The Doctor Who Has No Chance (Soulless Book 11)

by Victoria Quinn

  “I’m a man who likes a challenge. You know that. And I did it mostly for Ryan. Thought it would be good for him to have a companion, you know? Teach him how to treat animals, how to be good to others when there’s nothing holding you accountable. We never had pets growing up, and that’s my one criticism.”

  “Shit…” He rubbed his jawline with his fingertips. “Now the boys are going to want one.”

  “They can borrow Riley—”

  “No. Two babies is enough, man. If Emerson and I didn’t work together, I wouldn’t be getting laid nearly as much as I used to.”

  “Well, it’s a good thing you married your assistant.” I waggled my eyebrows. “I think I’m gonna do the same thing.” It was very convenient having her bring me lunch and ass every day. I lifted up her dress and took her on the couch, then got to eat afterward, and at the end of the day when everyone left, we usually did it again. It was fucking awesome.

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah. I’ve got baby fever, man. And she said she’s on the same page, so…”

  Derek nodded. “That’s great, Dex. I’m really happy for you.”

  I cocked an eyebrow and gave him an incredulous look. “I tell you I get a dog and you freak out, and then I tell you I’m gonna ask Sicily to marry me and…you’re just chill about that?” We’d been together for a very short time compared to how long we’d actually known each other. It was basically a new relationship, even if you combined both of our relationships together.

  He gave a shrug. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “I don’t know… I haven’t had a long-term relationship with her. I actually expected some resistance from you and everyone else.”

  He rubbed his jawline again before he grabbed his beer. “Emerson and I were technically together for a short time before I proposed. A very short time. I don’t think the passage of time is any kind of indicator of quality or promise. I know people who’ve been together for years and they finally tie the knot, but they aren’t happy. They’re just doing it because they’re supposed to, because the woman will leave the guy if they don’t commit. Before Emerson and I even hooked up, I knew she was right for me. The physical connection between a man and a woman doesn’t indicate the start of the relationship. It happens way before that, from the moment you meet. And if someone’s right for you, it doesn’t take years to know. I think knowing immediately, or within a couple weeks, is a much better indicator of compatibility than staying together for years or whatever. So, I think getting the dog is a much bigger deal than asking that woman, who’s right for you in every way imaginable, to be your wife.”

  Daisy approached the table and waved down the bartender to get her usual before she plopped down beside me. “Ooh…sliders.” She grabbed one and took a bite. “What are you guys talking about?”

  “I got a dog,” I said. “And I’m going to ask Sicily to marry me.”

  She quickly scarfed down the bite she’d taken so she could get the words out of her mouth. “Oh my god, you got a dog?”

  I shot Derek an incredulous look. “Again, that’s what matters?”

  Derek shrugged. “Like I said, Sicily makes sense. The dog…not so much.”

  I walked Daisy home afterward, ignoring her protests that she was just fine on her own. “How are things with you?”

  “Good. Heard a rumor that my director may be retiring, and I want that job.”

  “Yeah? Isn’t that just administrative paperwork?”

  “No, actually. They’re the ones who decide which patients to take, and they take point on the entire process. It’s the career of my dreams, really.”

  “Wow. You think the rumor is true?”

  “My boss is pretty old, in his midseventies now. He’s in great shape, but I’m sure he wants to spend time with his grandchildren and stuff like that. So, I think the possibility of his retiring is completely feasible.”

  “You think you’d be a candidate?”

  “Totally. I’ve busted my ass there since I started. I go above and beyond for my patients, not because of a possible promotion, but because I really care. I have an ass that doesn’t quit, and everyone there knows it. I’d love to be more involved, because I don’t always agree with my colleagues, and I would love to override their decisions if I could. It just saves money and gives patients answers quicker.”

  “How does the hiring process go? Do they accept applications? Will they only hire internally?”

  “Internally. So, I don’t have to worry about them choosing a boss from outside the organization. As for applying, I really don’t know. I haven’t worked there long enough to have seen the process before my current director. I imagine he would just choose someone based on his own discretion. All of my colleagues would want the position, so there’s no reason to apply.”

  “Well, if the rumors are true, I hope you get it. You deserve it.”

  She gave me a playful nudge in the side. “Thanks, brother. My boss knows about you and Dad, so I mean…I have more credibility than my colleagues. Maybe he’ll take that into consideration. Maybe he won’t.”

  We approached the outside of her building.

  She turned to me to say goodbye. “So, when are you going to get the ring?”

  “Does that mean I have your approval?”

  She rolled her eyes. “I love Sicily. She’s perfect for you. Even if I didn’t personally like her, there’s no denying that her heart is always in the right place with you. That woman has got to love you to put up with all that bullshit you put her through.”

  “Yeah, she’s definitely into me.”

  She rolled her eyes again. “You want me to help you get a ring? Ooh…get her a big-ass diamond. Something simple but big. She’ll love that.”

  “You know, I was actually thinking of doing something small and simple.”

  “Uh, why? Not doing too hot at work?”

  “No,” I said with a chuckle. “I just don’t think that’s really her. I did that with Catherine, and it just seems…superficial. Sicily would rather have a cheaper ring and give the rest to charity if she had the choice.”

  She nodded slowly. “True. That’s pretty sweet.”

  “So, I think I’m gonna do something nice but on the smaller side.”

  “You know her best. Tell Mom and Dad?”

  I shook my head. “Not yet.” I wondered how Daisy was doing after the breakup with Mason. She never talked about it and acted like she was perfectly fine, which was probably just a front, but I didn’t want to call her out on it. If that was how she dealt with her heartbreak, then I would let her be.

  “Did you tell them about the dog?”

  I shook my head. “Didn’t mention that either.”

  “They’re just going to care about the dog,” she said with a laugh. “When can I meet her, by the way?”

  “Whenever. She’s pretty scared around men, so I’m trying to get her to trust me right now. It’s taking some time.”

  “Take her to work with you.”

  “She’s not potty trained.”

  She shrugged. “Whatever. Being around people all day who are nice to her will probably help her calm down. Just like you want your dog to get used to other dogs, you want her to get reacquainted with humans. Seeing stranger after stranger being nice to her will probably teach her that people are good, even if they weren’t before.”

  When I took Riley to work, it actually worked.

  In the morning, she just stuck to a couch in the corner, but as the day progressed and more strangers were nice to her, she started to walk around and shake her tail. She even followed two women into my office and sat on the floor in front of the couch so she could be close to them.

  You know, my sister was actually pretty smart sometimes.

  At the end of the day, it was just Sicily and me, along with Riley.

  She finished up her paperwork on the couch, Riley on the couch beside her since Sicily was her favorite person besides Ryan.

  “I think I’m go
ing to stop by my parents’ place,” I said. “Haven’t seen them in a while.”

  “That’s nice. I can take Riley home for you.”

  “Thanks.” Sometimes I couldn’t tell if she did things for me as my assistant or as my woman, but it was nice that they blurred together, that she was a partner who wanted to participate in my life, not just sit around and gloat about it.

  “I’m gonna finish up some stuff here, and then I’ll drop her off.”

  “Drop her off?” I asked, confused.

  She lifted her gaze from her notes and looked at me. “Dex, I haven’t been to my apartment in like a week.”

  “So? Bring more stuff and come back over.”

  She shook her head slightly. “I don’t want to overstay my welcome—”

  “Baby, move in.”

  She didn’t look the least bit surprised by the request, just touched.

  “Come on, bring your stuff over. Riley loves it when you’re there, I love it when you’re there, and it’s nice to be able to tag-team Ryan when he’s around. We work so much better together than apart because we’re the same person. So, burn your apartment to the ground, whatever you want to do, and then move in.”

  I walked in the door to my parents’ place and found them sitting at the dining table together, in their loungewear, drinking wine as they worked on their laptops after dinner. I stilled when I saw the big black eye on my dad’s face. “What the hell happened to you? Another bar fight, Dad? I think you need help—”

  “It was your sister.” He shut his laptop. “I’m fine.”

  I fell into the chair next to him and across from Mom. “Damn…what did you do to piss her off?”

  Dad gave a slight smirk. “I’m teaching her how to fight.”

  “How to fight…or just kick your ass?”

  He poured me a glass of wine and slid it toward me. “It was an accident.”

  “Did that hurt?” I squinted as I looked at his eye. “Because that shit looks painful.”

  Mom smirked in amusement.

  “No,” Dad said. “But I’m glad she knows how to do some damage.”

  “Damn…note to self.” I shook my head. “Don’t piss off Daisy.”

  Dad took a drink. “What’s new with you?”

  “I got a dog.”

  Mom nearly did a double take. “You did? Aww…what kind?”

  Dad had a much harder time comprehending the news. “A dog?”

  “Yes, like a canine,” I said. “Four-legged beast.”

  Dad still looked bewildered. “You got a dog… Why?”

  “Because they’re cute,” I said. “Why else? Just because you wouldn’t let us get one growing up doesn’t mean it’s that weird.”

  “You don’t have a yard,” Dad said. “Dogs aren’t meant for apartments. Maybe a cat, but not a dog—”

  “Honey.” Mom rubbed his arm. “It’s fine. Lots of residents have dogs here.”

  Dad still couldn’t grasp it, because he was so clinical about everything and had no experience with animals. They served no purpose, so he didn’t understand why anyone would want one.

  That’s exactly why I wanted Ryan to have a dog—so he wouldn’t end up like my dad. “Anyway…that’s not my biggest news.” I pulled the little box out of my pocket and set it on the table.

  They both looked at it, understood exactly what it was, and looked at me again.

  Mom grinned so wide, looked so happy, like any stress she had at all evaporated at that moment.

  Dad stared a little longer before he shifted his gaze to me, a slight smile coming on to his lips. Then he gave me a subtle nod of approval, giving me his blessing.

  Neither one of them questioned if it was too soon. Neither one of them tried to talk me out of it. They just got it, because they understood better than anyone that when something was right, it was right.

  “I’m so happy.” Mom turned her eyes to Dad and rested her hand on his arm.

  He held her look before he moved to grab her hand, the two of them looking at each other like they’d just accomplished something wonderful. Tension left their shoulders, and they both looked at peace. He stroked her hand with his thumb. “Two down…one to go.”

  Twenty-Nine

  Sicily

  “What part of grab your shit did you not understand?” He looked at the bag over my shoulder, disappointed that was all I took from my apartment.

  Riley walked up to me, sniffing me and waging her tail.

  I gave her some attention before I set my bag on the couch. “Did you expect me to walk through the door with everything I own?” I asked incredulously.

  He stood with his hands on his hips and gave a slight nod. “Yeah, I guess so.”

  “Well, I’m not that strong,” I said with a chuckle.

  He walked up to me and gave my ass a hard smack. “I know this is ass is strong as hell.” He leaned down and gave me a kiss before he grabbed the bag and carried it into his bedroom. He tested the weight, seeing how light it was. “It doesn’t seem like you packed much.”

  I sat on the couch, and Riley immediately jumped up with me, wagging her tail as she gave a couple whines for attention. I rubbed her behind the ears and down her back. “I didn’t think you were serious.” I didn’t think he literally wanted me to give notice to my landlord and take whatever I could carry.

  Dex came back and stared me down. “I’m a heart surgeon. When I give orders, I’m serious.” He dropped down onto the couch beside me.

  “Well, I’m not exactly the type to take orders, so…”

  “Really? Because it looks like you do a pretty good job to me.”

  I narrowed my eyes as I continued to pet Riley.

  Dex’s eyes shifted back and forth between Riley and me. “I like having a dog, but she’s a bit of a cockblock. Or a clitblock. Whatever.”

  I smiled as I pulled her close, giving her a hug and situating her onto my lap. “You’ll just have to wait your turn.”

  He sighed as he sat there, watching the two of us cuddle on the couch, Riley giving me occasional kisses.

  “Is that dinner I smell?”

  His beautiful eyes remained glued to my face, frozen in place, his entire body still like he didn’t need a breath to keep his lungs and heart going. “Yes, I was serious.”

  “Sorry?”

  “I was serious about you moving in.”

  I held Riley in my arms as I appreciated the sincerity in Dex’s eyes, the way he wanted me stuck to him like glue, to be at his side all day at work, and then all night in his personal space. It was nice to be loved this way, especially by him, a guy who was so out of my league it wasn’t even funny. I didn’t earn his heart with my beauty or intelligence. I didn’t earn it because I worked hard for it. I earned it because I loved him in a way no one else ever did…and that made him love me too.

  “Look, I don’t want to go full caveman on you, but if you don’t get the ball rolling on this, I’m gonna march over there and just take everything.”

  It was a funny image, seeing him in a little piece of material covering his manhood, marching over to my apartment and dragging my belongings for several blocks until he returned, all of my stuff in tatters. “Alright, alright…chill.”

  “Did you just tell me to chill?” He pointed into his chest, falsely offended.

  “Yep.”

  Riley was a whole new girl.

  She loved coming to the office with us. She loved hanging out in the lobby when new patients came in, and she got free pets and massages and got to enjoy people lighting up at the sight of her.

  The kids especially loved it.

  I noticed a stark difference in our patients when we spoke to them in the office. Despite the serious nature of their visits, Riley made them a lot more optimistic, and I did notice blood pressure readings weren’t as high as they normally were.

  And best thing of all, Riley seemed to trust Dex.

  Dex didn’t force her to spend time with him or give her any special at
tention, choosing to allow her to come to him instead. It wasn’t long before she would lie on the floor next to his desk at lunchtime and take a nap in the sun, and then our bed became crowded even when Ryan wasn’t there.

  But Ryan would always be her favorite. No way around it.

  Whenever it was our turn to have him, they were two peas in a pod. They napped together, sat on the floor together while Ryan played with his toys, and Riley growled at us any time Ryan cried, like we were doing something terrible.

  It was super cute.

  At lunchtime, we did what we always did.

  Dex lifted up my dress and pressed me into the corner of the couch, his jeans and boxers at the bottom of his ass, and he thrust into me quietly, weighing me down into the cushions, his eyes looking into mine and watching my eyes water through my quiet climax. His breathing was deep and hard, so sexy, and even though we did it this way most of the time at lunch, it never got old.

  My hands were up his shirt, and I clawed at his bare skin underneath the material, letting out my sexual crescendos through my scratches since my lips had to stay sealed. I got my lunchtime climax and whimpered until the very end.

  The second he saw my cue, he shoved himself inside me and came, filling me deep and good with a quiet moan. He remained inside me as he slowly softened then got off me and pulled up his bottoms like nothing happened. He sat on the couch and grabbed his sandwich and started to eat.

  I got my panties back on and smoothed out my dress before I grabbed my lunch and lay down again, almost too tired to eat. I just lay there, my legs propped against the back of the couch, eating my sandwich and getting crumbs all over my dress.

  Dex read through his paperwork, eating his lunch in silence.

  “Maybe we should turn one of the patient rooms into a bedroom.”

  He chuckled. “Now you’re thinking, baby.” He leaned back and read his folder, one hand on the sandwich and taking random bites. “So, you’re moving in on Saturday? You aren’t going to flake on me?”