Rescue Me

by Anne, Melody

  “He works at the hospital with me—as my boss. He’s arrogant and obviously used to getting his way. He annoys me, that’s all,” Patsy said, gratefully accepting the drink Amber held out.

  “You’ve been working with Mr. Sexy and you haven’t said anything?” Mindy gasped.

  “There hasn’t been anything to say,” Patsy said with a shrug.

  She handed Eeyore a piece of jerky before taking her own and biting down on it. Eeyore looked temporarily appeased while she spoke with her friends. He knew this was the routine. She’d gab for a little bit, then change, then take him out for a nice long stroll. He was a patient dog—unlike a lot of men she knew.

  “That definitely means you’re hiding something,” Amber said, not at all buying Patsy’s short explanation. “Are you totally crushing on your boss?” She seemed absolutely delighted. Of course she’d be, since Patsy had yet to bring home a guy. She wasn’t into dating, and she certainly wasn’t into casual hook ups.

  “I admit he’s cute,” Patsy said, downplaying her attraction. “But he’s arrogant, and in case you’ve forgotten, he’s my boss, and I’m not going to jump into anything with him. I refuse to be another hospital tramp, willing to sleep with anyone holding a scalpel.”

  “You also hold a scalpel so doesn’t that make you even?” Alexa asked.

  “Not yet. I’m at the beginning of my career. Dr. Armistead,” she said with a short pause. It was easier to talk about him more formally. Easier for her to categorize him in her mind and maybe for her roommate and friends to see she didn’t like him. “Dr. Armistead,” she repeated the name, “is my superior because he’s been doing this a lot longer than I have. I’ll get there, but it’s going to take years.”

  “He doesn’t seem that much older than you,” Mindy pointed out.

  “He’s a plastic surgeon. Who knows how old he really is,” Patsy said with a laugh.

  That made the other girls laugh too. “I’m so dang glad for plastic surgery. It paid for these,” Mindy said as she gripped her gorgeous breasts.

  “You’ll have to give me a facelift when I get old,” Alexa told Patsy as she squinted her eyes. “I refuse to grow old gracefully.”

  “That’s what I’m here for,” Patsy said with a laugh. “Too bad I won’t be able to perform surgery on myself.” She was successfully getting them off the topic of her hot doctor . . . and neighbor.

  She finished her drink and moved to the counter to mix another. One more wasn’t going to make her a stumbling idiot, and she could use it after the week she’d had. She was grabbing an eggroll when Amber zeroed back in on her.

  “Okay, so you say you don’t like the doc, but tell us a bit about him, cause he’s gorgeous, and if you don’t want him, maybe I’ll throw myself down the stairs in front of him so he can play doctor with me.”

  The instant jealousy filling Patsy at the thought of the perfect Amber flirting with Kyle made her cheeks flush again. Amber was everything Patsy wasn’t: blonde, flirty, full of energy, and a guy magnet. Just because Amber was too picky to settle with any of the men chasing her, didn’t mean it wasn’t going to eventually happen.

  Would Patsy be okay seeing Kyle in her apartment with Amber on his lap? Hell no! Everything within her rebelled at that thought. She told herself it was only because she didn’t want to be around the man. But she knew that was a lie. It was pure, raw, unadulterated jealousy.

  “There’s not a lot to tell. He had his own practice in California, sold it, and came here. I don’t know why. I haven’t talked to him about it. I just listened to hospital gossip. I think his family lives here, though.”

  She couldn’t look at Amber as she said this. Her friend read her too well, and she didn’t want Amber to see the jealousy most likely residing on her face. She was a hot mess. That was for dang sure.

  “I’m sure there’s more to this than you’re telling us, but Eeyore is about to have a heart attack waiting, so as long as you know I’m going to grill the crap out of you every time you walk in the door, I’ll let it go for now,” Amber said as she moved over to Eeyore and patted his head. He looked at her with what seemed a thankful expression.

  “Why thank you, Queen Amber,” Patsy said with a bit of sarcasm and a lot of relief. She turned and moved down the hallway to her bedroom.

  Eeyore waited impatiently at her door as she changed into her yoga pants and running shirt. She had some energy to burn and she wasn’t going to do it by sitting in her apartment eating and drinking.

  As she grabbed Eeyore’s leash she decided a little buzz was exactly what the doctor had ordered for a nighttime run. There’d be no walking tonight if she wanted to sleep. She needed a good run instead, which Eeyore always put up with. If she got some side cramps at least she could focus on that instead of one very sexy neighbor.

  It was all good. It would work for sure.

  Eeyore looked at her as they moved down the staircase, preferring to start the workout early and avoid the elevators at the same time. She could swear she saw judgment in her dog’s eyes.

  “You don’t know,” she told him and his head tilted to the side. “Sure, he’s sexy, but he’s also arrogant and a pain in the ass. I’m much better off not knowing him.”

  Eeyore didn’t talk back to her, so her sanity was clearly still in place, but she did feel slightly judged.

  “I know. I know. I’m losing it a little,” she told her dog. “But I’m also getting very little sleep and have a lot on my mind.”

  Eeyore whimpered a little as they neared the exit.

  “A good run will do both of us good,” she assured her dog. “And we’ll wash all thoughts of the sexy doctor from our minds.”

  She was smiling as she moved across the street to the nearly empty park. She didn’t worry about running at night—not with Eeyore at her side. She might know he was a big ball of fur, but he was big indeed and other people didn’t know he was a gentle giant. No one had tried attacking her with him there.

  She didn’t have a dog for her protection. She had him because she loved him. But it was an added benefit. It was probably why Ryan had gifted the dog to her. She didn’t mind though; she couldn’t imagine not having him.

  She began her run, and her worries faded away as she and Eeyore let off their steam from the day. Kyle was completely forgotten, she assured herself. Out of sight, out of mind.

  It didn’t take long for Patsy to get into a good rhythm, and Eeyore, used to their nightly strolls, whether walking or running, trotted easily beside her. When there was no one in the park, she’d undo his leash, knowing he wouldn’t run from her—at least when there wasn’t a group of hot men playing Frisbee.

  Maybe she should rethink letting him off his leash. That incident had brought her nothing but trouble.

  More people were in the park than usual at nine on a Thursday night. A sweet old couple were holding hands as they sat at a fountain, looking over and smiling at her and Eeyore as they passed, making Patsy’s heart flutter at how charming it was.

  A few teens were using the skate park to try out some flips, hooting and hollering before someone shushed them and they got kicked out. A few other runners passed her, and she gave them a nod, but she wasn’t in the mood to visit with anyone.

  She found her groove and it felt good. She was determined to think of anything other than Dr. Kyle Armistead. The more she ran, the surer she was she could do exactly that.

  She looked ahead at the well-lit path and couldn’t help but smile at the smooth muscles of the man in front of her. He definitely had runner’s legs, which were currently flexing with each step he took.

  The man didn’t appear to be in a hurry as she wasn’t running too fast, and she was gaining ground on him. Shadows cast along the path, but there were enough lights that she didn’t feel isolated on this particular trail. It also gave her a muted view of the man about twenty yards ahead.
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  Not wanting to pass him, she matched her pace to his, allowing her eyes to soak in the smooth way he moved along the trail. She lost sight of him a few times as he turned corners but quickly caught up again.

  She was happy to drool over the man. That meant she wasn’t as infatuated with a certain doctor as she’d begun to think she was. That was certainly good news. She smiled at Eeyore, who was panting slightly as he kept pace with her.

  But as she had thoughts of being attracted to another man, Patsy’s thoughts went back to Kyle, to the way his scrubs fit him to perfection, to the way his dimpled cheek looked so adorable when he smiled, to the way she wanted to see him change in the locker room to see if he was as appealing naked as he was clothed.

  The man she seemed to be unconsciously closing the gap on, reminded her of Kyle. That irritated her. Was she going to see Kyle in every stranger now? Was she going to make comparisons? At least the man was matching up and not coming up short, she thought with relief.

  He disappeared again and Patsy picked up her pace a bit more—which turned out to be a mistake. Someone had left a water bottle on the path she didn’t see, since her eyes had been searching for the man. Her foot tripped on it just as she began turning the corner—and she went down hard.

  Eeyore instantly stopped and whimpered, licking her face as she cried out before silencing herself. She’d managed a twist at the last moment, but the side of her leg was throbbing, and she knew she’d scraped it pretty badly. It would’ve been worse if she’d been in shorts instead of running pants.

  “This is gonna leave a bruise,” she said to Eeyore. She was fighting tears. “It’s okay. Maybe if I could get my mind out of the gutter, I wouldn’t be such a klutz.”

  The dog seemed to nod in agreement. That made her glare at her favorite animal. He didn’t seem offended.

  “I guess you really do like falling at my feet.”

  Patsy tensed; she knew that voice all too well. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before gaining the courage to look at the sexy legs she’d been staring at for the last ten minutes.

  Of course the man running in front of her had reminded her of Kyle—it was him.

  Slowly, her gaze traveled up his long legs, over his torso, and to his face. There was a smile there but a hint of worry in his eyes that made her heart thump.

  Well crap!

  This was just a perfect ending to a perfect day.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Kyle knew the moment Patsy was behind him. She wasn’t as quiet as she might believe she was, and her misnamed dog gave away even more. He enjoyed knowing she was there and had been running at far too slow a pace, hoping she’d catch up to him, wondering if she would.

  It had been euphoric having her there, making all of his senses scream with the need to turn around and see her. If he’d slowed any more he would’ve been walking. But the anticipation of waiting for her to catch him had been more exhilarating than anything he’d felt in a long time.

  He’d decided it was time to stop and wait for her when he’d heard her yelp. He’d instantly turned to find her on the ground, a water bottle on the path. He hadn’t even noticed it, but must have skimmed over it with his long strides.

  She didn’t appear hurt, but he still felt a need to protect her. She tended to get a bit klutzy when she was nervous. Had she known he was ahead of her? Had it made her nervous? He could get used to the two of them running together. There was something healing about a night run, especially after a long day of surgery.

  Eeyore looked at him with adoring eyes, so he kneeled down and scratched the dog’s head. Eeyore sighed and eyed Kyle as if to ask why it had taken him so long to give a simple scratch. That made him smile.

  He turned his attention back to Patsy who wasn’t hero worshiping him like her dog was. That was slightly disappointing, but he was determined to change her mind about him. Something this intense between them shouldn’t be ignored.

  “It’s you,” she said between clenched teeth. “I should’ve known it was you.”

  Well that answered his question on whether or not she’d known it was him running in front of her. If she hadn’t known, he wondered why she hadn’t caught up to him or tried to pass. He’d been going at a snail’s pace.

  “Did you enjoy the view? You were behind me for quite a while,” he said, his grin turning up when her cheeks flushed—and not from exertion. “I feel as if you’re stalking me again.”

  Her mouth opened but no words came out. Instead she took in a breath, and he watched as she visibly tried composing herself. He wondered if it was a good or bad thing how much he flustered this woman.

  “This is my park. I’ve been running here for two months,” she pointed out. “Eeyore needs exercise at night.”

  “As I was the one in front . . .” He paused and flashed her his most wicked grin. “I’d say that answers who’s stalking whom.”

  A myriad of emotions flashed across her face as she tried to compose a suitable response to him. It was fascinating to watch the varying expressions. She hypnotized him. He’d give every last dollar he had to know exactly what was happening in that big, beautiful brain of hers.

  She was obviously attracted to him. There was no denying that, but for some reason she wasn’t willing to act on it. He knew it wasn’t because he was technically her boss. The hospital certainly didn’t like romances blooming in their hallways, but it happened all the time and wasn’t forbidden. No one was going to lose their job over it. Plus, both of them obviously knew how to keep it professional at work. It wasn’t as if he’d take her right there on an OR table.

  Though as soon as he had that thought, it was quite appealing. He wondered if he’d ever be able to look at another table again and not think of doing just that. Okay, maybe hospital romances weren’t the smartest idea. But it didn’t really matter because he was drawn to her. He’d tried avoiding her and that hadn’t worked, so now something had to be done about it or he’d go insane.

  “Most people normally run in the morning,” she said when she came to some sort of conclusion in her mind. “So I wasn’t expecting to see you here. I wasn’t following you or anything. Okay, that sounds stupid. This is a big park. We can both run anytime we want to run.” She stopped and huffed, and he could save her but he was having too much fun watching her grow more and more flustered.

  “Of course you know you can run anytime you want. It’s a public space. I’m just saying that we don’t need to run into each other . . . or talk.” She looked as if she was going to continue speaking, but she slammed her lips closed and glared at him as if she’d figured out she was rambling and he was enjoying her looking like a fool.

  Her tongue darted out and licked her lips, and just like that all thoughts of teasing evaporated as his gaze zeroed in on the action. His body had been in a constant state of arousal from the minute she’d run into him. The problem had been growing more insistent the longer he didn’t curb the craving.

  His gaze drifted down her slender neck and over the curve of her breasts then were drawn to the hard peaks jutting against the tight fabric. Her breath hitched again and her nipples hardened a bit more.

  She was responsive as hell from nothing more than a look. He couldn’t imagine what she’d be like if he actually touched her. It was taking all his will power not to do just that. He could lift her, pull her into the bushes, and they could curb this hunger they were both feeling.

  As if Eeyore could read his thoughts he let out a low bark, drawing Kyle’s gaze away from Patsy’s luscious breasts. Her eyes were slanted as she took shallow breaths. He wasn’t sure what to say next. He was lost in a haze of lust. She finally gathered her thoughts together and sent him another withering look.

  “You can stop dissecting my chest at any time. No one has done work on it,” she said in a snotty voice.

  He smiled before breaking out in laughter.
It took a few moments before he was able to talk. “Oh, Patsy, you’re a true joy,” he said, feeling tears in the corners of his eyes. He hadn’t laughed that hard in a while. “I wasn’t thinking of plastic surgery right then. I was thinking of how much I want to see you naked for purely nonmedical reasons.”

  Their eyes were glued together, and she gasped at his bold words. He might as well be honest with her. He planned on having her in his bed, so it was better that she was aware of that. He hadn’t ever enjoyed flirting. He loved sex, loved it a lot, but he’d never found it worth much effort to get. Not that he’d had to try too hard.

  He could get lost in the depths of her eyes. They showed so much emotion. There was nothing at all fake about this woman, and he appreciated the true beauty of her. Normally he couldn’t look at a person without thinking of what he wanted to change about them. That wasn’t the case with Patsy. She was perfect just as she was.

  “You can’t say things like that,” she whispered, her voice husky. “Or look at me like I’m your next meal.”

  “Maybe I’m hungry,” he told her. There was no maybe about it.

  Suddenly the fierceness of her gaze disappeared as she lifted a hand to her chest again. For a moment sadness flashed across her gaze. Then she pushed it away and scowled at him.

  “Clothes are quite deceptive. I’m in no way perfect,” she told him.

  It took a few moments for her words to process in his muddled brain. What in the hell was she talking about?

  “You look pretty perfect to me,” he told her.

  “I don’t sleep with doctors—not ever, especially plastic surgeons who have unreal expectations of a female body.”

  He was more confused than ever.

  “You’re making no sense,” he said. She glared.

  “I have scars,” she finally said, the words seeming to have been ripped from her.