Chapter Three

Ryan

She was gorgeous. I noticed it as soon as she got on the elevator with me. She was dressed in nurse’s scrubs, breathless and in an obvious hurry as she slipped in just as the doors were closing. We both reached for the row of buttons at the same time. She blushed, smiling and stammering, “Um, three please.”

“Great,” I said. “I’m going to four.”

I pushed both buttons, then stood back and discreetly looked at her. Golden blonde hair, full lips, large tits—I could tell even under her blue scrubs—and long, graceful legs. Mid-twenties, maybe. She snuck a peek back at me, rocking slightly on her sneakers.

“Visiting someone?” she asked.

“Dr. Marcus Pierre,” I answered. I’d never had a problem talking to women, and my voice sounded warm and confident. “Chief of Surgery. I start my residency today. Of sorts. Ryan Castle.”

“I’m Amy Meadows.” She smiled again. “I’m in the neuro-ward.”

“Nice. I’ll be in the cardiac ICU.”

“Of sorts?”

“Here for a month. Maybe longer.”

The elevator slowly rumbled up past the second floor. She peeked back at me again, this time much more direct.

“Maybe I’ll see you in the cafeteria. Although, the, um, food is terrible.”

I laughed. “Yeah. I’ll try to avoid the food. Not you, though.” The elevator came to a stop on the third floor. Amy turned to me, cocking her head toward the opening doors.

“Too bad you’re not getting off here,” she said.

I was just at the ocean. Too bad I didn’t see you there. Would’ve been a game changer.

All of a sudden, I could barely focus on the pretty blonde nurse in front of me and instead my brain and body were hyper-focused on the memory of the hot as fuck woman who I’d sexted on a dating app. Right before she ghosted on me.

When I managed to say, “Wish I was getting off here, too” however, I knew I hadn’t given myself away. Flirting was second nature to me. No matter how shit-tired or grumpy I was, I could always flirt with a woman without letting her know my true mood.

Amy winked at me, then slowly walked off the elevator. Just before the doors started to close, she turned back and waved charmingly. I grinned, and then the doors closed.

Briefly, I considered heading to the cafeteria at lunch on the chance she showed up there, waiting for me. Probably not a good idea. Chances were there were going to be plenty of gorgeous women—nurses, doctors, techs, administrators—at Graton’s Gift and I wasn’t planning on starting something with any of them.

After my breakup with Callie, who’d also been a resident at New York Metro, the last thing I needed was to get involved with anyone at this hospital. Our breakup hadn’t been particularly messy, I’d thought—until she started going Fatal Attraction on me at work. I’d been determined to stick it out. After all, I loved the hustle of New York. The days and nights were never boring. There was always something different that happened. I loved it, every single second of it.

Then I’d heard about my mom’s cancer diagnosis. My poor mother, who’d already been reeling from the sudden betrayal of my father, who’d up and left her after thirty years of marriage to hook up with his secretary. Yeah, real original there, Dad.

In the end, it hadn’t been that difficult to leave New York behind.

Today I was starting, for all intents and purposes, a new job. Granted, I hadn’t been officially offered the job, but the offer was coming. Graton’s Gift wanted me, and I’d already decided that it would be the best place for me—the next month was just a formality based on my inability to fully trust in the universe again. I was moving to Denver to be closer to my mother while she underwent her treatments, but it was also a fresh start for me, and that meant making sure I liked and respected the people I worked with. Not only would I be closer to my mom, but it would be a fresh, psych-ex-girlfriend-free start for me. So I’d keep my love life —which let’s face it, meant my sex life—away from anyone who received a paycheck here. Hell, I’d keep it away from anyone who lived within a fifteen-mile radius of the fucking place.

Where do you think Lana lives?

Shit, not that again.

God, I needed my head examined. Too many times I’d thought of Lana since she just unceremoniously cut off all contact with me.

Focus on your career. No thinking about the sexy-as-hell and mysterious Lana and no dating at all. Just casual hook ups, which I’d thought were behind me when I’d been with Callie. We’d broken up two months ago, though, and I’d been going without ever since, so it had been past time to get back on the horse. So the night I’d flown into Denver, I’d been scrolling through my phone and found that old dating app I’d used back in med school.

Amused, I’d pulled it up and found my old dating profile. Why the hell not? I’d been half-bored, half-horny, and in the past, the app hadn’t steered me wrong in finding a hot girl who was into the same level of commitment I was: none.

I’d barely been on the damn thing when Lana messaged me. I would have been her game changer, she’d said, but that night, she’d been mine.

Since then, I hadn’t gotten her out of my mind – her silky black panties, her long legs stretched out before her as she lay in bed. Touching herself. Fingering herself.

Oh yeah …

But once again, the memory swiftly turned sour. Lana not only ignored my request to meet in person, but deleted her profile right after we sexted, too. I’d tried not to feel butt-hurt about it. I mean, I wasn’t used to women ignoring me, but she was mature, in her late thirties her profile said, and who knew, maybe she’d logged on behind her husband’s back or something. Shit happens.

So, we weren’t meant to meet. I’d put it out of my mind, trying not to let it get to me, but clearly, I was still thinking about her.

From now on, I’d meet my hook ups face-to-face. No more faceless texting with mysterious women I’d obsess about later. That was the only reason I kept thinking about her anyway, I told myself as the elevator doors opened onto the fourth floor.

Curiosity.

After a bit of navigating, I finally found the right office. It wasn’t hard to miss, seeing as it was the largest and nicest in close proximity to the ICU. I knocked on the door and was greeted right away.

“Welcome to Graton’s Gift Hospital.”

Dr. Marcus Pierre seized my hand with surprising strength. The man was shorter than me and a lot older, but he looked like he worked out. He had dark circles under his eyes, which hardly surprised me, given the nature of our work.

“Pleasure is mine,” I said. “Thank you for accepting me here. I look forward to it.”

“It’s not every day we hear such great things about a senior resident, or get a transfer from New York,” Dr. Pierre said. “People tend to transfer to New York. But I’m certainly impressed with everything I’ve heard about you and hoping you’ll find we offer quite a lot to be impressed about as well.”

“I’ve done my research and know that to be true, Dr. Pierre.”

“Good, good. Come along. I’ll show you around.”

Dr. Pierre led me past admissions where a few women congregated behind their computers, sipping coffee while they watched us curiously. I gave them a dazzling grin, and I almost laughed when a few of them tittered and one even blushed.

Yep, still got it. Stronger than ever.

But again, that didn’t mean I was going to use it. Just like with Amy on the elevator, I could flirt and have fun, but not that much fun.

“I’m sure you know how things work in general,” Dr. Pierre said as we walked, “but you’ll still need to learn how we do things here at Graton.” He opened the door to the cardiology department. “I have a feeling we’re behind on some things compared to a hospital in the heart of New York City, but we do our best.”

“As long as you have a Keurig machine, I’m good. Advanced Coffee Technology is of utmost importance, sir.” I smiled.

Dr. Pierre laughed. “One of our surgeons has one in her office. Otherwise, you’ll have to make do with cafeteria coffee like the rest of us poor schmucks.”

“Fair enough.”

My eyes wandered to a hot blonde with sexy eyebrows working behind a computer. Her gaze followed me for an instant before turning back with a secretive smile. A little further down, a busty redhead literally stopped in her tracks to gawk at me before resuming her composure. When we passed a nurse’s station, I gave a smile to the women and men working there. A few of the women smiled back.

Marcus gave me a pointed look. He didn’t need to say anything: I knew what he meant. Don’t do anything stupid. And keep your pants on.

I gave him a semi-innocent, semi-devilish look back. Duly noted.

We turned a corner away from patients’ rooms and administrative desks. This was a hallway full of offices. It was much quieter here, more business-like. I noted the names on the doors as we walked by.

Darvin. Valle. Lee. Hanson. All surgeons.

We reached a door at the end of the hallway, in the corner. As Marcus poked his head in, I read the name on the outside placard: Lauren Decker, MD. Cardiac Surgeon.

Marcus opened the door and ushered me in. I stepped inside, barely listening to his mundane greeting as I stared at the woman behind her desk.

“Ah, Dr. Decker,” Marcus said. “I’m glad you’re here early. Meet Dr. Ryan Castle.”

She was quite beautiful, probably in her early thirties. Her skin was lovely. She had dark hair that stopped a few inches above her shoulders, and her eyes were bright blue and alert as she looked right at me. As she stood, I noticed she was tall and slender, with graceful legs I definitely looked at as she came around the desk and firmly shook my hand. She was confident, too. I could see it in her straight posture and the way she looked directly at me. Her office was huge and decorated with all her diplomas and honors.

She held out her hand, and her grip was firm. Soft and steady. I enjoyed the feel of her skin against mine and instantly wondered if the rest of her skin was as soft. “Castle, nice to meet you,” she said, her voice pleasant and slightly husky. “I’m looking forward to working with you.”

Suddenly, she cocked her head at me, and her expression changed. She frowned. Her back stiffened. Her eyes widened, and she suddenly gave me a complete and thorough head-to-toe look, and her gaze flickered with what appeared to be recognition.

Wait … Had we met before?

I cleared my throat. “Thank you for having me. I’m looking forward to getting to know you.”

She swallowed hard. Looked away. Then looked at me again, not quite meeting my eyes.

Shit, we had met before. But where?

Marcus interrupted the tense silence that had formed between us.

“If you have time, Dr. Decker, you’ll need to go over the usual guidelines with Dr. Castle before he can begin shadowing you. He’s already filled out the paperwork and mailed it back to us.” Marcus seemed oblivious to anything going on between Dr. Decker and myself.

“Do you have your ID yet?” Dr. Decker asked me, looking like she was having to force herself to meet my eyes.

“Not yet, no.”

“Then you’ll need to go to HR and get one. Dr. Pierre, could you show Dr. Castle where that is or have one of the office staff assist him? I need to finish this report.”

She returned to her desk, clearly dismissing me. Her initial friendliness had disappeared. She now acted like she didn’t want me near her. Like I had leprosy.

This was getting fishier by the second. Maybe I had slept with her in one of my drunken college days and this was karma, having a good laugh at my expense. When I looked at Marcus, he just shrugged.

“Will do, Dr. Decker. Thank you.”

“Mmhmm,” she muttered without so much as another glance our way.

In the hallway, Marcus turned to me with an exasperated look.

“Sorry about that. She’ll thaw in a bit. She only got word this morning that you two would be paired together. Meanwhile, I’ll have Lacey show you where to get your ID. You’ll need that to get anywhere in the hospital. Then you can report back to Dr. Decker.” Marcus held out his hand again. “It was great meeting you.”

“Likewise, Dr. Pierre. I look forward to working here.”

“Ah, Sanchez, I was looking for you …” He turned to speak to a pretty young nurse in the hallway.

I couldn’t help it. I took advantage of the moment and peered back into Dr. Decker’s office. Lauren, I told myself. Her name was Lauren. My curiosity had been roused, plus, if I was being totally honest, she was pretty hot and I wanted a second look.

As Lauren shifted in her seat, her skirt inched up slightly, and I saw something on her knee. It looked like a birthmark, in the shape of a crescent moon.

A tingle suddenly zipped up my spine, and I couldn’t move. I almost started laughing, but I gulped and stopped myself from exploding in the hallway.

I knew that birthmark.

It was the same one Lana had in her profile picture. I’d seen it visible just beneath her tiny shorts.

Suddenly, Lauren looked up at me. Our eyes met, and we froze in place, like we were actors in some cheesy romantic movie. I took a half-step toward the door, leaning my head in. I lowered my voice, staying out of earshot of Marcus, who was still chatting a few feet from me.

“Lana?” I dared to ask quietly.

I don’t know what I was expecting, but her reaction was to shudder. As if my very presence made her want to hurl.

“Who?” she asked, but her higher-than-normal tone gave her away.

I cocked a chastising brow even as I felt my heart thudding against my chest. I couldn’t believe my mystery woman was here. Now. She was even more gorgeous than I imagined, and her voice was off-the-charts sexy. In an instant, memories from that night came barreling down on me. Suddenly all I could think about was stripping her of her clothes and repeating, word-for-word, but this time while actually touching her, every damn thing we said we’d do to one another on the dating app.

My fingers curled as I recalled what that would entail.

As if she could read my thoughts, she blushed and licked her lips. Then just as quickly, her expression shuttered and hardened. “If you don’t mind, Dr. Castle, I need to finish this report. We’ll get to you showing me what you’re made of soon enough. I’ve heard good things, but it’s not lost on me how overly high expectations are rarely met in reality.”

Ouch. Definitely a double meaning to her words.

Her eyes went right to her paperwork, and that was that. No smile, no further attention. She just quickly cut me off – again.

I wanted to command her attention. Ask her why she’d blown me off. Ask her a hundred other questions. I stared at her for several long tense moments, then I did something rare for me—I stood down. Without a sound, I turned, quietly closed her door and headed down the hallway toward HR.

She obviously wasn’t in the mood to play doctor by day and bedmate by night, and I understood why. By the looks of her, by virtue of her job and who she was, she was brilliant and ambitious. Our hook up had probably been a departure for her. All of a sudden, I show up as her new resident? She could make my life miserable or a goddamn dream.

I was pretty sure which way she was leaning.

She’d given me the barest hint of it already, but I wouldn’t be surprised if tomorrow she acted like a royal bitch ice queen, determined not only to ignore what happened between us, but to make the next month miserable for me, hoping I’d cut and run.

But no matter. I was in a pretty righteous position of power here, and not because I knew Dr. Lauren Decker liked dirty talk. I would never use our hook up against her, professionally or personally. Then again, I didn’t have to.

I wasn’t some poor sap trying to impress the doctors here to land a pie-in-the-sky dream job. Graton’s Gift already wanted me. It was partially because of who my parents were and the fact they’d be more likely to make a generous donation to the hospital if I completed my residency here, but it was also because I was a damn good doctor. I’d made the choice to move back to Denver to escape Callie at New York Metro, but more importantly to be close to my mother. I liked everything I knew about Graton’s so far. I believed I’d fit in well. And if the next month proved me right, I didn’t care how embarrassed Lauren was because of what had happened between us—I would be Graton’s new chief resident.

The fact that I’d be working with Lauren?

I suddenly grinned.

Well, I wasn’t sure what was going to come of that.

But I sure as fuck was looking forward to finding out.