God, this was annoying. “No.” I tried to keep my annoyance back. “How about a glass of water?”

She sighed and put the book down. “It sounds like you have more problems than you let on.” She didn’t look at me when she said it.

What the hell did that mean?

“You fear intimacy. You don’t like getting close to anyone.”

Okay…how did she know that? She figured that out just because I didn’t want to read to her? “I’m just busy. I have paperwork and other things to take care of. I’m sure a volunteer would love to read to you.”

“I don’t want a volunteer. I want you.”

Why couldn’t I be assigned to a different patient? Preferably, one who couldn’t speak.  “I’m sorry, Mrs. Pateo. I have to go.”

She sighed. “For the last time, it’s Mrs. Patelo. If you keep this up, you’re never going to make it in medicine. You can pass all your exams with flying colors, but if you can’t have compassion for your patients, then you will get nowhere. If all you care about is money, then you should work in the stock market instead of wasting my time and that of others. I want a doctor that actually cares about me and my well-being. My life is in your hands, Dr. James. You should remember that.”

I clutched her chart then walked out, not saying another word.

“Bad day?” Sage asked when he sat across from me.

As soon as I showered after work, I headed to the Gaslight. I needed a beer and a distraction. “You could say that.”

“What happened?”

“I just have an annoying patient. I want to do something more exciting, but I have a patient with DVT and she’s been in the hospital for a while. We’re waiting for her blood pressure to decrease before considering surgery.”

“DVT…?” He cocked an eyebrow.

“Deep vein thrombosis.”

He shrugged. “Still don’t know what that means.”

“She has a blood clot,” I explained. “Anyway, she’s always bugging me to read to her.” I rolled my eyes. “Fucking annoying.”

Sage looked confused. “What’s the big deal?”

“I don’t have time for that bullshit.”

“You text me all day during clinical and watched the game. And you always tell me how bored you are.”

“Whatever. I still shouldn’t have to read to her.”

He shrugged. “I’ve heard of worse things.”

“Then she told me I was a horrible doctor because I didn’t care about her…”

“Well, it doesn’t seem like you do.” He drank his beer then set it back down. “You even told me you’re going into medicine because it’s what your dad wants and you want the money.”

That just irritated me. “I still care about my job and doing it right.”

“If you’re going to be stuck with her for a while, maybe you should just read to her. Wouldn’t that get her off your back?”

“But then she’ll think she can make me do other things. It’s a power struggle…”

“It sounds like an old woman just wants you to read to her.” He smirked at me.

“I’m done talking about this.” I ran my fingers through my hair then looked at the bar. I needed a distraction for tonight.

A busty blonde was standing at the counter chatting with a friend. She was wearing white shorts and a blue tube top. A silver necklace hung around her throat, and the blue eye shadow on her eyes really brought out her skin tone. She was a perfect ten. “I’m fucking her tonight.”

“Who?” Sage asked.

“Busty blue.”

He examined her then turned back to me. “She’s cute.”

“Cute?” I laughed. “She’s fucking hot.”

“She doesn’t have any flab on her stomach?” he teased.

“Not from where I’m sitting.”

“Why don’t you just jerk off?” Sage asked. “It would save you a lot of work.”

“I prefer the real thing.” I watched her for a while, making sure she wasn’t with anybody.

“But don’t you hate wearing a condom?”

“It’s not my favorite thing to do, but I’ve never had pussy without wearing one. I don’t know the difference.”

“It’s amazing.” He sipped his drink. “It’s why I prefer long term relationships.”

“Yuck. No thanks.”

He laughed. “You’re going to die alone, Ash.”

“We all die alone, right?” I pushed my drink away and stood up.

Then a different girl walked in.

Long strands of brown hair cascaded over her shoulders. It was layered, with several different lengths moving when she walked. It was silky and shiny, reminding me of a girl in a Pantene commercial. She pulled her hair over one shoulder, exposing her slender neck and a petite ear. Her side profile showed thin cheeks and a small nose.

A yellow dress hugged her chest and stomach and reached her knees. It highlighted curves that immediately caught my eye. She had voluptuous breasts, but they were proportional to her small size. Her waist curved in, mimicking a perfect hourglass figure.

A golden necklace hung around her throat, and the pendant was an hourglass. It was small and classy. It contrasted against her dark skin. I couldn’t tell what ethnicity she was. She was too dark to be white, but she was too light to be black. She had to be from South America or the Dominican Republic, something exotic.

Her legs stretched on for days, and her ass looked amazing in the dress she wore. Nude pumps covered her feet, but I could see her toe nails. They were purple. My eyes drifted to her hands, looking for a wedding band. There was nothing on her finger.

Bingo.

Stunned, I drifted back down into my seat. The other girl was forgotten.

Sage looked at me. “Out of your league, man.”

“What? You’ve never said that to me before.”

Sage eyed her then turned back to me. “Because she’s the hottest girl that’s ever stepped foot in here.” He looked around at all the guys. “And every other guy here is your competitor.”

“And they’ll lose,” I snapped.

“Whatever, man. A girl like that already has a man, or she’s sick of getting hit on. Either way, you’re going to get rejected.”

“We’ll see about that…” I wanted to be inside her tonight. I’d fuck her brains out and make her ask for more.

“I hope you aren’t going to use your usual material for this one, because I guarantee it won’t work.”

I pulled out my wallet. “A hundred bucks says I nail her tonight.”

He smiled. “I’m broke, but you’re still on.”

“Deal.” I stood up then slipped the wallet back into my back pocket.

She was talking to a girlfriend at a table then she headed to the bar to get her drink. I noticed her friend had dark skin too. They must be related. They looked too similar. But the other girl wasn’t nearly as attractive.

I sauntered to the bar then stood beside her, waiting for the bartender to turn his attention on me. I took advantage of our closeness and inhaled her scent. She smelled like lavender. Then I looked at her reflection in the mirror on the wall. She had full lips that were ruby red. She barely wore any make up, choosing to be natural.

That made her a million times more attractive.

She had eyes the size of almonds, and her mouth was stretched into a beautiful smile.

Fuck, she was perfect.

The bartender placed a bottled beer in front of her.

Hmm…girls usually ordered from the tap or a fruity drink. “Hi.” I turned my body to face her and plastered a smile on my lips.

She stilled like she wasn’t sure I was talking to her. Then she fixed her gaze on me. Her shoulders were back and she had a nice posture. She kept her back straight and held herself with an elegance that I hadn’t seen in a long time. “Hi.” She gave me a breathtaking smile, one that actually made my heart race.

Fuck. She was hot. “I’m Ash.” I extended my hand to shake hers.

“Alaska.”

Alaska? Like the state? “I’ve never heard that name before.”

She shrugged. “My parents wanted to make sure I had a unique name. And I’ve never heard the name Ash before.”

“It’s short for Ashley.” Shit, why did I just tell her that? I never told a single soul. Only Livia knew my birth name.