Doctor's Pet. She read the title in gleaming silver letters on the back of Derrick's chair as he whipped by with a whoop, well ahead of his brothers in their own colorful chariots. When she'd come across some orderlies watching something out the window, she'd not expected to see the Grayson clan gathered out front, clapping and hollering at the participants in the wheelchair races. It wasn't even just Derrick and his brothers playing. They'd gotten several other patients to join in too. Given the speed at which they raced, a fear for their safety made her want to march out that door and tell them to stop, but an old adage came to mind-boys will be boys. And men would do stupid things that resulted in stitches for, as Stu said upon meeting her, "Shits and giggles." The main surgeon for the rehab center came to stand beside her. "Looks like fun," he noted. "Yes. Dangerous, though," she added. "These men have been to hell and back. Do you really want to
The hot satisfaction at having brought down the enemy paled before the panicked realization that Derrick couldn't move. Not a single damned muscle. The cold reality sent his wolf into hiding, pulling back from the dead weight of his body and leaving only human flesh. Flesh that felt nothing but the tips of her fingers on his cheeks as she cradled his head. "Derrick. Oh God, why did you do that?" She hugged his head, and if the moment weren't so dire, he might have enjoyed being buried against her plush tits. But all he could think was, This is the last time. The last time he'd smell her or feel her touch because he'd fucked up majorly in skipping the surgery and now paid the price. Since he didn't expect he'd get another chance, he whispered, "I love you," which only caused her to rock and hug tighter. In a voice thick with tears, she retorted, "This better not be one of those goodbye speeches. You're going to be fine. We'll get you in for that surgery, and ever
With Derrick buried in the bosom of his family, Janine slipped away before the tears blurring her gaze were noticed. Derrick had survived the surgery and seemed about to beat the odds. He would recover, which meant it was time for her to go. Even if I love him. And she did love him. Loved him so much that she couldn't be with him. She knew Derrick thought himself in love with her, that she was his mate. Much as she wanted to believe that, she couldn't. He'd fallen for her only because, at the time, he depended on her. Acting as his therapist meant their close involvement brought them together and imbued him with a false sense of intimacy. I think the intimacy came from you letting him touch you. Acts that shouldn't have happened, and yet, she didn't regret. It made leaving so much harder, but she did it now while she could. Now while he had his family and the promise of a bright future ahead of him. Let him get on with his life. Find a woman to settle dow
Nothing ever felt more right than the first time Derrick sank balls deep into Janine. Unless he counted the second time and then the third. Over and over, he claimed her that night, the next day, all that week as she took some time off work for them to explore their new relationship. And yes, they were in a relationship. She's my mate now. And soon, she'd be his wife. He'd already asked for and received permission from Orson and Janine's mother. A conversation that went along the lines of? "I'm going to marry your daughter." "I get to plan the wedding." "I'll have you cremated if you hurt her." Derrick could already tell they'd fit in well with his family. Snap.*Epilogue An exaggerated groan left Derrick as he heaved Janine out of the car. The sound totally deserved a laser-hot glare. "Are you implying something?" No denying she was a little more rotund these days. He pulled her close, not caring that her big belly got in the way. A smile tugged
He's a freakn' beast. Naomi watched in rapt fascination as player number forty-four scored yet another goal. Like an implacable freight train, he plowed through the opposition's defense as if they didn't exist, using his size, and surprising speed, to bowl them over. At the end of his shift, he went to sit his turn on the bench, but her fascination in the game didn't waver. Her attention ended up snagged by player sixty-nine. Smaller in stature than the behemoth, he absorbed her just as completely with his feline grace as he twisted and moved around the floor. He almost danced as he ran, his stick held high and usually cradling the ball. What is it about the two of them that fascinates me? I don't even like lacrosse. And she hated jocks. Naomi still couldn't believe she'd allowed her friend, Francine, to talk her into coming to watch a lacrosse game. She usually left contact sports and their watching of to her father and brothers, preferring games of intellectual skil
Ethan slumped on the bench in the change room, ignoring the ribald behavior around him after yet another foregone win. A hard slap on the rear of his head roused him and he whirled, his lip curled back as he growled menacingly. "Don't you dare show me your teeth," Javier warned with a dark look. He ran his hand through hair, already tousled and sweaty from the match. "What the fuck happened out there? I passed you the perfect shot, and instead of grabbing it and scoring, you crashed into the goddamn arena glass. What are you, a rookie? Been watching too many Bugs Bunny cartoons?" Heat burned Ethan's cheeks in remembrance of his mishap before dejection-along with a large dose of disbelief-quickly set back in. "I missed. It happens and besides, it's not like we needed the point to win." "Of course we didn't," Javier replied with a scoffing snort. "But it's the point of it. What the hell distracted you so much? And, why do you look like your best friend died, which, I mi
Naomi, ensconced on the sturdy family couch, held the ice pack to her throbbing face and listened with only half an ear as her family fought. Francine-the crowing and snickering bitch-had escaped and left her to the tender mercies of her family. "I'll teach that fucking lacrosse player to not pay attention to the game and let our sister get hurt," Derrick ranted punching his fist into the palm of his other hand. "I say we hunt bloody forty-four and sixty-nine down. Let's tie their asses up and whip some rubber balls at their face and see how they like it," yelled Stu. "Who's with me?" A chorus of cheers met his plan. "Naomi should have been paying attention to the play." That came from Chris who followed up his statement with an "Oomph" as someone took offence at his criticism. Chris, only a year older than her and most often the victim of her mood swings as the slowest brother, always held the least amount of sympathy for her. And yet, despite his words, he wo
It had proved surprisingly easy to discover the identity of the injured female. Javier simply questioned a few staff members while Ethan glowered. In short order, they were handed the information along with wishes of "Good luck" and "Glad I'm not you." Ethan paid the pitying looks no mind, too caught up in his own inner misery of how to approach the female slated as his mate. Javier, on the other hand, couldn't stop grinning. He just wished he dared tape the event because seeing his enormous friend reduced to a quivering mass of jelly provided great entertainment. His theory that the upcoming meeting would prove interesting held-and made him wish for popcorn-as Ethan knocked on the door of the house where several sources assured them the female, named Naomi, would have been taken. A crowd of large men-none as big as Ethan of course-answered. An older, grizzled male, eyed them up and down before barking, "You're the idiots who got my daughter hurt. You've got a lot of