“Did you suggest it?”
“I would never suggest it. They’d feel obligated. I wanted them to pursue whatever they wanted with their lives.” His fingers stopped typing, and he turned in the chair to regard me. “But I have you.”
I stared blankly, unsure what that meant.
“You’re young. You’re brilliant. And you have the most important component of medicine—heart. I want you to replace me. I want you to keep my work going when I’m no longer able to do it myself.”
For the second time in my life, I was truly in shock. Absolutely floored. Stunned. My mind an incoherent cacophony of emotions.
As if he hadn’t just said that, he turned back in his chair and kept typing.
I was in the lab when he walked in.
Now that the trials were underway, I took on the second research project in the queue so we wouldn’t waste time waiting around for the trials. That took months, even years.
Dr. Hamilton put on his gear and stood across from me. “Where are you?”
“Protein synthesis.”
He pulled on his gloves and got to work.
In silence, we worked across from each other.
I hadn’t stopped thinking about the last thing he’d said to me.
I was his protégé.
And if that was true, then my job at the clinic had an expiration date.
Because I couldn’t be in two places at once.
“We’re going to the cabin the weekend after next. Would you like to come along?”
I stilled at the question, my fingers turning rigid against the bulb that I held. I’d seen Daisy at the clinic throughout the week, but I’d been so busy that I’d barely spoken to her, and when I did, it was only about patient care. We were both so devoted to our jobs that we didn’t get distracted by each other at work. “I’ll talk to Daisy about it.”
“I’m inviting you as my guest.”
Separation of church and state. “Alright, I’ll be there.”
He continued to work. “Besides, Daisy won’t mind.”
“She won’t?”
He finished one test tube then returned it to the rack before he began the next one. The glass apparatus was on the table beside us, and after we processed it, we separated the layers in the centrifuge. “She told me she really likes you.”
“Really?” I stopped what I was doing, wearing a big-ass grin on my face, imagining her telling her dad how she felt about me, of all people.
He looked up and stared at my smile. Then he mirrored it with his own. “Yes.”
“What else did she say?” Now I felt like two coworkers gossiping.
“She likes being with someone who’s smart like she is. You keep up with her. You disagree with her but still respect her views. You’re a tough boss, you’re ambitious, you care about your patients. Stuff like that.”
I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face. “Awesome.” I knew she wanted to be my baby. Fucking knew it.
Dr. Hamilton got back to work. “You make her happy. Keep making her happy.”
17
Daisy
Whenever we were at the clinic, it was all business.
Atlas was in his office most of the time or floating around to my colleagues, brainstorming about their patients as a team. He led our meetings with a slight temper, like we were never moving fast enough, every day and every week. Sometimes he wasn’t there, and I assumed he was at the lab with my father.
But it was professional, like there was nothing personal between us at all.
I’d thought it would be more challenging to remain platonic, but we were both so absorbed in our work that we kinda forgot about each other.
Midweek, I went to his office after everyone had left.
He sat at his desk, his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes closed.
I stilled as I looked at him, unsure if he was asleep.
Without opening his eyes, he said, “Thinking.”
“Hey, I don’t judge you if you were getting some shut-eye.”
His lips widened into a smile before he opened his eyes. “If that were the case, I’d be on the couch.”
“What were you thinking about?” I took a seat in one of the armchairs, my bag beside me.
He dropped his arms and leaned forward, his arms moving to the surface of the desk, his fingers coming together. “Everything. My patients. Our patients. The trials.”
“How are the trials going?”
The intensity in his eyes deepened, like he was reliving his morning at the hospital. “It’s too soon to tell. It’ll be at least another week before we see a change in symptoms. Another week before we can do the biopsies. On pins and needles about it.”
“Why?”
“Because if it doesn’t work, our patients will die.”
“Oh…”
“They’re all stage four. Other treatments failed. This is their last chance.”
I’d noticed my dad had been a bit somber lately, and now I understood the burden he carried but never complained about.
“So, I really want this to work.”
“I do too.”
“I’m not used to being this hands on. My other research projects were lab-based. There was no interaction with the subjects, to decrease bias. But Dr. Hamilton does things differently, which has its strengths and drawbacks.”
“He’s very passionate about patient care.”
“Yes, he is. Being side by side with the patient seems to make the journey easier on them. They believe he’s doing the best he possibly can at all times and aren’t left to ask the nurse or other medical staff questions all the time. And that belief seems to affect the outcome of their care.”
“It does.”
“It’s remarkable what the mind can do.”
“Yeah.”
“It’s been a little rough for me because it’s hard to be around patients and their families, clinging to hope, looking at me like I’m their savior when I’m just a man doing the best I can.” His eyes flicked away for a moment, his fingertips brushing against his jawline.
My childhood had been spent watching my dad experience a roller coaster of emotions. Jubilation when he spared a patient from an untimely death, sorrow when he got dressed in his black suit to go to another funeral he’d tried to prevent. The worst was when he didn’t come home at all—because it was too hard for him to leave the office. “I want to tell you it gets easier, but it never does. You will have victories and losses. But in this case, the victories never make up for the losses.”
His eyes turned back to me and watched me for a while. His fingertips continued to rub the scruff of his jawline, the rough shadow that had scratched the inside of my thighs. “That’s a good way to put it.”
“You want to get a beer, or are you going to stick around?”
He looked down at the pile of paperwork and his laptop before he gave a shrug. “I think I’ll take a cognac. But you can have a beer.”
We enjoyed our drinks and split the basket of fries in front of us, talking about our patients, still talking about work even when we were off the clock. I could spend the entire day at the clinic but then get to work when I got home, eating my takeout while working at the dining table, and he was exactly the same way.
You couldn’t just turn it off.
It was nice to be with someone who was the same way.
“Your dad invited me to the cabin with you guys next weekend.”
“Oh, that’s nice.”
“Is that okay?”
“Yeah. Why would I have a problem with it?”
He flashed an arrogant smile before he grabbed a couple more fries.
“What?”
He shook his head as he chewed.
“I asked you a question.”
“And I don’t have an answer.”
My eyes narrowed for a moment longer before I let it pass. My hand reached into the basket, swatted his away, and then took some fries for myself.
Amused, he just w
ore that handsome smile.
“I’ll be in Vegas this weekend.”
“Stripping?”
I threw a fry at his face. “Shut up.”
He chuckled. “Because if you are, I’ll book my flight right now.”
“You can get that here whenever you want.”
He stilled at my words, wearing the biggest grin I’d ever seen.
Shiiiiiit. “I mean—”
“I want that in writing.” He raised his hand and motioned to the waitress for the tab. “Let’s get out of here.”
“There are still fries in this basket, so I ain’t going anywhere.” I continued to fish my hand around inside and grab more fries before dunking them into the ketchup.
Like always, he seemed amused by my personality.
The waitress came over and dropped the tab.
I grabbed it and set it beside me. “My turn.”
He didn’t put up a fight at all. “Wow, you take me out and then give me a private show afterward? Damn, I’m a lucky man.”
“And don’t you forget it.”
“Oh, I won’t.”
I continued to eat, watching him stare at me, his smile slowly fading and an intensity replacing it. Like he was thinking about what we would do when we got behind closed doors. Like heat from the sun, his look gave off distinct temperature, as if it were an inferno inside the air-conditioned bar.
I reached into my bag and withdrew a folded-up piece of paper before I set it on the table between us. Like nothing happened, I continued to eat.
He glanced at it and knew exactly what it was.
The grin returned—humungous. “Hurry up with those fries.”
“Nope.”
He rolled his head back and released a sigh of torture. “Baby, you’re killing me.”
“I’m not your baby.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I’m not.” I wanted to be his baby, but the faster this moved, the more likely it was that I would slam into a wall and die in the collision.
“Your dad said you’re pretty into me, so…”
My fingers released the fries I’d grabbed in the basket. “What?”
“Yeah. Said you really like me.”
“That motherfucker did what?”
He continued to smile. “I’m smart, I keep up with you, I respect you…”
Oh my fucking god. I grabbed the paper and snatched it back.
“Whoa, hold on.” He stabbed his finger onto the paper and kept it pinned to the table. “Baby, it’s nothing that I didn’t already know.”
“Now you really can’t call me baby—”
“But you are my baby. And don’t be embarrassed. What happened to not playing games?”
“He never should have said that.”
“Well, you just put your cards on the table.” He dragged the paper back toward him. “So, it’s out in the open anyway.”
I let the paper go when my fingers couldn’t keep it pinned down any longer.
He slipped it into his pocket.
I left the fries in the basket, mortified that my dad had blabbed all my feelings to Atlas. I was pissed off, but I was also unsurprised because my dad was still clueless about societal norms.
Atlas watched me, his smile fading. “Don’t be mad at him.”
“He shouldn’t have said that.”
“What does it matter?”
“Because it’s embarrassing…”
“You don’t seem like a woman who gets embarrassed.”
Well, that didn’t apply to this guy.
“Come on, I was thrilled when he told me.”
I rolled my eyes and looked away, feeling vulnerable and on display.
He fished into his pocket and pulled out his phone. “Here.” He pulled up a message box and angled it toward me.
I didn’t look at it. “What is this?”
“Just read it. It’s me and my friend Matthew talking.”
I should just push it away, but I was tempted, so I picked it up and read through it.
Come on, you said she was bangin’. I want to see.
Atlas replied. She’s mine, so you don’t get to see.
Don’t be an asshole.
Hold on. He sent a picture of me working in my office, must have snapped it when he casually walked by. I was behind my desk, my eyes down on my work, my hair over one shoulder as I spun a pencil in my fingertips. Now you see why I got it so bad.
Daaaaammnn.
Tone it down. That’s my baby.
Your baby? LOL. Fuck, you weren’t kidding, man. You’ve got it BAD.
I tried to keep it cool, but I couldn’t. The smile didn’t just enter my face, but it also reached my eyes. There was even a flush to my cheeks, a warmth that had nothing to do with the alcohol.
He put the phone back in his pocket. “There. We’re even.”
“Got any cash?”
His eyebrows immediately furrowed.
“Because you’re about to get one hell of a lap dance.”
We went to my place.
We headed straight to the bedroom.
Clothes fell on the floor in between heated kisses. His mouth moved to my neck as he lifted my shirt and pulled it over my head. One hand gripped the back of my neck as he yanked the strap of my bra down, his hot kiss on my collarbone. On the first attempt, he unclasped my bra and let it fall to the floor.
With aggressive hands, he tugged off my jeans, taking the thong with them.
We writhed before we even made it to the bed.
I pulled his clothes off, getting him naked and beautiful, my lips kissing his hard chest as he carried me up the bed and laid me down. His thighs separated mine, his hair soft on my skin, and his large dick slid against my sex, getting wet.
He moaned as he ground directly against me, his gaze on mine, his bedroom eyes so sexy.
I tugged on his hips, telling him I wanted him, my legs open and ready.
He pushed on the base of his dick and slid inside, flesh on flesh, nothing but smooth friction. He stretched me as he sank inside, feeling even bigger when the condom wasn’t on. He closed his eyes for a moment. “Fuck.”
The last time I did this was with Mason, and I’d forgotten how good it was.
This was better. Way better.
“Baby.” He started to move, sliding in and out, our bodies making audible sex noises. “This pussy…yes.” He thrust over and over, pushing himself fully inside before he pulled out again, the desire so heavy in his eyes. His eyes remained locked on mine, and we exchanged breaths and stares, his masculine jawline tightening in restraint. He came apart in front of me, showing every emotion that came over his face, blatantly enjoying me.
I’d never felt sexier in my life.
He would pump hard then slow down, over and over, edging himself repeatedly. “Baby, I can’t…”
My hand grabbed his ass and tugged him inside. “Come inside me.”
He gave a loud groan then pumped hard, hitting his threshold instantly, giving a loud moan as he filled me.
It was so hot to watch him unravel, watch him come harder than he ever had with me before.
He finished, his face and chest flushed, and then he started to move again.
Hard as steel.
I never had any doubt that he would rise to the occasion.
Now he gave it to me good and hard, drilling me into the bed, giving me that perfect D the way I liked.
My nails scratched down his back, and I writhed as I took it, took it in the perfect spot, the perfect everything. I followed him not long afterward, my head rolling back on the pillow, my body squeezing him like I’d never let him go. “Atlas…” Swept away by the heat, I dropped my guard and let him in deeper, clung to him because I never wanted to let him go.
He released again, like my climax was better than porn. “Baby…”
He lay beside me in bed, his face close to mine, my leg hiked over his hip. “Not gonna see you all weekend. That’s going to be tough.”
&nbs
p; “It’s going to be really tough knowing I’m giving out lap dances to all these other guys.”
He wore a slight smile, his eyes shining with amusement. “Lucky bastards.”
“They aren’t that lucky…because they’re about to be broke.”
“Attagirl.” He gave my ass a playful smack.
Was this real? Did I really find the perfect man? Did I find a man so secure that he could handle my jokes? Did I find a man who could be real with me and never play games? Did I find a man who could handle me in all my glory?
“You better make your opponents broke too.”
“That’s the plan.”
“I’ll be watching.”
“Yeah?”
“On the couch—with my dick in my hand.”
I smacked him in the arm playfully. “You will not.”
“I don’t know…it’s pretty hot watching you play. And I’ll definitely miss you, so…”
“How about I give you a call afterward so I can watch.”
His eyes filled with surprise that was quickly followed by that intensity he’d shown just a few minutes ago. “You’re so fucking hot.”
I pressed my lips tightly together to try to suppress my smile, but it was no use.
“And you’ve got to have your winnings there. Ooh, that really gets me going.” His hand moved into my hair and pushed it away from my face, his eyes taking me in like he’d never look at another woman now that he’d met me.
“Alright.”
His hand played with my hair for a moment before it trailed along my back, over my spine, and down to my ass again. “I would sleep over, but I’ve got an early day tomorrow.”
“I do too.”
“When do you leave?”
“Friday at lunchtime.”
“Can I take you to the airport?”
The Girl Who Doesn't Quit (Soulless Book 12) Page 16
