The Match

“This is happening again. By the end of the day.”

She nods in agreement and pulls her panties and scrub bottoms back into place. “Is that a promise?”

“One thing you should know about me, Ava, is that I rarely say things I don’t mean. So, when I say I want you, I do. When I say you’re worth the risk, I mean it.”

She smiles up at me, still out of breath.

Then, I kiss her one last time.

What is this girl doing to me?

With each second we spend together, I’m losing my edge. But I have to know why I am so drawn to Ava, no matter how long it takes to figure out.

Chapter Thirteen

AVA

After hot sex with Sloan at Starbucks, I was hoping for more of him. But he has been acting weird as shit for the last three days. Sloan kept his word that I would be on his service. I’ve followed him from case to case, all while wondering why he hasn’t spoken to me alone. As much as I want to blame Sloan for getting me into this mess, I only have myself to thank for making another stupid decision.

I could have told him no. In fact, I should have told him no. Will I tell him no if he asks again, more like demands? Doubtful. He’s the best sex I’ve ever had. But Sloan is more than that. When I’m with Sloan, I feel alive, much like the feeling I get when I practice medicine. He gives me a high unlike anything I’ve ever experienced and not just because of all the orgasms he delivers.

Just because he’s my boss doesn’t mean I have to listen to every request he makes. But my body was doing the talking. I was a slave to my own desires, hungry and desperate for more of Sloan and his massive cock. I wanted him so bad I couldn’t control myself when he told me to meet him.

Stacey fights through the masses to take her place at my side in the O.R. She gives me a dirty look, as if she’s mad at me for something. I guess I deserve it after ditching her this morning. We were supposed to ride to work together, but I was too impatient and was hoping to catch Sloan before our shift. No such luck. The second he saw me, he made a beeline to the elevators and went straight to his office.

I have trouble focusing on the surgery before us, because all I see is Sloane. Imaging his hands that violently gripped my hips as he fucked me in the bathroom, I get wet at the thought of more. Now that I’m standing here, watching him do his thing, I can’t help but admire him even more. Liking my boss could be detrimental to my career. I need to remind myself a thousand times that hospital romances do not last, and therefore, we have no forever. We don’t even have a right now.

This is just a fling. Doctors don’t marry the women they fuck in pubic places between surgeries, like a cheap hooker in a sleazy motel. Not that marriage should even be on my mind. A man like Sloan is all about control and order. I test his limits, without even knowing what they are. It’s not hard to see his internal struggling with whatever demons he wrestles.

Sloan finishes the gallbladder removal in record time, leaving me wishing I were the one he chose to assist him with this surgery. He dismisses the handful of residents who are assigned to his service with the wave of his hand. I stop to watch him for a second in hopes that he will notice me. Before I exit the operating room, I glance over my shoulder at him. Our eyes meet for a few seconds, his gaze so intense it could burn a hole through me.

I discard my surgical wear and follow Stacey out of the operating room and into the hallway. She opens her mouth, but before she gets the chance to speak, Dr. Walsh comes out of nowhere and is standing at her side. He shoves a hand through his messy dark hair and smiles at both of us.

“Dr. Carlyle, come with me,” Dr. Walsh says to Stacey. “I have a case you won’t want to miss.”

Her frown quickly turns into a wide smile. We haven’t spoken much with us working on different shifts, our paths crossing at odd times.

She mouths goodbye to me, and Dr. Walsh gives me a polite tip of his head. I watch them walk away, part of me hoping I will catch a glimpse of Sloan on his way out of the operating room. No such luck. I head in the opposite direction, doing my best to keep myself from breaking down.

The last few days have been fucking torture. All I can think about is Sloan. He makes me wet with one glance in my direction, whether he means to arouse me or not. Not until I step into the women’s bathroom and stare in the mirror do I feel some sort of relief. For a few seconds, I have peace and quiet. No more sounds of monitors beeping or people yelling. Absolute silence. And it’s perfection.

I turn the knob on the sink and run my hands under the faucet. Bending down to splash water on my face, I smell a musky scent that I know so well. Over the sound of running water, I hadn’t even noticed I wasn’t alone until the door slams shut. I dry my face with a towel and lock on to the beautiful man standing across the room from me. Sloan. My favorite Doc.

He comes up behind me, our eyes meeting in the mirror as he moves his hands to my waist. A beat passes between us where he burrows his face in the crook of neck, drinking me in. “Meet me in the on-call room on the fourth floor in one hour.” The way he says it sounds like an order from my boss and not a request from the stranger from the roof. “I told myself I would stop. But I have to have you again.”

I stop breathing for a second, the lack of oxygen making my head spin. “Why have you been avoiding me?”

He grabs my ass with one hand and my breast with the other, pinching my nipple through my shirt. “Because we can’t do this. I shouldn’t…” Leaning closer, he digs his erection into my back, making me wish he would bend me over the sink. “I’m supposed to teach you, not fuck you.”

I let out a soft moan that I hope no one in the hallway can hear. Instinctively, I reach around to feel over his tented scrubs, as if I needed a reminder of how big Sloan is and how well he knows how to use his cock. The reminder doesn’t hurt.

“Be ready for me.”

Before I can get in another word, he removes his hands from my body and walks out the door.

At first, I have trouble moving. My mind and body are so out of sync because of the number Sloan did on me. I glance over my shoulder, long enough to see him slip through the door closing behind him. This is the first time I’m meeting someone in an on-call room. I never had much time for dating in medical school. And I sure as hell wasn’t hooking up with any of the nerds in my class.

Even though I know that pursuing any form of a relationship with Sloan is wrong, I cannot wait until our next encounter. I should be terrified, afraid for my job, even. He could easily turn around and have me thrown out of the residency program. So, I guess I should do as Sloan asks, regardless of his request, even if it’s also what my heart wants, no matter how fucking stupid.