Slade Read online

  Trisha shrugged. “I understand.” She smiled. “It made me mad at first but I calmed down. It’s your specialty.”

  “I left your name with security.” He smiled back. “I figured I owed you and thought you might want to look in on him. I know you always do that with your patients.”

  She sipped her drink. “Why would you have to leave my name? My hospital badge will be enough to get me into ICU to check on him.”

  “The guy is a medical freak.” Jose sighed. “We’re having a problem with everyone on staff wanting to gawk at him. They are worried someone will take pictures of him to sell to the media too. Someone spread it around that he’s got vampire teeth.”

  “Canine. There’s a difference.”

  “Whatever. He’s a freak and the hospital is terrified of breaking confidentiality. We’ve got a great rep for protecting our patients. We’ve had to restrict access to him but you are authorized to check on him.” The doctor stood. “I have to get home to my wife. We were on our way to dinner when they paged me and she didn’t take it well. It’s her birthday.”

  “Hit the gift shop to buy her chocolate on your way out.” Trisha winked. “I’d forgive anything for a few pounds of that.”

  Jose laughed. “My wife isn’t so magnanimous. I think I need to call a jeweler. Please check on him for me so I can get some sleep. They’ll page me if needed.” He saluted her as he left.

  * * * * *

  Trisha yawned. She’d been on shift for far too long and it was time to head home. She thought about her soft bed and she couldn’t wait to throw herself onto it. She flashed her badge at the security officer.

  “I’m Dr. Trisha Norbit. Dr. Jose Roldio asked me to check in on a patient of his.”

  The guard read his clipboard. “Go on in, Dr. Norbit. You’re cleared.”

  Trisha walked into the ICU and nodded at a nurse monitoring from the station, someone Trisha had spoken to a few times. She didn’t know many people who worked the day shift and there had just been a shift change. She glanced at the ICU board and knew which room he’d been assigned immediately. The numbers 215 were written on the board. She turned, going to room three.

  Trisha eased the door open slowly. The man sprawled on the bed had been cleaned up and his hair washed. It flowed down over his shoulders and she couldn’t help but notice the way it looked, as though streaks of golden sand were running through lines of wet, darker sand. He looked a lot different without dirt and mud clumps smeared over him. He was handsome. He had a very masculine, strong face with beautiful bone structure.

  She reached for his chart to study it. Her gaze lifted to him again, her attention going to his bare, broad chest where taped-on leads that connected him to the monitors marred his skin. She gawked a little at his thick, toned arms. Guns. She hadn’t heard that term before but he was extremely muscular. Maybe he is a bodybuilder. Her gaze lowered to his drug screen panel as she thumbed through his chart. She looked for any known drugs that bodybuilders used but he’d tested negative for them. He was only positive for a well-known sedative.

  Trisha returned his chart to the holder and walked closer. She stopped at the side of his bed and put her hands on the raised bedrail bar that prevented him from rolling out of bed. She studied his face closely, fascinated. His cheekbones were more pronounced than a typical human and his nose wider and shaped…different. She bit her lip as she leaned closer to get a better look at the generous lips that hid his canine teeth well, until they were pulled back. She only hesitated for a second before digging into her pocket to slip on a glove before she reached for his mouth, intent on getting a second look at those teeth while she had the opportunity.

  His full lips were soft, perfectly formed, and warm. She hadn’t noticed that last night but she’d been too busy assessing injuries, not facial traits. She gently used her gloved fingers to pull down on his lower lip. His bottom teeth appeared normal except his side teeth were sharp, canine style. She used her thumb to gently lift his top lip as she bent forward to get a closer look and gently cupped his face in her ungloved palm. She opened his jaw wider and held his mouth open. She had to stretch over his chest to get a better look, studying what she saw.

  She visually examined the extended teeth, the sharp points, and wished she knew more about dentistry. She leaned lower, realized her hair fell on his bare chest but wasn’t concerned about waking him. He’d been heavily sedated during surgery and it would be hours before he woke. Her face hovered mere inches from his mouth while she examined his back teeth, and took mental notes. The upper and lower molars were definitely canine, sharper than human teeth. His abnormal teeth were there for tearing and chewing.

  Trisha pulled her finger and thumb out of his mouth to allow it to close, still cradling his chin on her palm. She looked at his face again to study his flatter, wider nose but instead she found herself staring into a pair of wide-open, amazing blue eyes that peered right back into her startled ones.

  “Hi,” he rasped softly in a gruff rumble.

  Trisha jumped. It startled her that the patient was awake when he shouldn’t be. She tried to pull away from him but two hands grabbed her arms. Her hip banged the side of the bed when he yanked on her hard, pulling her down on top of him. Pain shot through her hip from the impact with the metal rail when he flipped her into the narrow space next to him. His weight crushed her body into the mattress when he rolled on top of her, pinning her under him.

  Trisha began to struggle after a few seconds when she realized what had happened. The patient’s hands slid along her arms to grasp her wrists, yanked them above her head, and a loud growl tore from his throat. The sound was surprising, so scary and vicious that it froze Trisha with instant terror. She stared up at the very masculine face hovering inches above hers. His strangely hypnotic eyes seemed to look right into her soul as he studied her intently until his eyes narrowed. His tongue slid from between his generous lips to swipe across his lower one.

  “You’re new. Didn’t they warn you to never cross the kill-zone line?” His gaze lowered to her throat but returned to her face. “And it was really stupid not to chain me down. Didn’t they give you the rundown on how to handle us, Doc? You never remove the restraints.”

  She found her voice finally. “You’re in a hospital. You’re going to be fine.”

  He frowned. Trisha was pinned under him, his body pressed tightly against hers from breast to feet. She also couldn’t ignore his heavy weight or the fact that his body totally blanketed hers.

  “I don’t know if I should mount or kill you,” he growled softly. He shifted his body over hers suddenly, causing Trisha to gasp when something hard pressed against her. There was no mistaking the fact he had an erection when he settled on her again, pressing his hardened cock right against the seam of her thighs. “My vote is mounting you since I’d hate to kill something so beautiful.” He grinned at her. It frightened Trisha when she saw his sharp teeth. “Ever wanted to be fucked by an animal, beauty?”

  “I’m Doc―”

  “I don’t care,” he growled softly, cutting her off. “Kiss me, beauty. Then I’ll show you what you’ve been missing. I’ve decided to mount you. I just can’t resist.” His nostrils flared as he inhaled and a deep groan rumbled from his parted lips. “I’m so hard for you and you smell so good.”

  Panic seized Trisha. She screamed. “Help!”

  215 stared down at her and smiled. “No one would be stupid enough to come inside this room to try to save you, beauty. You took the restraints off and now you’re mine.”

  He adjusted her, putting both her wrists in one hand by holding them together with his spread fingers, freeing his other hand to trail down her body. His hand hesitated on the curve of her breast long enough to make her gasp before it flattened over her ribs, then inched lower to her hip. He shifted over her enough to slide his roaming hand between her and the bed, took a firm hold on her ass cheek and squeezed.

  “Your ass is mine, sweet thing. Don’t worry though. I’
m not going to hurt you and I definitely won’t kill you. I like you a hell of a lot. I just decided I’m going to keep you with me for a few days, Doc. I’m going to do things to you that will make you never want to leave this room. You’ll want me mounting you as much as you want to eat or breathe air by the time I’m forced to release you.”

  A loud alarm suddenly blared inside the room. Trisha stared at the man who continued to smile at her. His hand on her ass gripped her more firmly as he shifted his body, forcing his hips between her legs and spreading her thighs when he parted his. The hard ridge of his cock rubbed against the vee of her pants. Her eyes widened at the feel of him pressed so tightly against her.

  “You’re going to want me as much as I do you,” he promised in a husky tone.

  He leaned down closer to Trisha, his gaze leaving hers. He nuzzled her face with his cheek, pushing against her until she turned her head away. His lips brushed her throat, opened, and he licked her skin and groaned. Shock jolted through her when he nipped her skin there, but worse, his hips started to move at the same moment. The rigid length of his shaft rubbed directly against her clit through their clothing. Her body jerked under him, tensed, and he growled, his jaw tightening on her shoulder.

  It half horrified her when her body responded to him. Her nipples hardened, her stomach quivered, and pleasure at his rocking hips massaging her clit, even through layers of clothing, made her pant. Being restrained had never been a fantasy of hers but suddenly she couldn’t help but be turned on that a powerful, handsome, and very dangerous male controlled her body. She fought it, tried to reason with her physical responses with cold logic but her mind didn’t want to work.

  He groaned against her throat, his mouth releasing her. “I can’t wait to taste every inch of you. I’m going to bury my face between your thighs and fuck you with my tongue until you beg me to make you come, beauty. I know you’re going to taste as sweet as you scent.” He growled louder. “Then I’m going to flip you over, put your ass in the air, and mount you until you come again.”

  Trisha arched against him. The image he painted inside her mind, combined with the stimulation of her clit, nearly made her climax before he did any of those things. She knew if he didn’t stop moving his hips she would. Her clit throbbed and she bit her lip hard not to moan.

  The doors to his room suddenly burst open loudly as at least six people rushed inside. The disturbance may as well have been cold water dousing the flames of Trisha’s runaway libido. The man on top of her jerked his head toward them and a loud, terrifying snarl erupted from his throat.

  “Sedate him,” Trisha yelled, her mind working again.

  Orderlies and security guards dived on the patient. He tried to twist to face them with a roar of rage, his intent to fight them clear. His hands released her and he tried to push his body up to throw off the men trying to hold him down. Trisha was terrified he’d get hurt and threw her arms around his neck, wrapping her legs around his thighs to try to help keep him down. He thrashed, his cock rubbing against her tighter, making her more aware of how turned on she was. She saw two orderlies jabbing needles into him as they sprawled across his back to hold him down.

  Mean growls tore from his throat but he finally stopped struggling. His body grew lax and his dead weight settled on top her the way a smothering, heavy blanket would until she couldn’t even draw breath. She was only able to get free when two orderlies, a security guard and two nurses lifted the big man off Trisha enough for her to scoot out from under him after the side rail was lowered.

  Trisha was sweating and panting by the time she rose unsteadily to her feet. The patient was sedated and facedown on the bed. She stared at him, trembled, and was deeply disturbed by what had happened. They’d probably be having sex if she hadn’t been rescued.

  A hand touched her, making her jump. Dr. Hearsal Morris, looking concerned, squeezed her shoulder.

  “Are you all right? Did he hurt you?”

  Trisha cleared her throat. “I’m fine,” she lied.

  Chapter One

  One year later

  Trisha sat at her desk, remembering 215. He still haunted her with his amazing blue eyes, how he’d pinned her under him on his hospital bed, and nearly…seduced her. She knew she’d never forget him but he didn’t remember her. It really bothered her too.

  She had heard that New Species, the survivors of the drug company testing facilities who’d been rescued, had given themselves names instead of the numbers Mercile Industries had tagged them with. He’d picked the name Slade.

  It fit him. He was a big son of a bitch, broad-chested, with long, wild hair, and he gave off an attitude of danger. Every time he showed sharp, abnormally long teeth when he flashed a grin, it made him appear predatory. It almost seemed as if he were threatening someone when he smiled. He also had to be the sexiest man she’d ever met and the memories of that hospital bed always made her tingle with arousal.

  The New Species had been given a private retreat, of sorts, called Homeland, for the survivors of the testing facilities. The world wasn’t completely welcoming of their existence and they needed to live in a high-security setting for their protection against hate groups who believed they were an abomination.

  Religious fanatics called them evil, unnatural, and an affront to God because they’d been created inside test tubes by scientists. If they didn’t take up the religious excuse to hate, they called New Species two-legged animals who didn’t deserve human rights, nothing more than trained pets who mimicked people. It was ridiculous. It irritated Trisha when she heard those crazy rants by idiots on the news. New Species were victims, not a blight on humanity, and definitely not the evil spawn of Satan. They also weren’t pets with the ability to speak words.

  Two months before she’d heard a private medical center would soon open at Homeland. She’d immediately submitted her résumé, hoping to secure a position as one of the doctors they’d planned to hire. She’d never forget how surprised she’d been when two days before she’d gotten the call. They’d chosen her over all the other candidates.

  Everyone in the medical community was fascinated by New Species. Their total surviving numbers were unknown but Mercile Industries, a leading drug research company, had been using them as live test subjects. They’d introduced animal DNA into their genes. Rumor had it that they had created them to combat diseases that crossed from animals to humans and to create vaccines and medicines to battle diseases in humans that animals were naturally immune to. Later it was said the company had branched out to physical enhancement drugs to make humans stronger, more muscular, and in better shape just by taking the pills they created.

  It stunned her that other doctors and scientists had sold their souls for a paycheck but obviously many had done the unthinkable to the men and women forced to be living experiments. The fact that someone had even figured a way to successfully combine human and animal DNA to create life had set the medical world on its ear. Living proof existed though with the New Species.

  Trisha hoped she’d learn more detailed information about them now that she had landed the job but so far they hadn’t told her much. She’d been given one file to look over. Some of the information had stunned her but she’d been ready for any challenge presented. Unfortunately, it seemed they’d only hired her to play nurse to the human employees since none of the New Species had stepped into the clinic.

  She leaned back in her chair, propped her feet on her desk, and reviewed the facts she had learned. New Species picked weird names for themselves, usually something that had meaning for each individual. They had chosen to call themselves New Species because many of them were not altered with the same animal DNA strands. She’d learned there were three types—canine, feline, and primate species. Then there were a few documented notes on the physical differences discovered about them. Her thoughts instantly fixed on the reason for her aggravation.

  Slade doesn’t remember me. He practically molested me, swore to do obscene things to my body, a
nd he just…forgot what he did? She hissed out air, surprised steam didn’t rise from her ears from the anger that burned brightly inside her. She’d just had a confrontation with him and she hadn’t seen a flicker of recognition in his eyes. How could he forget? I sure can’t and it’s not fair. Just like a man. Turns a woman on, gets her all hot, and then forgets her the second she’s out of sight. Jerk!

  He’d been extremely rude to her, adding insult to injury. One of the fully human employees at Homeland and a canine New Species male were living together. Trisha knew they were having sex, despite their denials, and she wanted to study the couple’s sex life. Slade had gotten in her face, had been vulgar, and had the nerve to call her nosy!

  Any details about the couple’s sex life could be important. There was so much not known medically about the New Species. Were they even sexually compatible with humans? Trisha wasn’t sure what percentage of males were involved but it had been documented in the few reports that she’d read to prep for her new patients that some of the males swelled at the base of their penises right before ejaculation. Was that painful for a woman? That was a question she’d wanted to ask the woman living with a New Species but Slade had ordered her to stay away from the couple.

  She wanted to explore the possibility of humans and Species having children together. She had been told Mercile Industries had paired the New Species females with their male counterparts for years, hoping to create more of them. They’d never had a single pregnancy result. It might be that none of the New Species were able to conceive children due to something simple that could be medically treated. She might be able to figure it out if anyone would allow her to help but that wasn’t going to happen if no one would permit her to run tests on them.

  “Dr. Norbit?”

  The voice pulled Trisha from her thoughts to glance at Paul as he walked inside the clinic to relieve her shift. He was the only nurse and he seemed nice enough. He was in his early forties and he’d mentioned he had a military background.