New Species 02 Slade

Slade

Laurann Dohner

Book 2 in the New Species series. The books can be read as

stand-alone stories, but it is advisable to read them in order to

get the most enjoyment from the series.

Dr. Trisha Norbit is flat on her back in a hospital bed,

pinned under a really big New Species male. Though

drugged out of his mind, he promises her ecstasy and is

determined to deliver—but hospital staff intervenes. 215

is a man Trisha will never forget. But, when she meets

him again at Homeland… he doesn’t even remember her!

The nosy new doctor wants to know all about the

breeding habits between humans and Species. Slade

proposes a hands-on education but she’s not interested

in a one-night stand. He can’t offer more because he’s

haunted by the memory of a woman he once tried to

claim. He’s shocked when he realizes they are one and

the same. He’s blown it—she’ll never give him a chance

now.

But, when her life is in danger, he’s the only one who

can save her. As they flee through the wilderness, their

desire ignites and cannot be denied. Hot sex, on the run,

has consequences that are even more dangerous and will

change their lives forever.

Reader Advisory: There is a scene of an attempted rape.

Ellora’s Cave Publishing

www.ellorascave.com

Slade

ISBN 9781419935831

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Slade Copyright © 2011 Laurann Dohner

Edited by Shannon Combs and Pamela Campbell

Cover art by Syneca

Photography by Vishstudio on Shutterstock.com

Electronic book publication August 2011

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SLADE

Laurann Dohner

To my always and forever—Mr. Laurann.

“Didn’t you used to work for a veterinarian, Trisha?”

Trisha frowned, taking a sip of her iced coffee. Her

body tensed when she heard the man’s voice. Dr. Dennis

Channer was a prick. He always tried to go out of his

way to harass her by any means possible. The guy just

had it in for her.

It was difficult for people to get to know her, she’d

come to grips with that, but it still hurt her feelings

sometimes. She’d graduated high school at the young

age of fourteen and by the time she was twenty-four,

she’d finished medical school, had completed her

residency, and spent a few years in the trenches of some

of the toughest hospitals known for incoming trauma

victims. At twenty-eight she had landed her dream job at

one of the top-rated hospitals within the U.S.

Most people were either intimidated by her or

believed she had to be pretty conceited. She wasn’t a

snob, didn’t think she was better than anyone else, and

she definitely wasn’t a cold fish. Her social skills just

sucked. She had always been a bit shy, led a busy life

that hadn’t allowed her friendships for the most part, and

then there was the fact that few people were friendly to

her. It wasn’t easy to warm up to people who gave her

the cold shoulder.

Dennis Channer was her boss and he resented the

hell out of her. He’d been in his thirties, a full decade

older than Trisha, when he’d come to work at Mercy

Hospital. He thought her too pretty and he hadn’t hidden

his opinion that her looks had landed the job rather than

her skill. She’d worked her ass off to get where she had.

She’d sacrificed having a personal life for her career.

“Yes, I did. I worked at an emergency veterinarian

hospital through med school.”

“No scholarship?” He sneered at her.

She counted to ten silently. “No.”

“You’re up next.” His lined face appeared highly

amused, too pleased to suit Trisha. “We have an

incoming that is right up your alley.” He laughed,

obviously making some private joke, targeting her.

Her teeth clenched to prevent her from saying

something she’d regret. She dumped her iced coffee and

the rest of her sandwich into the trashcan before

following Dennis down the hallway from the lounge. It

will probably be another unfortunate soul, Trisha guessed.

Dennis loved to toss drunks, vagrants, or gang members

her way. Since he’d mentioned alley, a homeless person

came to mind.

An image of a highly smelly, unwashed body that

would knock her back with its stench flashed through her

brain. It might even be one of the crazy ones who would

yell about how aliens from Mars were going to kidnap

them all. Trisha had dealt with many of them,

unfortunately. A lot of them tended to wrap foil around

various body parts to prevent aliens from supposedly

scanning them. Removing the stuff to evaluate their

injuries usually resulted in at least four of the staff

having to hold them down.

Trisha passed Sally, a nurse she had become friends

with, as she moved quickly toward the emergency doors.

The frightened, grim expression on other woman’s face

made Trisha tense more. Whatever was coming in had to

be pretty ominous since the woman was one tough

cookie, having seen a lot of horrendous things in her

fifteen years working the emergency room.

Trisha started to worry. There wasn’t much that

scared Sally. The nurse hadn’t even flinched when two

weeks before a gang member had been brought in with

three gunshot wounds to the back. While they’d been

working on the young man, a rival gang had sent one of

their members into the emergency room to finish him off.

Sally had calmly helped Trisha wheel the unconscious

man into a closet to hide him while security cleared the

building to locate the armed thug.

Dennis turned, smiling smugly at Trisha. “We have

an incoming half man, half dog.”

“That’s not funny.” Trisha sighed. “I dumped my

dinner for this? Grow up, Dennis.”

He lifted his hands, still smiling. “I wish this were a

joke but I’m serious. He’s been rescued from some

Frankenstein research facility for a drug company. We

have incoming to different hospitals to the tune of about

sixty-five patients. We’re the nearest trauma center and

they are flying him to us because he’s the worst of the

victims. The onsite paramedics and the life-flight crew

have confirmed that this man is human with doggy

parts.” Dennis appeared downright gleeful. “And he’s all

yours since you know your dogs.”

Trisha put her hands on her hips. “You should have

saved this one for April’s Fool’s Day. What is the real

story? Are they bringing in a victim wearing a dog suit?

Is he a character actor who tripped at some kid’s birthday

party while playing a mutt?”

“It’s true,” Sally intervened softly. “It’s on every

major channel.” She didn’t play practical jokes on Trisha.

Her dark eyes looked anxious. “The cops busted some

research facility and they are pulling survivors from the

building, saying they are part animal and part people.

We do have an incoming life flight with one of them

onboard. We called an emergency vet to back us up but

he’s twenty minutes out.”

Shock rippled through Trisha as she struggled to

take in the ramifications of what she’d heard. She spun

around to stride quickly to the nurse’s station to peer up

at the television mounted to the wall. Two nurses were

already watching, their eyes glued to the set. A news

helicopter circled a building while filming ambulances,

police, fire and swat vehicles on the ground. In bold

lettering scrolling across the screen she read enough to

cause her to spin back around.

“Time?” Trisha shouted.

Cory, the male nurse who did incoming control,

spoke from his tucked-away position behind a desk at

the entrance. “They are three minutes out. He’s stable so

far.”

“Crap,” Trisha ground out. Her gaze flew to Dennis

and she gave him a grim nod. “What do we know so

far?”

“Shaky details at best.” Dennis still smiled. “He’s got

blood loss, he’s in shock, and they don’t know what is

wrong with Dog Boy. They just scooped him and ran

when his vitals crashed. Maybe you can give him a

doggy treat and he can bark out his injuries.”

“You’re amused?” Trisha glared at him with disgust.

“God, you’re a bastard. This is someone’s life.” She