward again.
The pavement rushed right toward her face, but her face never hit the concrete. Strong arms caught her and lifted her into the air. A stabbing sensation shot down her arm, but it felt further away than before.
In the dwindling daylight, she looked up to see the wavy blonde hair of her handsome neighbor. She could barely focus her eyes on him. She meant to say hello, or even thank you, but what she said was, “Neighbor.”
His blue eyes looked right into hers. “Can you tell me what happened? Did you hit your head?”
“No.” She started to shake her head and then realized it made her stomach churn.
“What’s your name?”
“Juliana.”
“Okay, good, Juliana. I’m assuming you live here. I’ve meant to come over and introduce myself to my new neighbor.”
A wave of nausea passed over her again. She squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn’t think coherently at all, but she knew she didn’t want to puke on the gorgeous neighbor.
“Okay, let’s get you in the car. We’re going to the clinic. I can tell there’s something wrong with your arm, and I think we need a few x-rays. Is it okay if I drive you to the clinic and treat your injuries?”
“Yes,” she said through clenched teeth.
She realized he was still holding her in his arms, up in the air in a bridal carry, as he walked to his car. He somehow got the door open and lowered her into the passenger seat without a lot of effort.
He leaned close to buckle her in. “We’ll be at my clinic soon, and I can give you something for the pain.”
He got in the driver’s seat, and that was the last thing she remembered.
4
Quinn
“I’m a doctor,” Quinn said to Juliana, who was resting her head against the car window.
He wasn’t sure she heard him. He prided himself on his professionalism, but when he’d seen the beautiful woman standing in her yard, his mouth had gone dry. She was petite, with long dark hair and dark eyes. He felt terrible for even noticing since she was clearly suffering from an injury. Then his mindset shifted, and he started to assess her physical condition. When he’d seen her stagger, he’d been afraid she’d hit her head. He’d been gone on a run for forty-five minutes, and she hadn’t been outside when he’d left. He’d have noticed her, so hopefully, her accident had been very recent.
He knew a human female had moved in next door a few days before. His sense of smell was acute enough to let him know that much, but his sense of smell hadn’t told him how alluring she was going to look. Her scent was that of rosemary and lilacs, and now that he’d seen her in person, he couldn’t stop thinking about the lovely way she smelled.
Pull yourself together, Quinn. Her arm’s broken, and God knows what else. You need to get her taken care of and quit thinking with your dick.
He glanced at her for a few seconds but kept his hands steady on the wheel, not allowing himself to look at her for too long.
His dragon shifter powers were handy because he could hear the steady thrum of her heart. He could tell that her pulse was accelerated for a woman her size, but it wasn’t in the danger zone yet. She also didn’t have a fever—not yet.
He pulled into the clinic, parking right in front of the door. He stayed open until six o’clock most nights, and he had a nurse practitioner that helped him out on the weekends, but if one of his patients needed care during off-hours, he sent them to an urgent care clinic thirty minutes away. This time, though, he would make an exception.
She was still drowsy as he carried her in. As he got her settled on one of the exam tables, she blinked her eyes. “Hey, Juliana. Do you know if you’re allergic to any medicines?” he asked.
To his relief, her eyes cleared, and she focused on him. Her pupils looked fine, too, so she must have been right about not hitting her head. “I’m not allergic to anything,” she said.
“Okay, good. I’m going to give you a shot to help with the pain,” he said, and then he set to work, carefully x-raying her arm, showing her the line of the fracture on the films, and then wrapping her arm in a blue cast.
Each time his fingertips touched her skin was electric, even through the gloves. He’d never been distracted like this, not even in med school or his residency. If she needed further care, he’d have to send her on to someone else. He explained that he was a family doctor and gave her the name and number of an orthopedist in Dallas for a follow-up. He also counted out a small number of pain pills from his pharmaceutical samples for that night and wrote her a prescription that would last the next few days.
She was quiet the entire time but didn’t appear to be in shock.
“Is there anyone I can call for you?” he asked as he helped her fasten the sling around her neck to support her arm. He should have asked that question before they even left her yard. He washed his hands and then rubbed his forehead. He was going to do better with her until someone came to get her. He hadn’t smelled a human male next door, but maybe he just hadn’t arrived in town yet. What if she was married, and her husband had no idea what had happened?
Quinn knew that if he came home from work to find his wife missing from their house, he’d rip Cedar Lake to shreds until he found her. That’s what had happened when Clara had been taken from Kellan by their enemy, the witches. Kellan had been willing to set the world on fire to get her back. That’s what happened when a dragon had a mate. He would do anything to protect her.
Juliana still hadn’t answered. “Are you married?” he asked.
A bleak look passed over her face fo
r a millisecond. “No. I’m single,” she said. She straightened up a little. “And I intend to stay that way.”
Maybe she’d had a recent breakup. In any case, now was not the time for him to be thinking about her relationship status.
“There’s no one to call. I’m new in town,” she said. She huffed a small laugh. “What a way to meet your new neighbor, right? She falls off a ladder and starts staggering down the street.”
A pink blush rose on both her cheeks, and he couldn’t help but find it adorable. Now that she wasn’t wracked with pain, her enticing scent, which had been faint, began to fill the room. It would only be detectable to Quinn’s shifter sense of smell, so she probably wouldn’t even be aware of it herself.
“I can’t leave you alone,” he said, “and we don’t have a hospital here where I can admit you overnight.”
“I definitely don’t want to go to a hospital.”
“This probably sounds crazy, but I’d feel much better if you’d stay with me.” He thought for a second. “Oh. I know. I have a sister-in-law who lives a few minutes away. She’d be willing to come and stay with you, so you’re not alone with a strange guy.”
She peered up at him with her big dark eyes. “No. Don’t bother your sister-in-law. I’ll stay with you. If you were a serial killer, you’d have already missed your chance.”
He smiled. “No serial killers here. I think most people in town would say I’m a pretty big nerd.”
“You don’t look like a nerd,” she said. “Not one single inch of you.” Then her hands flew to her mouth. “I can’t believe I just said that out loud.” She pressed her hands to her eyes. “How much am I drugged?”
Quinn found himself smiling. He hoped that meant she thought he was good-looking, even if he wasn’t going to do anything about it. “I didn’t give you too much. Just enough to let you sleep tonight.”
Doctor Dragon's Fake Bride (Irish Dragon Shifter Brothers Book 2) Page 2