woke to a pounding head, every muscle in her body aching and annoying electronic beeps around her, and plastic tubing in her arms. She struggled to grab hold of where she was and the reason why she would be here. Her mind worked the problem over and over until she remembered the hell ride with Ryan and the crash into a deer. Steph didn’t remember much after the sickening slam into the animal except that the air bags slammed into her chest and stole her breath. She must have blacked out at that point.

Ryan? What happened to him? She could only hope he came through the accident okay. She worried about him now. She fumbled for the call button for the nurse and finally found it.

“Good. You are awake. How do you feel?”

“Like I slammed into a wall. Which is pretty much what happened. How is Mr. Kaur?

“Sorry?”

“The man I was with. Ryan Kaur. Is he okay?

“You came in alone, Ms. Brooks.”

“Alone?

“Well, not exactly alone. A dragon dropped you off.”

“I know I had a blow to the head. You couldn’t have said dragon.”

“Yes, I did. He brought you to the helipad and then flew off. We don’t know who he is or where he went.”

“I think the medication you gave me is too strong.”

“We didn’t give you any medication. Except for some black and blues and a couple of bruised ribs you are fine. We are just keeping you for observation.

“I need a phone to call my employer.”

“There is one at the side of the bed.”

“Can you help me? I can’t seem to reach it.”

Steph called the office, but it was after hours and the answering service picked up.

“This is Steph Brooks, one of the associates. I need to speak to Mr. Watins or if I can’t, his assistant Jared.”

“I’ll pass along the message,” said the operator.

Steph laid her head on the pillow after the call totally frustrated. The nurse couldn’t give her an answer as to when she would be released. Now she worried that Ryan was hurt, and no one was checking on him. She could only imagine what Mr. Watins would think about the whole thing. A good possibility existed that she lost her job because she couldn’t persuade Ryan to drive like a sensible person instead of a maniac.

A knock on the door snapped her out of her depressing reverie. Two men in suits stood in the doorway. At first she thought they were from her firm, but their suits weren’t tailored well enough to make them one of the elite lawyers of Peters, Watins and Roe.

“Ms. Brooks,” said one holding up a badge. “I’m special agent Darrell Rogers, and this is my partner Russell Pike. We are investigating your claim that a dragon brought you here.”

“It wasn’t my claim. I don’t know who brought me in. All I know is that I woke here after an upsetting day.”

“We’ve gone over the road you said you drove.”

Now Stephanie grew very alarmed. While she told her story to the doctors she hadn’t told anyone else.

“Doctor’s reports are confidential,” Steph said.

“Not when it comes to a matter of national security. Now tell me who this dragon is that brought you in.”

Steph’s jaw clenched as her lawyer instincts kicked in. “I told you. I don’t know. You can ask me a hundred more times, but I will give the same answer.”

“If you persist in obstructing justice, we’ll haul you in.”

“First,” said Stephanie, “you would need to prove I’m obstructing justice along with the crime I’m supposed to be covering up. I don’t see a crime here, agent, so just what the hell is going on?”

“I’m asking the questions here,” said Rogers.

“Well, I don’t have answers for you. If you think I’ve committed a crime, go ahead and arrest me. I’m sure my firm would be very interested as to why you interrogated and arrested a person receiving medical care.”

Rogers’ mouth twisted into a sour frown but before he could say anything else a voice boomed behind him.

“Leave her alone.”

Ryan Kaur stood in the doorway with a dark look on his face that promised death.

“Who are you?”

“I’m her employer. If you have any questions, you can call Alan Watins at Peters, Watins and Roe. They are in the book.”

“Call my lawyers, Peters, Watins and Roe. Now, Ms. Brooks needs her rest. I suggest you leave.”

Every muscle in Rogers’ body tensed as he stared at Ryan. But Ryan was six feet two of athlete’s body and one hundred percent no nonsense attitude. Plus, he wore a dark cashmere Italian power suit which oozed command. Never mind dick measuring. The real measurement was cut, thread count and wool quality. Here Rogers, in his off the rack suit, lost miserably. But his body language screamed protest with each inch he walked.

“Mr. Kaur, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. How are you?”

“Okay. Just some bruises. No big deal.”

Ryan frowned. “No big deal?”

“I got worse in basic training.”

“Then do you feel like you can travel, because we have to get out of here.”

“No buts. I’ll get you whatever medical care you need later, but it can’t be here. The news of the dragon landing here stirred up a lot of attention and I’m afraid they’ll try to detain you without a warrant.”

“But that’s illegal.”

“Newsflash. These aren’t the type of guys who worry about such things.”

He helped her sit up and pulled the IV carefully from her arm.

“So what about the dragon?” said Steph. “Why did it drop me off here?”

“We don’t have time for this conversation,” said Ryan.

Steph did not like the way he answered. It seemed as if he was hiding something. But right now, with no charges pending, she had every legal right to walk out of the hospital.

Ryan handed her clothes from the closet.

“Do you need help?”

She shook her head but didn’t move as he stood there.

“Do you mind?” she said pointedly.

“Sorry.” Ryan pulled the curtain by her bed between them. Every muscle screamed hurt, but she pulled on her clothes. She sucked in a breath as she bent to put her shoes on. Steph wished she had something more casual to wear than her work clothes and she could tell that the spiked heels of her pumps were going to give her battered body problems.

She hissed as pain shuddered through her body as she eased out of the bed.

Ryan pulled the curtain back

“Ready?”

“My purse?”

“Sorry. Lost in the crash.”

“That’s okay,” she said as sarcasm curled around her words. “It had nothing important in it. Just my license, credit cards, passport and anything else that identifies me.”

“Sorry,” said Ryan again. His eyebrows came together in worry. He seemed penitent but also exasperated as if he didn’t know how to handle feeling responsible for the events of the day. Perhaps he didn’t. Ryan Kaur, from all accounts, sailed through life without having to worry about the consequences of his actions.

“Can you walk or do I have to carry you?”

“I can walk.” His solicitous attitude grated her nerves. This jerk got them into an accident that could have killed her. He walked away unhurt, but she was going to feel the pain for days if not weeks. No wonder Kaur’s father thought he needed a babysitter. And she had no idea whether she was still employed or not.

“Hurry then,” he said with urgency. He walked forward to the door and peered out cautiously. Ryan held out his hand. “They aren’t here yet, but they are coming.”

Steph wondered if Ryan suffered a head injury. His paranoia was off the charts.

But when she reached the door and saw the line of dark suited men walking through the hallways, she realized he wasn’t.

“Agent Rogers has brought friends,” hissed Ryan. “Just walk with me calmly as if we belong here.”

They stepped into the corridor and Ryan took a quick right toward a door with a red exit sign hanging over it.

“Stop!”

“Hang on,” said Ryan. He lifted Steph into his arms and ran to the door. With a kick, he smashed the door open so that it hung at an odd angle.

No way, thought Steph, any man was that strong.

Ryan sprinted up the stairs so fast that all Steph saw was one long blur. Each one of his bounds sent waves of pain through her.

“What the hell?” said Steph. Things were happening too fast. And too strangely.  Ryan seemed to travel floors in a blink of an eye. Maybe she was hallucinating the damage to the door and what she saw. They were at one last door that said “roof” and she wondered what the hell they were going to do now.

He kicked this door open too, but slammed it shut again. He stood with his back to it as he started pulling at his tie.

“Hold my clothes for me, will you? I’m not sure when I’ll get a suit this nice again.”

Steph watched dumbfounded as Ryan stripped the clothes from his body. She had no idea what he intended though at any time she might have enjoyed watching a handsome man take off his clothes. But so many things were wrong here, not the least of which was that this man was her client, and what he was doing was highly inappropriate.

“What—” she said finally finding her voice.

But then there was pounding at the door, and Steph realized they had been found. Ryan handed his silk boxers to her, and she gulped to see him totally naked in front of her.

“Stand back,” he said, “while I try this.”

Steph had no idea what he meant to try, and from the noise behind the door great effort was being made to open it. Ryan stepped away, and she saw the door was crumpled and fit badly inside its frame like a round peg jammed into a square hole.

But the air shimmered around Ryan and he seemed to be elongating and growing larger, taking up more space as he did. She gasped when the shimmering stopped and what stood before her was flapping his wings.

Steph’s heart nearly stopped. She had never seen anything like it, but she was entranced and terrified at the same time.

Come said the magnificent blue dragon extending a foreleg. We must leave now.