Scientist Dragon's Assistant (Irish Dragon Shifter Brothers Book 9) Read online

  Scientist Dragon’s Assistant

  Irish Dragon Shifter Brothers Series

  Brittany White

  Copyright © 2021 by Brittany White

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  1. Eli

  2. Ava

  3. Eli

  4. Ava

  5. Eli

  6. Ava

  7. Eli

  8. Ava

  9. Eli

  10. Ava

  11. Eli

  12. Ava

  13. Eli

  14. Ava

  15. Eli

  16. Ava

  17. Eli

  18. Ava

  19. Eli

  20. Ava

  Epilogue

  Firefighter Dragon’s Demi-God Daughter (SNEAK PEEK)

  Chapter 1

  Also by Brittany White

  About the Author

  Exclusive Offer

  1

  Eli

  “Eli, I’m ready. Are you coming?”

  Eli Bennett studied the readout on his computer, comparing it to the notes he’d made the previous week. “There’s definitely an increase,” he muttered to himself.

  Something nudged his arm. “Eli!”

  He jumped, dropping his pen. It clattered to the floor.

  “What?” he asked. He turned away from his equipment to see his girlfriend standing with her arms crossed.

  “You said you’d come tonight.”

  What was tonight? He had no idea. Dragon shifters don’t get tired as easily as humans do, but he’d been up all the previous night watching the radar in his garage. He’d been tinkering with the sensitivity, and he’d forgotten to go to bed.

  During the week, he didn’t allow himself to get lost in his hobby like that. As a geneticist at a lab connected to the Oregon Health and Science University Hospital, he couldn’t afford to be sleep deprived. He lived in Portland to be close to his lab, and he spent his days researching how genes were inherited and how they mutated. He had a PhD in molecular biology, and identifying genetic disorders was his life’s work, but his passion was astrophysics.

  He had chosen a different path for his career, but in his spare time, he studied space.

  On the weekends, he went home to stay in his family home with his dragon shifter clan. His parents had always indulged his hobby, and when he was fifteen, they let him build a separate garage on their property where he could set up his equipment.

  He’d started with astronomy and studied the stars and the planets. Later, as he learned, he moved onto astrophysics, even getting a degree in the field just because he enjoyed it.

  When he got lost in his work and forgot to eat, his mother smiled fondly and patted his head. His father clapped him on the back and boasted to the neighbors about how his son had two degrees. Neither of them ever got angry at him.

  But that was not the case with his girlfriend. Or any of the females he’d dated. His preoccupation with his work, both paid and unpaid, seemed to piss all of them off beyond reason.

  “Tonight?” he asked.

  She flung her arms out to her side. “Eli! Yes! There’s a big group going over to the cliffs. We’re supposed to go flying.”

  “We can do that anytime.”

  “No, we cannot. It’s really windy, which you know makes it more fun.”

  Windy weather could be fun, especially when there was a lot of rain and fog. It meant that no one was out. They didn’t have to worry about planes, or drones, or sailboats. The humans would all be taking shelter.

  His laptop beeped, and he turned his back to her. “Let me just check a few things.”

  Sometime later, there was a loud crashing sound. Eli typed in another equation and then turned around just in time to see his girlfriend opening the door.

  His metal recycling bin was on the floor with a few cans spilling out of it. “Did you kick my bin over?”

  “Yes!” She stomped her foot. “Eli, I freaking kicked it over! You didn’t even turn around.”

  He’d learned to tune out loud noises at the lab. As a shifter, his hearing was more sensitive than a human’s, and he often wore noise-canceling headphones.

  “I just had to put the—”

  “I don’t care what you had to put in. I don’t want to know. I’m leaving! You can stay here and goof around with your computer, and I’m going to meet our friends at the cliffs.”

  He stepped away from his desk. He could tell from the pounding of her heart that she was furious. He still wasn’t sure why she was so angry. She didn’t need him to go flying. She was part of their clan, too; she would know everyone there.

  His parents, and Jackson, too, had tried to tell him that he needed to be more sensitive and listen to what she wanted. And he tried to do that—he really did. But the hard truth was that she wasn’t his mate. He knew that. And she did, too. He wasn’t trying to be a bad boyfriend.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. He forced a smile. It pained him to leave his project behind before he’d answered all of his questions. “Let’s go right now,” he said. “The fog is only going to get thicker, so we won’t miss much.”

  She crossed her arms. “No. I don’t think you understand. I’m going. And you can go if you want. But we aren’t going together.”

  “Why not?”

  She let her head fall backward. Her hands rolled into fists as she raised her head back up and glared at him. “Damn you, Eli.”

  He was baffled. “What’s wrong?” If he was honest, he didn’t really want to know, but he didn’t want to treat her badly. He did care about her, even if she wasn’t his mate.

  “Let me spell it out in simple terms. I am breaking up with you.”

  He nodded. “Okay.”

  She made a growling sound that was dangerously close to the sound shifters made when they changed. He took a step back, shielding his computer and equipment. “Please don’t shift in here.”

  “You really are an idiot.” She spun around and then she was gone.

  He waited a moment, a little stunned by her wrath. Then he peeked out the door. She was truly gone. Now he didn’t have to worry about going down to the cliffs. He was free to work on his measurements and study his data.

  Five hours later, someone knocked on his door. He inhaled, fearing it was his girlfriend again. Or now, he supposed he should call her his ex-girlfriend.

  But it wasn’t her. It was his best friend, Jackson. He was alone. His mate, Helena, wasn’t with him.

  Jackson didn’t wait to be invited in. He barged in, just like he always did.

  “Hello,” Eli called out over his shoulder. He had a few more calculations to check.

  “Why didn’t you come down to the cliffs?” Jackson asked.

  “I was busy.”

  Jackson didn’t share his love for outer space. He always said the Earth was good enough for him. But he also didn’t give Eli a hard time about the way he spent his free time. Jackson was a little more open-minded than other shifters in their clan. He’d married the daughter of a demi-god after all, and he was supportive of his cousin Garrett, who’d left their clan to live in Las Vegas.

  However, Jackson was not accepting of everything. He wanted Eli to be mated, just like Jackson himself was. He couldn’t stop going on and on about how wonderful it was to have a partner.

 
Then, Jackson asked about Eli’s girlfriend. “Why didn’t you come with her? We had a lot of fun with the gusts of wind.”

  “I was busy.”

  “Right.” Jackson came and stood in front of Eli. Jackson crossed his arms over his chest. He was a big guy, even for a shifter. He pulled the notebook from Eli’s hands. “Why didn’t you come?”

  Eli surrendered the notebook and plopped down in his office chair. “She broke up with me. It was very loud and dramatic.”

  “She broke up with you?” Jackson came to stand beside him, putting one hand on his shoulder. “Man, I’m sorry.”

  “I’m not,” Eli said. And he wasn’t. Lately, she had always been mad at him. “I think I’m done with dating. I’m not like you; I’m not going to find a mate. So, I just need to quit wasting my time.”

  “I promise you it’s not a waste of time once you find the right person.”

  “The females I date never want me to work.”

  “That’s not true. None of them have complained about your job at the hospital. They get annoyed because you’re choosing to spend all your time in this garage, holed up with the stars. It seems like you care more about them than anything else.”

  “Jackson.” Eli picked up his pencil and spun it in between his fingers. “Listen to me. I’m just not cut out for mating.”

  2

  Ava

  “Ava, your latest paper on artificial chromosomes and gene replacement was excellent,” her advisor said. “I’m thrilled with your progress.”

  “Thank you. I’ve really enjoyed being a teaching assistant here at the university, but I’d like to do some hands-on work at a lab.” Still a student herself, Ava was forced to teach the freshman biology courses at the college. Even after she finished her PhD, that probably wouldn’t change for a few years.

  Trying to teach eighteen-year-olds who didn’t know or care about science had gotten old fast. She was ready to do some real work.

  Her advisor nodded. “I know the perfect place for you. Have you heard of Eli Bennett and the work he’s doing?”

  “Of course. His work is ground-breaking.”

  “He’s a friend, and if you’re interested in working for him, I’ll be happy to write you a glowing letter of recommendation.”

  She smiled. “That would be fantastic.”

  After chatting with her advisor for a few more minutes, she got up and left. She went straight home and filled out the application for Dr. Bennett’s lab online. She could hardly believe she was applying to work as an assistant for Elijah Bennett, one of the most well-respected geneticists on the West Coast.

  He’d made a name for himself early in his career, publishing multiple papers in scientific journals, and also finding the cause of a few genetic abnormalities that resulted in rare diseases. She’d seen him lecture once at the university. The auditorium had been packed, which was unusual for a guest speaker.

  When she took her seat, she understood why. Not only was Dr. Bennett a genius in his field, but he was gorgeous as well. She hadn’t been able to get too close to him, but anyone with eyes could see his handsome face and tell he was perfectly built under his lab coat and khaki pants.

  The student who’d been seated next to her was a math major.

  “I’m just here to look at him,” she’d whispered to Ava.

  Ava truly wanted to hear what he had to say about DNA sequencing, but she couldn’t deny she enjoyed looking at him as well.

  If he hired her, it would be a dream come true. Although it seemed like a long-shot. He would probably have a list of applicants a mile long.

  An hour later, she’d submitted her application and notified her advisor so that he could send the letter of recommendation.

  Then, she looked at the time. “Crap,” she muttered. She had a date in thirty minutes. She was supposed to meet the guy in downtown Portland.

  She washed her face and brushed her teeth. She tried to put on a little mascara, but she didn’t have time for anything else. She usually didn’t wear makeup at all. It wore off when she was in the lab at the university, especially when she had her goggles and mask on.

  Exactly thirty minutes later, she was sitting down across from him in a nice restaurant on the Willamette River. A friend had set them up, promising that he would be a great date. “He’s a financial planner, and he owns his own sailboat,” her friend had said.

  His wealth made no difference to Ava; she planned to have a decent salary to support herself, and she wasn’t looking for a husband. She just wanted someone to spend time with, and she also wanted to be able to discuss current events, books, and ideas. Those were the things that mattered to her in a partner.

  The guy was handsome in a very traditional way.

  He’s nowhere close to being as hot as Dr. Bennett. But then again, who is?

  She brought her focus back to the man sitting across from her. After they introduced themselves, they made a little small talk, and then she asked him about his work.

  “Oh, that’s boring. You don’t want to hear about that.”

  “I do,” she insisted. She had very little background in economics or finance, but she found the topics fascinating. “I like to learn about investments. I took an online course in the stock market because I wanted to understand how it worked.”

  He lifted his eyebrows. “I don’t like to talk about work after hours.”

  She couldn’t suppress her scoff. “Really? You don’t like your work?”

  He shrugged. “It’s okay.” A grin crossed his face. “It makes me money, so I like it enough.”

  She just could not relate. She didn’t always love every part of the jobs she had. Parts of her teaching job were frustrating and tedious, and she had arguments with coworkers just like anyone else in the world. When she did an internship in a lab, she’d had to spend hours on paperwork when all she wanted to do was run experiments. But that was true for everyone. No one got to spend all day doing exactly what they wanted.

  She tried to explain that to him, telling him about the paper she’d just written on genes. He didn’t even pretend to look interested. She ended her explanation quickly, resigned that this was another wasted evening. She considered leaving but decided she’d at least stay and eat her meal. The shrimp fettuccine looked really good, and she wouldn’t have to cook when she got home.

  When the waiter brought their bottle of merlot, her date guzzled his wine in one gulp.

  “So, what does interest you, if not work?” she asked.

  “Camping,” he said. “I camp every weekend, rain or shine.” Then, he launched into a very detailed explanation of the campgrounds in Oregon.

  Ava liked camping. She’d done it several times. She liked nature and hiking and sailing, too. But he continued to talk, not attempting to draw her into the conversation at all. She tried to be fair, thinking maybe he was nervous or even distracted. And talking too much or being self-centered wasn’t the worst thing in the world. She’d been on far worse dates.

  “You’ll have to come with me sometime once the weather warms up,” he said. “I’d like to see you in a bikini.”

  Oh, I bet you would.

  She would not be doing that.

  Maybe she wasn’t meant to date.

  Some people were just better off single. She was obviously one of them.

  3

  Eli

  Eli read the glowing letter of recommendation from his colleague one more time. He had an interview with the candidate coming up in fifteen minutes, and he wanted to know something about her.

  You’ll find Ava to be dedicated, hard-working, and above all, committed to the research. Her paper on gene therapy was one of the best I’ve read, and as a teaching assistant, she’s shown patience with the freshman biology class, something that is not always an easy feat. With full confidence, I recommend her for the position of lab assistant, and…

  He’d never received such a wholehearted endorsement from his friend before. In fact, the genetics professor
at the university was notoriously hard to please.

  Eli shuffled through the stack of applications. Sometimes, he found it easier to work alone than to deal with an insufferable assistant. But if Johnson was this enthusiastic about his grad student, Ava Carter, then Eli would at least interview her. Maybe it would save him the mind-numbing task of sorting through more applications and resumes.

  The hospital used to do the hiring, but the last few assistants they’d sent to him hadn’t worked out. Eli didn’t think he was hard to work with, but his track record said otherwise. Three of them had quit, but he’d fired the last two. They just hadn’t been serious about their work.

  They’d ignored certain crucial safety protocols. They’d made sloppy notations. And they’d taken way too many personal phone calls during the day.

  He’d screamed, “We are dealing with people’s lives! You do not need to check your Tinder account again!”

  The hospital Chief of Staff had come to have a talk with him, but in the end, Eli hadn’t been written up. Once they’d checked the cameras in the labs and seen how often the assistants took breaks and how often they didn’t put on goggles or gloves, Eli had been vindicated, and now the hospital was going to allow him to make his own hiring decisions.

  Ava sounded like she had made her work a priority in her life. Some people thought that was foolish, but not Eli.

  Sometimes he wished he could work with an all-dragon shifter research team, the same way his friend Jackson worked with an all-dragon shifter firefighting crew. But although there were a few doctors and another scientist in his clan, none were geneticists.