He couldn’t keep the smile off his face if he tried to. He was getting some, and it was good. But somewhere deep down inside of him, it was a little more than that. There had always been something about Goodson that was different from other women; something that separated her from the rest of pack. She was beautiful; there was no doubt about that, and definitely sexy, and at times, she was even cute. She was incredibly intelligent, and could definitely hold her own against him; she had proved that a number of times. Yet, she trusted his medical judgment tremendously. When he ordered her to do something, whether it was to test for something or administer a treatment or get consent, she did it, even breaking hospital rules to do so. Of course there were times when she thought he was absolutely wrong and stood her ground against him, but for the most part, her loyalty to him surprised everyone, most of all him.

And of course he had definitely fantasized about her more than a number of times, just as he assumed every other man in the hospital did, except, of course, Hayes, but that really wasn’t his fault. There was something innocent about her, something mysterious about her, and something sensuous about her. Now, he was actually physically making love to her, and it couldn’t compare to any fantasies he had had of her. It was hard for him to admit, even to himself, but she was starting to grow on him. Hell, she had managed to squeeze under his thick skin after he hired her on as a member of his team.

She was challenging him, both mentally and physically. He didn’t want it to stop, not now at least. She was substantially younger than he was, but she didn’t seem to care, and Lord knew he didn’t.

When he walked into his office, he immediately saw that the woman who had just been occupying his thoughts was not there. She wasn’t known for being late, and she would have told him if she wasn’t coming in, right? Of course she would. She would have to professionally, and he knew she was honest enough to let him know of an unscheduled day off.

“Where’s Goodson?” His voice came out a tad more rough than he originally intended, but his expression revealed nothing as he looked at his team expectantly.

“With Dr. Linley,” Roberts replied, his eyes meeting his boss’s.

“What?” Hadley snapped, his body tensing at the mere mention of that man’s name. “Why?”

“He asked for a consult,” Hayes informed Hadley, sighing a little.

“What for?” Hadley said. He had to hold something, to squeeze something. He knew Linley always tried to fuck with him, but unless Linley had the nose of a bloodhound, there was no reason for Linley to know that Hadley was even interested in her, let alone sleeping with her. But then again, as he thought about it, it might not have anything to with him. Maybe Linley really wanted to fuck her, and who didn’t? But for him to make a pass at her? He took hold of the back of a chair and gripped it tightly. “He’s a goddamn psychologist. What does he want with an oncologist?”

Neither man spoke; they didn’t have to. What did Linley want with all the female doctors and nurses he asked for a “consult”?

His knuckles were white. He didn’t know why he was overreacting this way; he usually didn’t care when Linley was trying to tap someone’s ass, but this was different, this was personal. Linley wasn’t just fucking with him, he was now fucking with her. And for some reason, that pissed him off. Very much.

At that moment, the object of his thoughts walked in with an agitated look on her face. She didn’t even notice Hadley as she walked in and sat down. Her brow was deeply furrowed, causing small indentations in her forehead.

“Where the hell have you been?” Okay, Hadley knew it wasn’t her fault. A doctor rarely ever turned down consults, especially since he wasn’t here at the time to reject Linley’s request for her. However, that still didn’t make him feel any better. “We have a patient who’s not responding to radiation and you’re off gallivanting with a psychologist?!”

“I don’t think gallivanting is the word I would use,” Goodson snapped, craning her neck to meet his eyes.

“How about we focus on the patient instead of Dr. Linley, hmm?” Hayes asked, taking his cue and stepping in between the arguing doctors.

Hadley ran his hand down his face and stopped at his mouth. He was frustrated and upset; he hated being distracted.

“Go do another MRI,” he said finally.

“There’s no point,” Goodson told him. “Nothing came up on scan. She doesn’t have a brain tumor.”

“I’m sorry, was I asking?” Hadley snarked, quirking his brow. “Because if I was, feel free to jump in and question my suggestion. Now go.” He lifted his arm so it was pointing toward the door way.

He watched as the three doctors on his team walked away, Goodson slamming the door behind her. He practically fell into his seat and rubbed his temples, staring at the scattered papers on his desk. Yes, he hated being distracted. But even more so, he hated caring.

* * *

After lunch that day, Mason diagnosed her with inflammation of the blood cells in her brain and told his team to treat her with steroids. After one last check at dinner, the patient seemed to be getting better, eating a hospital dinner, and prepared to leave sometime tomorrow. The day was a long one; Olivia wouldn’t look at him and when he tried to talk to her somewhat civilly, it always ended up coming out defensive, which just caused her to get defensive. Neil tried to keep order between the two, but it ended up useless, and after three o’clock, he stopped trying.

It was an odd feeling – apprehension. As he drove to her apartment with Chinese food in the passenger seat, he wasn’t exactly sure how she would take him after everything that had happened today. It wasn’t his fault that he was so… insatiably curious, especially when it came to her. He knew nothing about her, and while he was just coming to know her body, he was still determined to know about her, who she was as a person. Despite their budding relationship, she was still quiet about everything, and her apartment revealed nothing except that she was somewhat organized and seemed to like the color green. Just the mere thought of Thomas even imagining her naked caused Mason to fume, and although he definitely took his anger out on her, he was sort of hoping to make amends.

From the corner of his eye, he noticed something interesting taking place across the street from her complex. It wasn’t a surprise that there was a large park because it was Boulder after all, but what was taking place in the park that caught his attention. A large, well-maintained soccer field was on the edge of the side, and despite the darkness, street lamps cast enough light for a game to take place. Such a game was taking place, in fact; it seemed to be five on five. There was nothing official, just ten people playing a game for fun. He pulled his car over to a curve a few meters away, and he didn’t have to worry about being noticed; everyone was focused on the game.

Especially her.

He didn’t know she played soccer. As he got out of the car and quietly made his way onto the grass, he didn’t realize how good she was either. He hung back, away from the small audience the players had gathered, but his keen eyes followed her. There were only two females there, and he could easily make out who she was; her red hair in a high, messy ponytail, wearing an old, loose jersey and an old pair of soccer shorts. There were no shin guards on her, but she wore a worn pair of cleats. How could he have not noticed that she played the sport?

He watched her hang close to midfield, nothing but space between her and the goalie she was defending. Her hands were on her hips, her jaw set, her brow furrowed. She looked determined. The opposite goalie punted the ball right to his teammate, and he trapped it with his chest. Once it hit the ground, he dashed for the goal.

“I got it!” one of Olivia’s teammate called to her. She tensed as she watched the opposing player, but nodded, hanging back slightly just in case.

However, the opposing player was better than was originally expected and easily dribbled the checkered ball around him, causing Olivia to have to dash back to the goal to prevent him from attempting to score. Her hands were coiled into fists, her cheeks were red, and her hair was flying, but God, she was fast, and before anyone knew it, she had caught up with him. Coming from the side, Olivia slid down onto the ground and managed to kick the ball away from the opposing player and out of bounds. Immediately, she hopped back up, quickly wiping away the clinging grass off of her thigh before getting back into the game.

God, she was good. Damn good. How could he not know this? No wonder her legs were amazing.

The game ended a few minutes later, Olivia’s team taking the win, one to zero. Olivia grabbed a Fiji water bottle and sucked on it thirstily. Sweat dripped everywhere, her hair clung to the wetness of her body, but she had never looked more sexy to Mason than right now. When she finished, she slipped off her shirt, throwing her jersey over her shoulder. She revealed a plain grey sports bra and her curvy body, also covered with sweat. Mason couldn’t help but stare; hell, he didn’t blame the others for staring.

Olivia suddenly saw him, as she began to head back to her apartment, and her eyes narrowed. “What are you doing here?” she asked him suspiciously.

“I didn’t know you played soccer,” Mason said, completely ignoring her question.

Olivia usually let it slip, but not this time. “I know you didn’t just come to watch me play,” she told him, stopping when she stood a few feet away from him.

“Obviously, because I didn’t know you played.”

Olivia rolled her eyes. “Why are you here?” she repeated, this time with more annoyance added to her tone.

“You know, to hang out,” Mason said, shrugging. “Talk, catch up, gossip, whatever.”

“You thought you could still get some after your little act today?!” she exclaimed with surprise. “Well, fuck you.”

“That’s kind of what I was hoping,” Mason couldn’t stop himself from saying, which was definitely stupid because he was kind of hoping to enjoy her company, sex or not. Olivia began to brush past him when he caught hold of her wrist, pulling her back so they were locking eyes once again. “I brought Chinese food, even that God-awful beef-broccoli you like.”

Olivia contemplated this for a moment and then finally nodded. “Fine,” she told him. “But you leave in two hours.” She looked at him challengingly, waiting for his response.

“Fine,” he said after a moment. “Fine.”