Perfect rivalry, p.1
Perfect Rivalry, page 1
Perfect Rivalry
Synopsis
Ren Dunbar is used to never fitting in—anywhere. Graduating high school at thirteen and med school at nineteen pretty much guaranteed she’d always have trouble proving she belonged, but she’s okay with that. She prefers the solitude of the lab over the raucous atmosphere in the OR, which would be fine except she’s a surgery resident. Winning the Benjamin Franklin Prize in surgery is just the proof she needs to show everyone she deserves to be part of their world.
Dani Chan knows she’s disappointed her family in choosing a mundane clinical career—in surgery no less—over the far more valuable world of medical research. When she wins the Franklin Prize and the national acclaim that comes with it, she’ll finally gain their approval, and maybe, at last, their affection.
Ren and Dani set out to win, no matter what it takes, but their unexpected attraction is an obstacle neither has counted on and love may be the final reward.
Acclaim for Radclyffe’s Fiction
“Medical drama, gossipy lesbian romance, and angsty backstory all get equal time in [Unrivaled,] Radclyffe’s fifth PMC Hospital Romance…[F]ans of small community dynamics and workplace romance without ethical complications will find this hits the spot.”—Publishers Weekly
“Dangerous Waters is a bumpy ride through a devastating time with powerful events and resolute characters. Radclyffe gives us the strong, dedicated women we love to read in a story that keeps us turning pages until the end.”—Lambda Literary Review
“Radclyffe’s Dangerous Waters has the feel of a tense television drama, as the narrative interchanges between hurricane trackers and first responders. Sawyer and Dara butt heads in the beginning as each moves for some level of control during the storm’s approach, and the interference of a lovely television reporter adds an engaging love triangle threat to the sexual tension brewing between them.”—RT Book Reviews
“Love After Hours, the fourth in Radclyffe’s Rivers Community series, evokes the sense of a continuing drama as Gina and Carrie’s slow-burning romance intertwines with details of other Rivers residents. They become part of a greater picture where friends and family support each other in personal and recreational endeavors. Vivid settings and characters draw in the reader…”—RT Book Reviews
Secret Hearts “delivers exactly what it says on the tin: poignant story, sweet romance, great characters, chemistry and hot sex scenes. Radclyffe knows how to pen a good lesbian romance.”—LezReviewBooks Blog
Wild Shores “will hook you early. Radclyffe weaves a chance encounter into all-out steamy romance. These strong, dynamic women have great conversations, and fantastic chemistry.”—The Romantic Reader Blog
In 2016 RWA/OCC Book Buyers Best award winner for suspense and mystery with romantic elements Price of Honor “Radclyffe is master of the action-thriller series…The old familiar characters are there, but enough new blood is introduced to give it a fresh feel and open new avenues for intrigue.”—Curve Magazine
In Prescription for Love “Radclyffe populates her small town with colorful characters, among the most memorable being Flann’s little sister, Margie, and Abby’s 15-year-old trans son, Blake…This romantic drama has plenty of heart and soul.”—Publishers Weekly
2013 RWA/New England Bean Pot award winner for contemporary romance Crossroads “will draw the reader in and make her heart ache, willing the two main characters to find love and a life together. It’s a story that lingers long after coming to ‘the end.’”—Lambda Literary
In 2012 RWA/FTHRW Lories and RWA HODRW Aspen Gold award winner Firestorm “Radclyffe brings another hot lesbian romance for her readers.”—The Lesbrary
Foreword Review Book of the Year finalist and IPPY silver medalist Trauma Alert “is hard to put down and it will sizzle in the reader’s hands. The characters are hot, the sex scenes explicit and explosive, and the book is moved along by an interesting plot with well drawn secondary characters. The real star of this show is the attraction between the two characters, both of whom resist and then fall head over heels.”—Lambda Literary Reviews
Lambda Literary Award Finalist Best Lesbian Romance 2010 features “stories [that] are diverse in tone, style, and subject, making for more variety than in many, similar anthologies…well written, each containing a satisfying, surprising twist. Best Lesbian Romance series editor Radclyffe has assembled a respectable crop of 17 authors for this year’s offering.”—Curve Magazine
2010 Prism award winner and ForeWord Review Book of the Year Award finalist Secrets in the Stone is “so powerfully [written] that the worlds of these three women shimmer between reality and dreams…A strong, must read novel that will linger in the minds of readers long after the last page is turned.”—Just About Write
In Benjamin Franklin Award finalist Desire by Starlight “Radclyffe writes romance with such heart and her down-to-earth characters not only come to life but leap off the page until you feel like you know them. What Jenna and Gard feel for each other is not only a spark but an inferno and, as a reader, you will be washed away in this tumultuous romance until you can do nothing but succumb to it.”—Queer Magazine Online
Lambda Literary Award winner Distant Shores, Silent Thunder “weaves an intricate tapestry about passion and commitment between lovers. The story explores the fragile nature of trust and the sanctuary provided by loving relationships.”—Sapphic Reader
Lambda Literary Award winner Stolen Moments “is a collection of steamy stories about women who just couldn’t wait. It’s sex when desire overrides reason, and it’s incredibly hot!”—On Our Backs
Lambda Literary Award Finalist Justice Served delivers a “crisply written, fast-paced story with twists and turns and keeps us guessing until the final explosive ending.”—Independent Gay Writer
Lambda Literary Award finalist Turn Back Time “is filled with wonderful love scenes, which are both tender and hot.”—MegaScene
Applause for L.L. Raand’s Midnight Hunters Series
The Midnight Hunt
RWA 2012 VCRW Laurel Wreath winner Blood Hunt
Night Hunt
The Lone Hunt
“Raand has built a complex world inhabited by werewolves, vampires, and other paranormal beings…Raand has given her readers a complex plot filled with wonderful characters as well as insight into the hierarchy of Sylvan’s pack and vampire clans. There are many plot twists and turns, as well as erotic sex scenes in this riveting novel that keep the pages flying until its satisfying conclusion.”—Just About Write
“Once again, I am amazed at the storytelling ability of L.L. Raand aka Radclyffe. In Blood Hunt, she mixes high levels of sheer eroticism that will leave you squirming in your seat with an impeccable multi-character storyline all streaming together to form one great read.”—Queer Magazine Online
“Are you sick of the same old hetero vampire/werewolf story plastered in every bookstore and at every movie theater? Well, I’ve got the cure to your werewolf fever. The Midnight Hunt is first in, what I hope is, a long-running series of fantasy erotica for L.L. Raand (aka Radclyffe).”—Queer Magazine Online
Perfect Rivalry
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By Radclyffe
The Provincetown Tales
Safe Harbor
Beyond the Breakwater
Distant Shores, Silent Thunder
Storms of Change
Winds of Fortune
Returning Tides
Sheltering Dunes
Treacherous Seas
PMC Hospitals Romances
Passion’s Bright Fury (prequel)
Fated Love
Night Call
Crossroads
Passionate Rivals
Unrivaled
Perfect Rivalry
Rivers Community Romances
Against Doctor’s Orders
Prescription for Love
Love on Call
Love After Hours
Love to the Rescue
Love on the Night Shift
Pathway to Love
Honor Series
Above All, Honor
Honor Bound
Love & Honor
Honor Guards
Honor Reclaimed
Honor Under Siege
Word of Honor
Oath of Honor
(First Responders)
Code of Honor
Price of Honor
Cost of Honor
Justice Series
A Matter of Trust (prequel)
Shield of Justice
In Pursuit of Justice
Justice in the Shadows
Justice Served
Justice for All
First Responders Novels
Trauma Alert
Firestorm
Taking Fire
Wild Shores
Heart Stop
Dangerous Waters
Romances
Innocent Hearts
Promising Hearts
Love’s Melody Lost
Lo ve’s Tender Warriors
Tomorrow’s Promise
Love’s Masquerade
shadowland
Turn Back Time
When Dreams Tremble
The Lonely Hearts Club
Secrets in the Stone
Desire by Starlight
Homestead
The Color of Love
Secret Hearts
Short Fiction
Collected Stories by Radclyffe
Erotic Interludes: Change Of Pace
Radical Encounters
Stacia Seaman and Radclyffe, eds.:
Erotic Interludes Vol. 2–5
Romantic Interludes Vol. 1–2
Breathless: Tales of Celebration
Women of the Dark Streets
Amor and More: Love Everafter
Myth & Magic: Queer Fairy Tales
Writing As L.L. Raand
Midnight Hunters
The Midnight Hunt
Blood Hunt
Night Hunt
The Lone Hunt
The Magic Hunt
Shadow Hunt
Perfect Rivalry
© 2022 By Radclyffe. All Rights Reserved.
ISBN 13: 978-1-63679-217-0
This Electronic Original Is Published By
Bold Strokes Books, Inc.
P.O. Box 249
Valley Falls, NY 12185
First Edition: May 2022
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
Credits
Editors: Ruth Sternglantz and Stacia Seaman
Production Design: Stacia Seaman
Cover Design by Tammy Seidick
eBook Design by Toni Whitaker
Acknowledgments
The first book in this series was written early in 2004, the year I founded Bold Strokes Books. The setting was a few blocks away from where I lived at the time—a “city” neighborhood whose spirit of community I hoped to capture. That book, Fated Love, was also one of the first medical romances I crafted, and at the time, I had no idea how my interest in writing medical communities and geographic ones would gradually blend to culminate in the Rivers community romance series. Writing the sixth book in this extended PMC series has allowed me to keep the stories current in time and spirit, and given me the pleasure of revisiting one of my favorite universes. As in the Rivers series, the hospital is modeled after a real one—one founded in 1850 as the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania. This was the first medical school in the world to admit and award women the MD degree and remained solely a women’s medical school until late in the twentieth century when it became co-ed and eventually merged with several other medical schools in Philadelphia.
Thanks to the many people who helped me revisit this world—Ruth Sternglantz and Stacia Seaman for editorial expertise; Paula Tighe for enthusiastic beta-reading and style advice; Sandy Lowe, for invaluable personal and business support. And to my wife Lee, for always seeing the positive. Amo te.
To Lee, and the continuing adventure
Chapter One
Pennsylvania Medical Center (PMC) hospital, a Saturday night
Ren Dunbar adjusted the camera on the microscope to zoom in on the superoxygenated red blood cells in her most recent tissue sample, carefully advanced the O2 microprobe, and turned to her laptop sitting open on the lab bench beside her. Scanning the readouts scrolling across the screen, she gave a mental fist-pump. Yes.
These cells showed a definite improvement in oxygen carrying capacity, exactly what was needed for injured cardiac muscle cells. Busy importing the video of the procedure into her data feed, she absently registered the sound of a door opening and closing somewhere at the far end of the lab and ignored it. Usually at two in the morning, she was completely alone, but sometimes maintenance personnel working the night shift would come in to replace equipment or perform routine cleaning duties. Midnight to six a.m. were her most productive hours, and even when she was on call, she preferred spending the time she wasn’t seeing consults working in the lab rather than wasting time in the OR lounge or on-call room. Quiet and solitude constituted her comfort zone. She flinched at the sound of her name.
“Ren,” Quinn Maguire repeated, stopping beside her.
“Oh, sorry. Didn’t hear you come in,” Ren said, trying to hide her annoyance at the interruption.
The surgery chief and program director gave her a quizzical smile. “I had a feeling I’d find you here. Your beeper not working?”
Ren frowned. “Um, I’m not on call, Dr. Maguire. But if you need me for something…”
“No, but I’ve been having a hard time tracking you down. That wouldn’t be because you don’t want to be found, would it?” Quinn leaned her hip against the lab bench and folded her arms, looking relaxed but still very much in charge, which was pretty much how she always looked. Like Ren, she wore forest-green scrubs, the uniform for most surgeons while on duty in the hospital, especially in the middle of the night. At first glance, Quinn always reminded Ren a little bit of her older sister. Both of them were dark-haired, intense, and she guessed the word would be handsome, as attractive or pretty just didn’t quite describe the strength in their faces or the absolute confidence behind their smiles. But Sax was leaner than Quinn and radiated an electric kind of energy twenty-four hours a day. Quinn projected a calm, controlled power that never wavered no matter how urgent the circumstances.
Ren schooled her expression to one of neutrality. She wasn’t hiding in the lab—preferring solitude was different than avoiding company, after all. Not that she thought anyone would actually understand that—no one ever seemed to, although Quinn Maguire was very perceptive. A handy trait for someone in charge of training forty surgical residents, all of whom worked very hard at never revealing any kind of uncertainty or weakness. Or, in Ren’s case, atypical behavior. Fortunately, she’d learned a long, long time ago how to prevent any of her emotions from showing on her face. She was pretty sure she’d successfully abolished even a blush after years of rigorous biofeedback practice. “I’m always very careful to keep my beeper charged and with me at all times when I’m on call.”
“I know that,” Quinn said. “You’ve always answered your pages promptly whenever there’s been a consult or a case that we needed you for. But whenever you don’t absolutely have to be available, I never see you around.”
“My lab projects keep me very busy.”
“No doubt,” Quinn said with a nod. “You might want to join some of the resident functions happening in and out of the hospital for a break now and then, though.”
Ren smiled. She hadn’t really expected anyone to notice her absence, even though she intentionally avoided socializing with fellow trainees. That hadn’t always been true, until she’d learned that just because she wanted to connect with others, the feeling wasn’t necessarily reciprocal. She got along fine with the OR staff and even other residents when it was necessary, but when work didn’t require it, she had no points of intersection, really. Nothing in common with any of the students, and later residents, on her career path.
“I’m very sorry if you’ve been trying to reach me,” she said again.
“You don’t have your voice mail turned on, on your phone.”
Ren shrugged. “I have a new phone, and since I never had any messages on the previous one, I didn’t see the point in setting it up.”
“You might want to,” Quinn said casually. “Congratulations on getting that paper accepted in Circulation, by the way. That’s a real coup.”
Warmth rose through Ren’s chest, and she felt the flush in her cheeks. She couldn’t avoid the response to some pleasures, and professional success was at the top of her list. “Thanks. Rinaldo deserves a lot of credit. If he hadn’t been in charge of growing the tissue samples, we wouldn’t have such great early results.”
