Egotistical Jerk: A Hero Club Novel

by A. K. MacBride

  Squeezing his lids together, Sebastian shook his head. When he opened his eyes again, whatever was burning in those irises stole the breath right out of my lungs.

  "Shit, Mia, you do something to me… I can't explain it, but everything is out of whack whenever you're close. It's like my brain short-circuits and all I see is you."

  Oh. My. Damn.

  For the second time in less than a few hours, this man had left me speechless. But really, what the hell was I supposed to say to that? Luckily for me, a response wasn't needed because he kept on talking.

  "I'm worried we don't have enough time to figure out what's going on with Cheryl. You care about her, and I'm afraid of how it will affect you when she—" his voice cracked slightly and he swiftly turned his attention to the window next to us. The sudden swell of emotion evident by his Adam's apple slowly bobbing up and down.

  I couldn't help myself. Reaching across the table, I curled my fingers around his arm. "Sebastian." The intensity in his eyes when he flicked them my way nearly did me in. "I understand, I really do, but I can't not get involved. It's who I am."

  "Death changes you."

  "I know." I sucked in a long breath and decided to give him some of my truth. "Death and I are familiar with each other. I lost my mom when I was little and as you know my dad died a few years ago. I understand the devastation it leaves behind." Realizing I was still holding on to him, I quickly unwrapped my fingers but before I could slide my hand back to my side, Sebastian covered it with his.

  It was soft and warm, I had this overwhelming urge to flip my hand and touch my palm to his. To trail my fingers up his arm and wrap them—

  "Uhm, excuse me, Dr. Ryker?"

  Both of us looked to the side to find a nurse standing beside our table. Her gaze flicked to our connected hands, and I immediately tried to tug mine away. Sebastian wasn't having it, curling his long fingers tighter around mine.

  "Yes, Rose?"

  "Dr. Sheppard is looking for you. She wants to see you in her office."

  "Thanks, I'll be right there." He waited until she scurried away before he pinned me with a stare once more. "Have dinner with me?"

  "Yes."

  He smiled again; that pure male, pure masculine grin that sent heat rushing through my veins. Leaning forward, his voice dropped an octave or two. "Can I be selfish and ask that you come to my place? I'm not in a sharing mood."

  Rolling my lip over my teeth, I thought it over for all of two seconds. I wasn't about to say no when I could be alone with him. No intrusions. No one bursting through closed doors. Just us two. Oh, the possibilities.

  He must've mistaken my silence for something else because he spoke again. "I promise I won't do anything you don't want me to. I just want to spend time with you without any interruptions."

  Twisting my hand, I finally touched my palm to his. "I'd like that."

  "Good." We were staring at each other again. It was making me feel all giddy. "I should go," he said.

  "You should."

  He made a face and grunted something I didn't catch. Pushing to his feet, he rounded the table and planted one hand on the surface in front of me and the other on the back of my chair.

  Leaning closer, he asked, "Does eight work for you?" The warmth of his breath touched my lips with every word he spoke.

  "Eight's good."

  Those dark eyes dropped to my mouth for a long second then he straightened and took a few steps backward. His mouth curved into a slow, sexy smile one last time before he spun around and stalked off.

  When I couldn't see him anymore, I pulled my coffee closer. Inside my chest, my heart made a funny little dip.

  I have a date with Dr. Sebastian Ryker.

  Chapter 16

  SEBASTIAN

  I was nervous. Hands on my hips, I glanced at the wall-mounted clock in my living room and almost choked on a laugh. I'd been in tough situations before. Getting a woman to breathe by performing an emergency airway puncture in the ER? Yeah, I didn't even bat a lash when I did that. Suturing gaping wounds with blood spilling all over my hands didn't faze me one bit.

  Waiting for Mia to arrive? Apparently, that scared me shitless.

  If I had to be precise about it, it was the fact that I couldn't wait to sit and talk with her for hours that freaked me out so much. No doubt I would've very much liked to pick up where we left off in my office, but it wasn't the reason I wanted her to come over.

  There was this nagging need burning inside of me to find out everything there was to know about this woman. But it had to come from her. I wanted her to want to share her secrets with me, so I could share mine with her.

  And freaking hell if that didn't confuse the shit out of me.

  Two soft taps against the door sent my heart into overdrive. I checked the clock again; she was fifteen minutes early. Grinning like an idiot, I tried to pace myself as I headed for the door. What I would have liked to do was storm over, yank her inside and lock the door behind us and possibly never let her leave.

  But I didn't think that would go over too well.

  With my fingers curled around the smooth metal of the handle, I took a few steadying breaths before I opened the door. The instant my eyes landed on her, my jaw fell to the floor. Stunning wasn't even a good enough word to describe the vision in front of me.

  Those fiery curls of hers spilled over her shoulder, leaving one side of her creamy neck on display. I was pretty sure the way the color in her eyes popped had something to do with the dress she wore. It was mossy green and hugged her curves in a way that made my fingers twitch with a desperate need to touch. As far as I could tell the only thing keeping the material in place was a little knot tied at her waist. I wanted to reach out, pull on it and then step back to watch the fabric glide off her skin.

  Shit! That was the last thing I needed to think about.

  "Are you going to invite me in, or are we just going to stare at each other all night?"

  "Sorry."

  I stepped back, allowing her entry. Her sweet citrus smell assaulted my senses as she slipped past me. Closing the door, I took a few moments to get my shit together before I faced her.

  Mia was standing just inside my living room, eyes bouncing around as she took everything in. A sense of déjà vu washed over me as the dream I'd had the other night started running on a loop in my mind.

  Visions of me pinning her against my wall and grinding my hips into hers over and over again were taking over. This was a bad idea. I should've taken her to a restaurant or something. Somewhere with people and distractions. Because this—having her here in my space, so close—was too much.

  "Are you okay?" Mia's voice reached in and pulled me from my frantic thoughts.

  "No," I answered honestly.

  Her brow furrowed and the need to smooth it out pushed me forward, my long strides easily swallowing the distance between us. I brought my thumb to the lines marring her forehead, brushing over them until they evened out. Touching my fingertips to her cheek, I traced her jawline to her chin. Tucking two fingers beneath it, I gently tilted her head back.

  "I'm not okay because I desperately want to kiss you right now, but I know if I do, I'll never be able to stop. And tonight isn't about that."

  Mia worked down a swallow. "It's not?"

  I shook my head. "No." My eyes dropped to her pink-stained mouth for a long second before drifting up to meet hers again. "I want to get to know you, Mia. And I want to show you that I'm not the egotistical jerk you believe me to be."

  Being the nosy little shit he was, Teddy chose that moment to curl around Mia's leg and rub against her skin. She didn't hesitate. The instant she spotted him, she bent down and scooped him into her arms, hugging the little bastard to her chest.

  I'd never been more jealous of my cat.

  "Oh my goodness," she cooed. "And who are you?" Her voice had gone all dreamy, her fingers working into Teddy's thick coat.

  Obviously enjoying the attention, my cat's eyes closed wh
ile his purr was as loud as a steam engine. I could only chuckle.

  "That big furball is Teddy."

  Mia nuzzled her nose into him. "He's gorgeous."

  "All right, that's enough." I snatched the cat from her and set him on the floor. "You've stolen enough attention now."

  The soft laugh coming from Mia drew my attention back to her. "Aw, are you jealous?"

  "Yes! Very."

  Her mouth stretched into a smile so wide, it showed her teeth. It was freaking beautiful. Eyes sparkling, Mia chewed on her lip as she dropped her shoulder and leaned forward. "I can always stroke you until you purr too." Batting her thick, long lashes; her lips twitched with the laugh she held back.

  It was meant to be a joke, I knew this. Pity my high-strung body didn't. In a second flat, all sorts of illicit thoughts were running through my mind.

  "Mia." What was supposed to come out as a warning, sounded more like a growl.

  "Yeah, yeah, I know." She winked. "Tonight isn't about that."

  Narrowing my eyes, I asked, "You making fun of me?"

  "Just a little."

  This woman. This unbelievably sexy woman was like no one I'd ever met. Spinning around, she moved through my living room, carefully eyeing the pictures and art on the walls. As difficult as it was, I kept my distance, choosing to admire her from afar for now.

  She stopped in front of a row of photographs. Pointing at one, she glanced over her shoulder and remarked, "You don't look very happy."

  Shoving my hands inside my pockets, I moved to stand behind her. Leaning over her shoulder, I inspected the picture she was referring to.

  "Oh, I wasn't."

  Mia spun around so fast; her chest almost smacked into mine. "But it was your graduation. Why on earth would you be," she looked at the photo again. "Angry?"

  Before I could answer, another knock sounded. Her questioning gaze immediately shot to mine.

  With my hands still nestled inside my pockets, I shrugged. "That would be dinner."

  Sure, I could have cooked a meal for her, but I wanted to be as real with her as I could. And to me, the perfect night consisted of good pizza, a decent beer, and great company.

  "I'll be right back."

  It all seemed like a smart idea at the time, but as I accepted the pizzas and headed back to the living room, it didn't feel right. Because from where I was standing, ordering a few pizzas suddenly seemed to imply she wasn't worth the effort.

  Every single doubt swirling around my mind, vanished the instant I found her on my couch. She'd kicked off her shiny strappy sandals and tucked her feet beneath her. Two cold beers dangled from her fingers.

  "I hope it's okay?" she asked softly.

  I grinned at her and held up the boxes. "Only if this is." Without waiting for an answer, I strode to where she was sitting, set the pizzas on the coffee table and flipped the lids. "I didn't know what you liked."

  "I'll eat anything except pineapple and mushrooms."

  Scooting to the edge of the couch, she offered me a beer then immediately snagged a slice of pepperoni pizza. I grabbed my own slice and settled in next to her. For a while, we ate in companionable silence. It was nice. There was a lot to be said when you could be comfortable with someone when no words were spoken.

  After she swallowed down the last bit of her second slice, Mia set her half-empty bottle on the table and grabbed a napkin. Relaxing back into her seat, she dabbed the corners of her mouth.

  Her green eyes bore into mine. "You didn't answer my question earlier."

  I took a last bite of my pizza before tossing the dry edge of the crust back into the box. I wiped my hands and mouth then twisted so I was facing her. Folding one leg under me, I draped my arm over the top of the couch.

  "My parents and I'd had words right before that picture was snapped."

  Mia rested her cheek in her palm, the lines on her forehead appearing again. "Why?"

  I licked my lips. There wasn't a soul alive that knew this and oddly enough the fact I was about to share it with her didn't bug me half as much as I thought it would.

  "As you know, before they retired my parents were well-known surgeons. It was always kind of expected of me to follow in their footsteps. But I knew early on my heart didn't lie with heart- or neurosurgery. It's the science behind finding germs the size of a dust particle and then figuring out how to treat them that excites me."

  Her eyes lit up, and I knew she felt it too. "When I decided I wanted to go into diagnostics, I kept it to myself for as long as I possibly could. Until my mom asked me whether I was going into cardiology or neurology. They didn't understand why I chose the field I had, so we ended up having words right after I walked off stage. And in the midst of it all, Christian wanted to take a picture."

  I still remembered the incredulous look on my mom's face when she asked my brother, 'Really? This is the moment you want to capture?'

  "But it worked out in the end. I mean, you're one of the best diagnostic surgeons in the country. And—" Mia's cheeks turned rosy as she tucked a few strands behind her ear. "—you're kind of the reason why I chose diagnostics."

  "I am?" Her admission floored me.

  She nodded and the color staining her cheeks grew even darker. "Professor Levenson came into class one day, he was so excited I thought he'd won the lottery or something. I can still see the smile on his face when he pulled the piece of paper from his satchel and started reading it to us."

  Pausing, Mia retrieved her beer from the table.

  After a generous sip, she set it down and turned her attention back to me. "It was the article you wrote about the H1N1 virus and how it could've been treated earlier had there been more diagnostic surgeons dedicated to it. I was fascinated. I went home and scoured the internet for anything related to you and your field of practice. Three hours into my research and I just knew it was what I wanted to do."

  Wow. What the hell was I supposed to say to that? Thank you? No, that didn't seem right. I was having trouble accepting that I had, on some level, influenced such an important decision in her career life.

  "Oh gosh, I freaked you out, didn't I?"

  My brows knit together. "No." There was no hiding the raspy edge to my voice. "Quite the opposite, actually. I don't know what to say. I'm humbled and—"

  "Sebastian?" Mia interrupted quietly. "Can we be done talking now?"

  Chapter 17

  MIA

  We were supposed to be talking. Getting to know each other, he'd said. Right then, though, the only thing I wanted to know was how his skin would feel on mine and how the parts of him that the world didn't see would taste on my tongue.

  Staring at him, I licked my lips. As much as I was a take-charge girl, I needed to know he wanted this as much as I did. Sebastian's eyes flicked to my mouth before steadily rising up to meet mine again. The heat burning in them was all I needed to see.

  With my gaze never leaving his, I pushed to my feet and slowly moved to stand in front of him. Shifting, he pulled his leg out from under him before straightening his long muscular limbs.

  I hiked my dress up a few inches and then moved to straddle his lap. Those big hands of his immediately came to rest on my legs, dragging his palms up my bare thighs. When I raked my fingers through his hair and pressed my short nails into his scalp, Sebastian's head fell back against the couch while an unbelievably sexy sound rumbled through his chest.

  "Mia," his silky timbre reached an all-time low. "Kiss me."

  His demand was gruff and did all sorts of delicious things to my body. I was pretty sure he could use that tone to demand my pleasure, and I'd happily give it.

  Edging my face closer to his, I touched my lips to his mouth. Moving my hands to the side of his face, I held him in place and deepened the kiss. Sebastian gave me total control, leaving me to sip from his lips, taste his tongue, and thoroughly explore his mouth.

  Judging by the way his fingers were digging into my skin, I knew it wasn't easy for him.

  When I r
eluctantly tore my mouth away to catch my breath, that storm in his eyes was back. Only this time there was a heated promise flashing in the dark depths of his irises. A promise I couldn't wait for him to deliver on.

  One of his hands came up to cup my cheek, the pad of his thumb brushing over my bottom lip. He looked up at me, the grin touching his mouth almost wicked.

  "My turn."

  That was all the warning I got before he jumped to his feet and started walking through his apartment. With my arms wrapped around his neck and my legs tightly banded around his waist, I held on for dear life.

  Sebastian's mouth found the spot where my neck and shoulder joined, planting an open-mouthed kiss to my skin before sinking his teeth in. Not too hard, but hard enough to make my body jerk with the rush of pleasure ripping through me.

  When we entered what I presumed to be his room, he paused to flip a switch on the wall, instantly bathing the space in warm yellow light. But I couldn't complain because there was no way I was going to make it through the night without seeing all of him.

  I wanted to see every line, every ridge, and every single pleasure-filled expression that crossed his face. And I wanted him to witness mine.

  Still nipping on my skin, Sebastian walked over to the imposing bed in the middle of the room. He set me on my feet before perching himself on the edge. Long fingers reached out and curled around the fastening of my dress; using it as a lever to tug me between his spread legs.

  His hand paused over the knot. Tilting his head backward, he looked up at me. There was no need for him to voice the question on his mind; I saw it in his eyes. My answer was immediate.

  "I want this, Sebastian. I want you."

  There was a flicker of relief and then nothing but white-hot need. His fingers worked fast, undoing the knot that held my dress together and then pulling the fabric apart. Sebastian's eyes greedily raked over my nude underwear and exposed skin. When his heated gaze came to rest on my breasts, he licked his lips.

  He freaking licked his lips!

  And then his mouth was on me, tormenting me as he slowly dragged his tongue over my ribs, down my stomach, and around my navel. He was kissing me everywhere except where I wanted him too. Where I needed him to.