Chapter 2

"What do we got?" she called out.

The man was ushered into the trauma bay. She'd been a trauma nurse for years and loved the thrill. The adrenaline rush was better than sex. Well, almost better. It had been a while, and her handy-dandy, battery-operated boyfriend was the only action she'd been seeing lately.

The first thing that caught her eye with the new patient was that he was naked. Usually, they had to cut the clothes off unconscious patients, but this one was already as naked as the day he was born.

A few of the guys in the room chuckled. They all tried to avoid his groin area, but Faye caught a peek. Her eyes widened at its size, and she swallowed hard. Whoever this guy was, he was large everywhere, and certainly blessed.

"I think we have a shifter," Moe, the paramedic answered.

One of the other nurses threw a clean sheet over the man's private area.

The team immediately got to work assessing the newcomer. The paramedic informed the room of what he knew of their patient.

"What kind of shifter?" Dr. Franks, their staff emergency room physician, asked.

"Not sure." The other paramedic shrugged. "I've never seen anything like this before."

Curiosity filled her. She hooked him up to the heart monitor, taking in his badly bruised body. It was well-toned and muscular, and the bruises covered almost every inch of his body.

What in the world happened to him? she wondered to herself. After she'd placed the last lead onto his chest, the sounds of his racing heartbeat filled the room.

Dr. Franks barked out orders for the crew, guiding them in their lifesaving measures. The team functioned as a well-oiled machine.

"Whatever happened to this man, being a shifter certainly saved him." Dr. Franks shook his head in awe. He stared down at the patient. "There's no way a human could have survived whatever happened to him."

"He sure is lucky." Faye hung up the telephone. Due to the patient arriving as a trauma, the radiology department bumped other patients on the schedule and were waiting to hear if they needed them. She navigated around the room and came to stand next to Dr. Franks. "I just got off the phone with radiology, and they can take him now for the CT scan."

"Good. Let's get him down there so we can make sure he doesn't have any internal damage." He nodded at her. "Page me when you all return."

"Yes, Doctor." She turned to find the other nurses, Angela and Teresa, finishing up the preparations for the trip to radiology.

"You need us to go with you?" Angela asked. She unplugged the oxygen tubing from the wall before connecting it to the portable oxygen tank on the bed.

"I don't think I need both of you. Dr. Ramsey is coming with me, and I think with Mike, we should be fine." She nodded to the ER resident.

"Yes, I'm going. I can't wait to see the images," Dr. Ramsey added.

"I'll go, Angie," Teresa volunteered. "Cover my patients for a little bit. This shouldn't take long."

"No problem," Angela said with a salute. She disappeared from the room.

Faye turned back to her patient and sighed. This was going to be a long night. "Let's roll out."

* * *

"One hundred and fifty bones are fractured." Dr. Franks stared at the bedside computer screen.

"That's almost all of his bones," Faye gasped. She finished hanging a new bag of intravenous fluid for the John Doe. Her eyes flew to the patient who had yet to awaken. It was like someone had picked him up and thrown him from a very high building.

Who could survive something so traumatic?

There was no other explanation for how he had so many broken bones. Someone didn't want this man to live.

"There's nothing we can do right now but wait." Dr. Franks shook his head. "The only explanation for why he's still alive is that he's a shifter, and as a shifter, he'll just need time, and his body will heal itself."

"Should we consult orthopedics?" Dr. Ramsey asked.

"Not right now. Let's see what he's like in the morning. Shifters' bodies heal rather quickly. We'll rescan him in the morning…" Dr. Franks voice faded as the two physicians stepped out of the room, leaving Faye alone with her charge.

She logged in to the computer to chart a few things on her patient. The intensive care unit didn't have an open bed right now, so it seemed like he would be with them in the emergency room for a little while longer. A noise grabbed her attention, and she paused her typing, glancing over at the man. She walked over to him and was finally able to get a good look at him.

She tilted her head to the side, trying to get past the bruising, and she could see he was handsome. Very handsome, now that she was studying him closer. He could be downright gorgeous. His dark hair was just long enough for a girl to glide her fingers through. He had long eyelashes that any woman would pay big money to get. And his chest?—

She had to dart her eyes away and catch her breath. What was the matter with her?

"Who are you?" she whispered. She reached out and moved his dark hair from his face. She adjusted the oxygen tubing in his nose and saw her hands were shaking. She didn't understand why, but she was absolutely captivated by him. "What are you?"

She jumped; his eyes fluttered. She pulled her hand away quickly, embarrassed at almost getting caught touching him. He released a groan, and his eyes opened. His golden irises mesmerized her.

He is definitely a shifter.

"Come closer," he moaned, his eyes shutting tight.

With her heart beating erratically, she leaned in, barely able to hear what he was saying.

"What is it? Are you okay? Do you need something?" she whispered frantically.

He took a deep breath, and she waited to hear what he was about to say. Would he whisper his last dying words? Who would she contact to tell that he'd died and that he'd left his last request with her? She was two seconds from hitting the code button, waiting for him to speak.

"You smell so good," he murmured.

"What?" She drew back in shock, taking in the large grin that had spread across his face. "Are you serious?" she sputtered, unable to believe that she thought he was dying, and he was sniffing her.

"You do smell good. I couldn't wait for those doctors to leave the room," he announced, his eyes filled with a devious glint.

Oh, without the bruises, he would be one hot panty-melting shifter. She swallowed hard and took a few steps away from the bed. She had heard plenty of stories of shifters and knew she should stay far away from him. Who wanted nights filled with hot, unbridled passion? Multiple orgasms? What woman would want sexual satisfaction that no human man could match?

Nope, not her, she tried to convince herself, but failed. And the look he was giving her now told her that he wanted to swallow her whole. Her body released a shudder with just the thought of him tasting her.

"So, let me get this straight. You've been awake this whole time?" She stomped her foot with her hand on her waist.

"I woke up when I was in that machine," he said and attempted to stretch his arms out but stopped and winced.

She watched, amazed, as he slowly sat up. He grimaced slightly, turning, setting his feet on the floor.

"You shouldn't be getting up." She rushed to his side, his flirtation forgotten, the nurse in her kicking in. "Almost every single bone in your body is broken!"

"I'll be fine," he brushed her off. He tore the oxygen tubing from his nose and turned to her.

The slow perusal of his eyes, starting at her feet, then up toward her eyes, left her squirming. Her body betrayed her, and a slight hint of moisture formed at the apex of her thighs.

Down girl , she thought to herself. He's a patient , she chanted in her mind. But it didn't do any good. Even though he was beat up and bruised, she was still attracted to him. No way would she get involved with a patient. She brushed her hair from her eyes and promised herself a date with her B.O.B as soon as she got home.