Evan

"Your money is no good here, sir." The obviously exasperated hotel desk clerk pushes my credit card back at me. "I told you twice already that we are booked solid for the night."

Well, shit.

On any other night, I would have tipped my hat to fate and given up. The reason for that is simple. In my world, there's never been a shortage of no-strings attached fun. If I don't get my recommended daily allowance today, I'll make up for it tomorrow, or whenever my brutal schedule allows me the good fortune of enough time for a screw.

I'm not a minute man. I take my time. I savor every second I'm with a beautiful woman because sex is my salvation. It's what keeps me sane in a world where I hold the keys to the kingdoms that are other people's futures.

Tonight I'm off the clock and tomorrow is an all-too-rare day off for me, so I'm partying like it's my birthday since I spent most of that in surgery. I fought like a warrior to save the life of a man twice my age.

He got his second chance. There's not a better birthday gift in the world than that.

"We have another location in the East Village. I can inquire if there is a room available there for you." The desk clerk types something into the keyboard of the computer in front of him.

I'm tempted to ask him how the hell he thinks I'll get there since the storm has forced the city to shut down but I refrain from flying my asshole flag tonight. There's always a work around when my cock is on a mission.

"Thanks, but I'll figure something out." I scoop up the money that I thought would be substantial enough to bribe him into giving me a room.

I've checked into enough hotels to know how it works. It's not uncommon for the staff to hold one room for the guy who shows up in the middle of the night. Generally, he's so desperate for a place to lay his head that he'll pay whatever the hell the ransom is.

It looks like some schmuck beat me to the finish line tonight.

"Evan, I thought you took off an hour ago."

I smile inwardly at the sound of Dr. Jordan Whitman's voice as it carries through the lobby. Jordan's got a room key in his pocket and since the party has an open bar, he won't be going anywhere until the last drop of free alcohol has slid down his throat.

"I need to borrow your room." I slap him on the back. "You owe me for handling that carotid stenting on Mr. Brilton last month."

"I repaid that when I took on Judith Lancaster as a patient two weeks ago. She requested you and I agreed to see her to even our score. There's nothing wrong with her and she calls me every day at ten a.m. sharp." His blond brows pinch together. "What do you need my room for?"

Jordan is a leader in the field of cardiology but he's the only thirty-eight-year-old guy I know who is lugging around a permanent set of blue balls.

It started and ended his senior year of high school when he made his move on a cheerleader. He got head and then a quickie in the back seat of his car. That one and only encounter is the only action his dick has ever seen. It's not a surprise that he isn't putting two and two together.

"I met a woman." I pull him into a half-assed man hug. Our shoulders bump. "The hotel is booked up solid and I need a room to entertain her in."

"Entertain her?" His gaze narrows. "I don't get it."

At any other time, I'd jump on the chance to throw his pseudo virginity back in his face. I can't tonight. Time is running out and I need a room stat.

"I'm going to screw her, Jordan." I lower my voice. "I need a room and a condom and if you help me out with the room, I'll owe you twice over. I'll take over the Lancaster file."

He scratches the outer shell of his ear. "You need a condom? I've got one."

Why?

I don't ask the question even though I want to. I was prepared to go back into the restaurant to beg the bartender for a condom. The dude has serious game. There's no doubt in my mind he's got a half dozen condoms tucked in his back pocket. "Give me the room key and the condom."

His mouth twists wryly. "Deal but I have two conditions."

I'm so eager to get Jane Smith out of that frilly dress that I'll give Jordan my left nut at this point. I don't need it. The right one is that impressive.

"What do you want?" I ask even though I don't give a shit what it is.

"It's a two bedroom suite so don't use the main bedroom. I'm not sleeping in a bed you had sex on."

"A two bedroom suite?" I have to ask. "Why do you need a two bedroom suite?"

He stares at me for a minute, his arms crossed over his chest. "I booked a room here because I invited my mom to Manhattan for the party and my apartment isn't big enough for the two of us. I wanted her to meet the people I work with. Her flight was canceled because of the storm."

I have compassion. I get where he's coming from. My parents are both doctors so impressing either of them is an impossible task. I gave up trying right around my twelfth birthday.

"Fine. I'll do it in the other room." I look at my watch. "What's the other condition?"

"Get Kylie to agree to have dinner with me."

That's like asking the iceberg to politely get the hell out of the way of the Titanic. Dr. Kylie Newman won't budge on her stance to never date Jordan.

I've been called a miracle worker in the past, so I won't say never when it comes to Kylie and Dr. Blue Balls.

"You've got yourself a deal." I hold out my hand waiting for my two tickets to a few unforgettable hours with Jane Smith. "I'll text you when I'm done with the room."

***

"Do you do this often?" Jane's gaze roams my face as the elevator creeps its way up to the twenty-third floor.

I half-expected her to bail on me after I'd pocketed Jordan's room key and his one and only condom. I've had sex with enough strangers to know that second thoughts are the number one enemy of potential one-night stands.

Sometimes a woman thinks it's a good idea to hook up with a stranger until she has a minute to sit on that decision or she's phoned a friend from the ladies' room.

It's no harm, no foul to me.

I want to be a fond memory to the women I fuck, not a regret.

"Not as often as you think," I answer truthfully. My schedule is to blame for that. The few short-term relationships I've had the last few years are a contributing factor too. "What about you?"

"Does it matter?"

Hell, no. Her sexual history is about as important to me in this moment as her favorite color. She's a willing adult. That's all I need to know.

"The only thing that matters to me tonight is that we both have a good time."

She lets out a long exhale. "I need a good time."

I take a step forward as the elevator dings our arrival on the twenty-third floor. I turn to look at her once the doors fly open. "After you, Jane."

It's obvious from the sly smile on her face that she understands the double meaning of my words.

I'll give her what she needs before I take what I want.

It's always ladies first in my world and Jane is about to find that out.