"hell, carol, you didn't say that lelandi said so. that makes a world of difference," jake scolded her. "i mean, with the other version, i just figured you couldn't see that i'd changed back."

"yeah, well, i told lelandi."

"sorry, carol. i just couldn't believe it myself." lelandi rubbed her arms covered with goose bumps.

"what's causing the trouble?" ryan asked.

"well, if doc doesn't change back, maybe it has to do with the cold he got. or flu virus." carol chewed on her lip. "since he's a wolf now, he'll have all wolf genetics. have darien call doc mitchell and run some tests on doc weber's blood. see if he can discover if he's still sick. if he isn't, the change probably knocked out the illness like you said it might."

"you're sure about this?" jake asked. "i doubt doc weber will appreciate it if the vet starts testing his blood without his permission."

"it's the only correlation i can see for now. besides, if there isn't a problem, doc weber can shift and tell the vet where to go. if there is a problem, i'm sure he'll be grateful we're trying to learn the cause and do something about it."

"all right." jake flipped his phone back open and called darien. "carol needs one more thing done."

chapter 21

hell, everything is going further downhill, ryan thought when darien called an hour after dinner with news from the vet clinic. doc mitchell was missing.

"i have to return to the hospital and take blood samples from doc weber," carol said, sitting at the dining table and looking ready to leap from her seat and do something, anything.

"not without darien's approval." jake stared out the window. "and besides, matthew said he'd do it. we've got men looking for the vet. some others are watching doc weber in case anyone tries to take him, and some who are watching nurse matthew and nurse charlotte. seven men are here guarding the house from the outside, and others searching for north and his men. for now, darien doesn't want anyone to move from his assigned job. not until he knows what we're up against."

lelandi, who had been on the go every minute the last time ryan was here, looked tired again, slumped in her chair and quiet, with her eyes half closed. and as restless as carol had been throughout the night, she looked exhausted. if she had to go back to the hospital in an hour or so, she needed some rest.

"the ladies look like they need to lie down for a while," ryan said to jake.

he frowned at ryan, looked at lelandi, and then switched his attention to carol. "all right. come on. i'll watch lelandi and you guard carol while they get some sleep."

ryan and carol walked up the stairs, following jake and lelandi. this time, ryan intended to sit in the recliner and watch over carol like a dutiful bodyguard.

both women were moving so slowly that he wanted to carry carol and tell jake to do the same with lelandi. but he assumed jake didn't want to push his luck by overstepping his boundaries with darien's mate unless it was absolutely necessary.

ryan wrapped his arm around carol's waist and helped her up the stairs. she slumped against him, cuddling with him. instantly the notion of sitting in the recliner seemed not as likely.

as jake passed carol's bedroom door, he gave ryan a stern look that warned him to behave himself with carol. ryan told himself that he would behave himself as long as that's what carol wanted. he wasn't so sure she wanted him to control his sexual urges with regard to her, not after the way she'd kissed him back at the clinic. maybe it was damned wishful thinking on his part.

he followed her into the bedroom and closed the door as she sat on the bed and then pulled off her tennis shoes. he walked over to the recliner and sat, hoping for an invitation to lie down with her. dog tired, he hadn't gotten much sleep the previous night, either. but she needed to sleep more than he did if her medical services might be required later that night. unless she needed his comfort if she experienced any more night terrors, she was probably just as well off sleeping alone. maybe even better off. although he hated to admit it.

for a moment, carol sat on the bed, staring at the floor and not saying a word.

"what is it? another vision?" ryan was ready to leave the chair and sit next to her, to coax the truth from her, if need be.

she shook her head and took a deep breath. "it's like when you deal with one of your cases, i'm sure. just trying to sort out what's going on." she pulled her scrub's shirt over her head, exposing a silky sheer bra. her darkened dusty-pink nipples pressed against the fabric like two perfect jewels. did she even realize how sexy she looked?

"your sister said you talked about me to her." carol stood, grabbed her waistband, and pulled her scrub pants down her hips. she let the pants slide to her feet and then stepped out of them.

his gaze latched onto the thatch of golden curls showing through the silk bikini panties.

"ryan?"

his gaze lifted to see her brows raised. she pulled the eyelet cover aside, climbed under it, and then situated the top of it under her chin.

"what did you say to your sister about me?"

"what did i say to her?" his mind was in a fog. his thoughts were still centered on the way carol looked in her sheer underwear-sexy, tantalizing, and inviting more than just his gaze.

"yes. she said you kept talking about me."

he frowned. "she called you?" the notion finally sank into his lust-filled brain. he didn't recall the conversations he'd had with rosalind about carol during the investigation. he supposed he'd said he thought carol's psychic abilities weren't for real.

"not sure. most likely about what you'd envisioned."

"that i'd lied then?" she didn't sound angry, just sleepy and inquisitive.

"not lied. just overheard conversations and incorporated them into dreams and thought you'd had a vision."

"that's all?"

he couldn't believe rosalind would bring it up. if she wanted carol to like him, why cause a rift between them? "i honestly don't recall anything else i discussed with her. except maybe about another case."

"i'll have to ask her then."

he ground his teeth, not liking that rosalind intended to stir things up. even though he'd planned on remaining on the chair and only joining carol if night terrors revisited her, he changed his mind and began unbuttoning his shirt.

"whatever was said before was the past. it's not important. the future is what concerns me."

she watched him unbutton his shirt, and he swore she was undressing him with her eyes before he could even get to his pants. which made him work faster on his belt. he divested himself of the rest of his clothes, except for his boxers, and climbed into the canopy bed. he motioned to the eyelet canopy overhead. "i feel i've entered the bedchambers of a cloistered princess."

"hmm, as a highland warrior of an opposing clan? this is not exactly a highland bed or setting." she moved closer to him and snuggled against his body, the warmth of her silky soft curves heating his blood.

he kissed the top of her head, wanting from the bottom of his heart to make her fantasies come to life. he told himself that was because of all the years of wanting and never fulfilling his own destiny. carol, little miss nightingale, and one sexy witch rolled up in one was the only woman who'd ever be right for him. not that they didn't have a lot of things to work out-shape-shifting and coming to grips with her werewolf half were at the top of the list.

"do you want me to get my plaid out of the truck and toss it over us?"

"you mean you'd run outside like you're dressed now? wearing only your boxers? what would the men guarding the house think?"

"if this were my castle, they'd cheer me on. at darien's, they wouldn't like it much."

she chuckled, the sensuous sound teasing his senses. "it doesn't matter as long as the highlander is part of the setting." she smiled up at him, and for a moment, he thought she didn't look all that sleepy-instead, sultry and decadently wicked in her seductive lingerie.

but being honorable-or as honorable as he could be when he wanted something less than honorable-he said, "get some sleep in case darien calls and wants you to return to the hospital."

with her gaze focused on ryan's chest, she stroked his belly with the tips of her fingers, softly tantalizing and as erotically as anything he'd ever experienced. already his blood was running south, preparing him for a much more vigorous workout. he wanted to move her onto her back, take her as her mate would, and claim her for his own, but he assumed she wasn't ready for that.

he cleared his throat and ran his hand through her hair, luxuriating in the silky golden strands. he hated to ask, hated to ruin the moment, but he had to know how far she was willing to take this before he did something she wasn't prepared for.

before he could question how far she wanted to go, she murmured, "hmm," and slid her fingers lower, past his navel, lower still until she slipped them underneath his waistband and gingerly caressed the skin beneath the elastic.

he sucked in a breath, waiting for her to move her fingers even lower, where his erection had curled upward begging for her touch.

then a horrible thought occurred to him. they didn't have much time. what if darien called and wanted carol to go to the hospital pronto? yet ryan couldn't move, the anticipation of her touch suspending him in time.

her fingers surged deeper into his briefs, sweeping across the tip of his penis, which jumped at her touch.

he still wanted to know how far she was willing to go. oh, hell. forget words. he couldn't come up with the right ones. and he assumed she wanted what he did at this point anyway. he rolled her over on her back and straddled her leg so he could slide his fingers under her waistband. he didn't take as long to find her sweets, slipping his fingers through her curly hairs and then lower until he found her warm wetness and began to stroke the jewel that made her arch slightly against his fingers.