"in the exam room, you stand against the door and look like a bodyguard. not my boyfriend. not medical counsel. a bodyguard. period," she said to ryan, her body so close to him that he could breathe in her peach scent, remembering vividly how he'd rinsed the soap from her skin the night before, every inch silky and soft. and later, when he'd kissed her soundly, his senses had filled with the delicious fragrance of her, the sweetness, the arousal, the heat of the moment.

the way her chest rose and fell with her hurried breathing and the flush of her cheeks stimulated some deeper need in him. even the way she berated him appealed to him. he knew she was doing her job, making sure her patients got the best advice, although his advice came from his local doctor, so he knew it was sound. he loved the way she stood up for her patients, even if she had to know he was giving good information.

he wanted her. wanted to take her all over again. to share the intimacy. to feel the heat burning between them and escalating.

a smile tugged at his lips as he bowed his head slightly in agreement, his face nearly touching hers. he wanted to kiss her in the worst way. he was sure his smile led to her reiterating her point.

"i'm serious," she said, a little breathless and a lot flushed. he could tell she was as affected by their close proximity as he was. she motioned to jake. "if you can't be quiet, jake can take your place."

jake lost the smirk and cleared his throat as he neared them. "didn't find anyone in the unoccupied exam rooms who shouldn't be here. outside the hospital is clear. deputy trevor's watching things out front now. so far no problems with anyone coming in through the front door, and no one trying to slip in or out through the back door. how are the two of you getting along? need a break, ryan?" jake's expression was again amused.

"maybe a little later," ryan said, never taking his eyes off carol's sharp blue ones. "i'll practice being a bodyguard a while longer." hell, forget the recliner. he was guarding her body in bed again tonight. he smiled.

carol turned away from him, whipped out the next patient's chart, and stalked down the hall to the waiting area.

jake chuckled. "she's a spitfire when she's angered. what did you say to rile her?"

"told the patient she could use fish oil to help with her allergies. i also would have mentioned a dehumidifier if she was having trouble with mold. worked for my aunt."

"and you have a degree in?"

"life." ryan headed after his charge.

jake laughed behind him.

at first, ryan couldn't see carol in the waiting area from his location in the hallway, and his heart pounded faster as he increased his pace. but when he reached the sitting area, he saw her waiting for a man whose whole expression brightened when he saw her. he was about ryan's age, limping toward her and smiling with a look that was an attempt at "woe is me-give me sympathy."

"robert, did you need a wheelchair?" she sweetly asked.

she didn't sound as professional as ryan would have liked. not as serious. more good-natured and, well, way too sweet.

as ryan approached, the man's amber eyes, pig-like in appearance, switched from carol to ryan, and he swore robert looked like he was about to have a heart attack.

"the nurse asked if you needed a wheelchair," ryan said, his voice verging on a growl as he advanced toward the muscular man.

carol's mouth dropped open as she stared at ryan. "ryan mckinley, whatever is wrong? mr. grayce has lived in the area forever."

ryan glowered at the man and folded his arms. "you sure?"

after forgetting all about tom, ryan finally noticed him leaning against the check-in counter. tom nodded to confirm carol's statement, his expression bemused.

carol cast ryan an annoyed look and then took robert's arm and helped him back to an exam room. her hip pressed against the man's as she eased him down the hall at a crawl, and ryan swore the patient leaned into her more than necessary. she should have gotten him a wheelchair or, at the very least, crutches or something. she didn't need to use her body to hold him up!

"where are the wheelchairs?" ryan growled.

continuing down the hall with her charge without a backward glance, carol ignored ryan.

half hiding a smile, tom pointed to a storage room. ryan stalked inside, grabbed a wheelchair, and hurried it after the limping man. just in case the man was truly hurting, ryan couldn't slam the chair into the back of robert's legs like he wanted to, but he'd give the poor guy a seat so he wouldn't have to limp all the way to the exam room.

ryan stopped the wheelchair and seized the man's arm, assisting him into the seat, and then grabbed hold of the handles. he gave carol a smile as her mouth gaped wide again. then she snapped it shut.

"the least i can do as your bodyguard, carol, is help with your patient."

as red as her face was, he was certain that, at the first opportunity, she would attempt to replace him as her bodyguard with anyone else. mervin even.

he sighed heavily and wheeled robert into the room carol motioned to. he had never suspected that guarding the woman would be this difficult.

and this was only the first hour.

chapter 16

"he's impossible," carol said over her cell phone to lelandi and then took another sip of her bottled water to finish it off. she was making the call from the hospital staff lounge during her break. although as annoyed as she was with ryan, carol hated to admit she'd miss him when he no longer had to guard her during her patient visits.

ryan stood with his legs apart, arms folded, staring out the break-room window, still playing bodyguard and listening in on her conversation. small break room. wolf's hearing.

coffee bubbled in a pot nearby, the aroma mixing with someone's beef-in-wine-sauce lunch that was hastily heating in the staff microwave.

"impossible," she repeated and cast ryan an annoyed look, but his back was to her so he didn't get the full benefit of her irritation.

"what did he do that was so wrong, carol? he's supposed to be there protecting you. you have to make allowances. i know it's hard to have someone watching your every move. but he's only trying to help." lelandi was her usual reassuring self, as if she was practicing her psychology lessons on carol.

feeling worn out from her experience in the woods the previous night and ryan and her early morning romp into sated bliss, carol propped her cheek on her hand as she rested her elbow on one of the lounge tables.

"he gave medical advice to six of my patients! six! from allergy remedies to how to relieve tension headaches. even gave them all kinds of dietary advice. and where did all this medical wisdom come from? dealing with his aunt tilda, who has every ailment known to man and wolf kind."

"was any of his advice dangerous?"

"well, no, of course not. but he shouldn't be offering it!"

"do you want jake to stay with you instead? he said he would. or tom, for that matter."

carol lifted her head and watched ryan. his whole body had tensed. something she had said? or did something he was watching out of the window catch his attention?

he jerked his phone off his belt and then hesitated. she parted her lips to speak with him, but he suddenly flipped his phone open, punched a couple of buttons, and said, "jake, south of the hospital, three men met across the street and then hurried down an alley. yes, of course they should be checked out. i would, but i have to watch carol. all three were wearing blue jeans and sweatshirts, real casual. they were taking a lot of interest in the hospital. yet they didn't make any move to approach it. one even motioned to your truck and then mine."

"carol?" lelandi said over the phone, breaking into carol's concern about ryan's conversation with jake. "did you hear me? did you want jake to watch you instead?"

"jake's got another mission," carol said. she sighed. "after ryan's finished guarding me here, i'm going to recommend he go to medical school."

ryan snapped his phone shut, folded his arms again, and continued to watch out the window.

even though she didn't want to believe that the men ryan saw were the same ones who had grabbed her, she couldn't help the shiver trailing down her spine. the best medicine for what ailed her was work, though. she glanced at her watch. "break time's up, lelandi."

"i'll have dinner on when you get home."

"can't wait. see you later." she closed her phone and said to ryan, "ready to go back to work?"

he turned around and nodded, his face a mask of indifference.

"do you think it was them?" she asked, rising from the chair and hoping she didn't sound nervous. but hell, they'd shot her full of dope, taken her out into the cold naked, and dumped her when they thought they might get caught. no wonder it bothered her that they might try something like that again! she shoved her hand in her pocket and felt the syringe, her defensive weapon if she needed one.

"could have been. or not."

she wasn't sure what ryan's response meant. he kept any hint of emotion out of his words so they were not reassuring but not alarming, either. she threw her empty water bottle in the trash and headed for her nurse's station.

"it's not that i don't appreciate you being here for me, ryan. i really do. but you could get yourself, me, and the hospital into a lot of trouble if you keep giving medical advice to patients."

he opened his mouth to speak but then frowned and yanked his phone off his belt. as he walked her back to her station, he flipped the phone open.

"yeah, jake? same ones?" he rubbed his chin, studying her.

another tremor stole up her spine. ryan was trying to keep his expression neutral, but she could tell he was worried by the way a small crease appeared between his brows and his eyes slightly tightened.

hell. she'd hoped that after ryan and darien and the others had kept those men away the night before, that would be the last of it. that today they were being way overcautious. and that tomorrow she wouldn't need ryan or anyone else staying in the exam room with her.