Page 79 of Filthy Lovin Heroes

But it was too late.

Mancuso’s eyes lit up.

She spoke to the interloper over my shoulder. “Take my seat. I need to talk to Dr. Rodriguez.” She slid off her barstool as she lowered her voice to just an audible level. “You two are my star students.”

Then she was swallowed up by the busy crowd.

My mind churned. I wasn’t surprised I was Mancuso’s favorite, but I was surprised to learn I was one of two.

Who was my competition?

I turned to my left to size up the intruder and did a double-take.

“Malcolm. Nice to see you here.” The soft, sweet feminine voice sounded familiar, but in this setting, I was disoriented at first and it didn’t hit me. Not until Dr. Holly Ives moved in and stood so close I could smell her delicate perfume. One so faint if you moved away too fast one would miss it.

I liked to call her Ivy as a nickname and used it countless times a day because it put a pretty blush on her cheeks when she thought no one was looking.

Holly slid onto a vacated barstool next to mine.

I’d only had a sip of a shitty drink after one fourteen-hour shift, but my brain felt mired in sludge.

Of course, Holly would be Mancuso’s favorite. She was one hell of an emergency room physician.

“Who is covering the unit?” I finally managed as a greeting. My fingers curled tight around my glass. I needed something to hold onto as my world tilted, sliding out of control.

“Fitz wanted to work a double. He grumbled about alimony payments.” Holly caught the bartender’s eye quickly. “Can I get a glass of merlot?”

Holly stood no taller than five feet, two inches--a bite-sized morsel of sweetness in my opinion. At work, she wore a turtleneck under her scrubs, even if it was ninety degrees out and the damn thing served as a barrier I’ve thought about peeling back and exposing a queen-like neck I knew hid under all that unnecessary cloth.

She wore expensive running shoes, which as far as I could tell, was her only indulgence, and sexy, black-rimmed glasses she pushed up a delicate nose about one hundred times a day. As always, her dark hair was coiled in a knot at the back of her head. With tiny wisps escaping despite her fight against the contrary.

She was smart as hell and despite her size, took no shit from anyone. Outside of Mancuso, she was the only other colleague that I truly respected. And battled a raging attraction to.

For the last year, we’d been working in the emergency room and I have somehow managed to keep my wayward thoughts and hands to myself. Others have dropped words like plain and boring, but to me she was driven, focused and carried a natural beauty that didn’t need ten layers of foundation to make shine through.

But tonight anything but plain sat beside me. And my cock noticed.

Perched on the barstool beside mine, Holly wore a strapless little black dress with a sexy pair of stilettos—neither of which I’ve ever seen her in.

No surprise blood rushed to my cock immediately. If a set of scrubs wrapped around her perfect body could get me hard, this outfit might do me in for good.

She had a perfectly round ass with firm breasts that made me think of ripe apples. My mouth watered as images of licking her from head to toe flitted through my brain.

This was Dr. Holly Ives under all those layers of medical clothes. And that damn turtle neck.

Her hair fell loose down her back. It stopped just short of that delectable ass and I knew with it’s length and thickness all those hard locks would fall around her as she rode me hard.

With an overly friendly smile, the bartender set a drink in front of her. “It’s on the house, Doctor.” He winked and being a guy above all else I understood that sign language. He wanted what was mine.

Like hell.

“Don’t you have other clients to tend, buddy? And there’s no need for that. Here.” I slapped my credit card on the bar with more force than necessary.

Holly raised an eyebrow at me, lips pursed.

Fuck. I knew that look.

“I’d prefer you didn’t,” she said. Raspberry colored her lips and until now I never noticed her lower lip was a little fuller than the top, making me hungry for a taste.

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