Bliss Series Boxed Set: The Whole Damn Harem (93 page)

With Nikki out of the picture, I’m free to pursue something new, with someone new.

Then there’s Zoe, who seems to have magically appeared in my lap—so to speak.

I can show her I’m not like the nickname Mac coined all those years ago. Big dick or not, I’m not normally an arrogant ass who sticks his tongue in a woman’s mouth and doesn’t remember it.

Fuck it. Tuesday morning I’m going to hunt that woman down and apologize. Then ask her out for dinner. I owe her that much.

Getting her to agree is another challenge all in itself.

And I’ve always loved a challenge.

“Complicated”

Zoe

It’s lunchtime in the cafeteria, and having grabbed a sandwich and a juice, I spot my friend Stacey sitting at a table with a few other nurses. She waves me over, shifting when I get there to make space for me to sit down.

“Hey, guys. How’s it going?”

I get a collective response of “Hey” and “Good” before Stacey looks at me, her eyes twinkling with amusement. “Who are the flowers from? Your secret admirer?” she asks with a raised brow as I sit down and hand the bouquet to her.

“Happy Valentine’s, Stace.” She looks are me strangely before shaking her head. “You’re a nut, but I love you. And it’s May, not February.”

“Just say thank you anyway,” I reply.

“We were just talking about Dr. Taylor. You’ve met him haven’t you,
Zoe
?” She quirks an eyebrow, and I almost choke on my mouthful. She’s lucky I’ve known her since high school, otherwise I’d be tempted to make use of the fork lying on the table beside me.

I had to talk to someone about Noah and my new preoccupation with him, and Stacey—having worked as an OR nurse for the past six months with him—was an obvious choice. Something I’m regretting at this juncture.

Biting into my sandwich, I mumble a response that resembles something between a growl and an ‘oh shit, where is she going with this’ sound. I narrow my eyes at her, and am met with a sickly sweet ‘just you wait’ smile that she’s scarily good at.

“Jessica over here was just telling me that WD is back on the market. It’s big news for the hospital’s single nurse pool.”

“Mmm hmm.” I take as long as humanly possible to chew my mouthful, not trusting myself to reply and show not one iota of interest—even if I’m dying to find out more.
Desperate Zoe, aisle five.

“Yeah,” Jennifer pipes up, “Don’t get me wrong—he’s hot and he definitely knows how to lay the groundwork, but it’s like he’s been trying to prove a point.”

Feeling intrigued, I decide that this might be the perfect opportunity to gather some helpful intel in my mission to avoid everything hot doctor related.

“So he’s not normally a player?”

The table of five women burst out laughing and I feel my eyes widen as they all just look at me as if I have three heads. “He’s the Walking Dildo, lovely. We know the reputation, we’ve heard the rumors of what he’s packing down below, and there has never been a shortage of women willing to lay down in the name of research, if you know what I mean.” A blond nurse I haven’t met yet—whose honesty I kinda dig—informs me.

“He’s been off the market for so long now, it’s almost as if he’s overdoing it in an attempt to prove something to himself.” That was Jessica.

Something about the way they talk about him irks me. He may be handsome and have more than his fair share of confidence, charm, devilish smirks, but he’s still just a man. They’re talking about him like he’s a piece of meat and they’re a bunch of carnivores at a vegetarian convention.
Hungry much?

“He can’t have much time, what with OR time and consults?”

“He used to make the time. If you ever wanted to ‘take a walk on the doctor side’ and scratch it off your bucket list, Dr. Taylor was your man,” Jennifer adds.

“Maybe he’s changed.” That was me, ever the optimist, my voice sounding certain that they must be talking about a different guy.

The problem is my mind is now racing with thoughts of A) where has his mouth been before mine, B) does he make it a habit of kissing random women now—drunk or otherwise? And C) how easy will it be to avoid him for the rest of my employment at NorthWestern and stop myself from wondering what a ‘walk on the doctor side’ would be like with him?

“You alright there, Zoe? You seem a bit
distracted
. . .” Stacey just won’t give it up. Look up dog with a bone and there will be a smiling picture of my friend.

“You’re a shit stirrer. Please at least tell me that
you
haven’t fallen victim to the Taylor charm?” I whisper quietly.

“Hell no. I’m a player hater, and that man has expert game.”

“That’s what I was afraid of.”

And instantly, my previously waning vow to stay away from Noah is given a much-needed boost.
Drunkenly kissing a stranger at your best friends’ wedding was all the confirmation I needed in that department.

Maybe I’ll just clear the air with him. Explain that we can be friends but
only
friends. We can be friendly and cordial but I’ll explain that there can be no flirting, and no cheesy pick-up lines, and definitely no repeats of
that
kiss. In fact, I won’t even bring it up. He doesn’t remember it, I can easily forget it ever happened and just move on.

And definitely no more thinking about Noah and his hands or his mouth or the unimaginable things I fantasize about him doing to me.

∞
∞
∞

I’m hiding away in an empty exam room studying some scans when there is a knock at the door. It opens and I lift my head to see Noah walk in, close the door behind him, and lean his back against it.

He’s wearing dark blue scrubs covered by his white lab coat. His hair is slightly mussed, as if he’s been running his hands through it, which just makes me want to drag
my
hands through it. Preferably while doing something other than standing in an exam room with him.

No, I will not let hot cocky doctors distract me.

“Hey,” he says confidently.

“Ah, hi. Can I help you with something Noah . . . I mean, Dr. Taylor?”

“I’m sure I told you to call me Noah, Zoe.” His soft voice is doing dangerously good things to me.
Stay strong, Zoe.

“Okay.”

“How’s your day going?” he asks casually.
Well that’s an unexpected turn of events.

“Good. Great actually.” I can’t help but smile at him.

“Great . . .”

“Did you need to see me about a patient or . . . ?”

He grimaces before recovering and squaring his shoulders. “Look I wanted to talk about what happened at the wedding.”

Oh, so
now
he wants to talk about the wedding.

“You don’t have to . . . we don’t have to . . . let’s just forget it, shall we?”

“I wanted to apologize. I only just found out about what I did, over the weekend, and—”

My back straightens as his words sink in and my head jerks back. “What do you mean?” I ask quizzically.

He grabs the back of his neck, visibly uncomfortable but if my assumptions are correct, it seems Noah doesn’t remember anything about our kiss. “I was rather . . . drunk . . . and I, ah, don’t really have much recollection after the best man speech.”
Well fuck me sideways, I was right.

An uncomfortable silence stretches between us. He tilts his head and watches me as I just stare at him in utter disbelief.

Then he shakes his head and slowly walks toward me. Never have I been more grateful for the interior design of an exam room than right now. He stops on the opposite side of the desk and puts his hands on the wood as he leans forward, his eyes still pinned to mine.

“Go out with me.”

“You’re joking, right?” I splutter.

“I’m deadly serious. Go out with me, Saturday night.” He straightens, his expression void of his normal cocky smirk.

I shake my head. “I’m not going out with you, Noah.”

“Why not? We’ve already kissed . . .”

Now
that
gets my hackles up. Initially I was a little hurt that he didn’t remember anything about that night but now I’m just plain pissed off. “You don’t remember that kiss, Noah.” I stand up from my chair and lean over the desk toward him. “You don’t remember tangling your hand in my hair, tipping me back over your arm and kissing the life out of me. You don’t remember how you made me go from zero to
hello
in less than a second. How my hands gripped your arms as I held on for dear life and lost myself in the single best kiss of my life.” I’m close to breathing fire by the end of my rant. If I were a dragon, he’d be a pile of ashes littering the exam room floor right now. Him and his giant ego.

His eyes grow wide, but I don’t miss the unmistakable flash of heat shining back at me.

“Do you remember that, Noah? Because I do. Every single second of it. I’d been drinking too, but it’s still clear in my mind.” I take a steeling breath. “And right now I think it would be best for everyone involved if we just forgot the whole thing ever happened and moved on.”

“I really wish I did, you know,” he murmurs regretfully, his eyes glued to mine.

“What?” My voice is shaky, totally betraying the shock and hurt I’m feeling.

“Remembered it.” His eyes are full of regret, sympathy and guilt, all of which piss me off. If you’re going to be a player then fucking own up to it.

“But you don’t.” My voice softens. “Sorry, Noah, if you’re looking for another easy lay from the hospital dating pool, I’m not your girl. Let alone all the complications any of that would bring for the two of us. I mean,
hello
, Mac and Zander?”

“I don’t want easy,” he spits out. “I’ve had my share of easy.”

“That’s the word on the street,” I mutter under my breath.

“I don’t want that. I want someone who challenges me, perplexes me—intrigues me. I want someone who wants to be seen with me, someone who’s proud of themselves and who’s happy to be mine and only mine.” His breathing has picked up, his voice getting louder, before I watch in amazement as he looks me up and down. “Besides, something tells me you are far from easy. Just asking you out for dinner seems to be a challenge.”

Hold the phone. “What?” I ask in shock, reeling from the unexpected change in tack. Definitely
not
what I was expecting from him. I thought he’d want to laugh it off and forget it ever happened.
’Remember at Daniel’s wedding when I got completely plastered and made out with that brunette chick?’

“Go out with me for dinner. Call it a culinary apology. Then we can get to know each other without the haze of alcohol and the emotions stirred up by weddings.”

“Emotions stirred up by weddings? Is that some sexist comment about single women feeling desperate at weddings because they’re suddenly faced with images of a life of spinsterdom?”
Okay, settle petal. Take a deep breath and calm the fuck down.

“That’s not what I meant. I—”

I stand up straight, in total and utter shock at the turn this conversation has taken. It’s gone from awkward and uncomfortable to total mind-fuck in mere minutes.

“Why should I go out with you? What makes you any different from any other over-confident man out there? I’ve heard the stories, Noah. I experienced a briefing on the gameplay of the great Noah Taylor over lunch actually.”
Bitter bitch is in the house.

I watch as the corner of his mouth curls up into a knowing smirk, as if he knows my play and is totally going to run with it. Cocky bastard.

“Because I’d like to show you the real me, outside of the hospital. No rumors, no reputations, and no aspersions hanging over my head from your brother or my friends, my past behavior notwithstanding. I want to try, Zoe.” I can’t even think straight after he’s just bared himself like that to me. I answer without thinking—especially not about him being a player, or trying too hard, or about the fact that he went home with someone else after kissing me.
Probably should have, though.

“Okay,” I reply quietly, giving in because really, when a hotshot surgeon like Dr. Noah Taylor asks you out on a date and you already know how he kisses—that being like a freaking rock star—you accept.

“Yes?” he asks, sounding surprised. “You’ll go out with me?”

“Yes, goddammit,” I say through gritted teeth before releasing the breath I’d been holding for far too long, releasing the tension from my body before gifting him a small smile. “You’ve just made my day Ms. Roberts.” He steps back and flashes me a huge, blinding grin. He grabs my phone off the desk in front of me and types something out before handing it back to me. “I’ll be in touch, beautiful.”

He opens the door and leaves me alone with my scattered brain.

Then something occurs to me.
Oh my god, Zander is gonna flip his lid.

“Wasn’t Expecting That”

Noah

Fuck she’s cute.

Feisty and cute.

Totally unexpected, but far from unappreciated.

There was just something about the way Zoe tried to argue her way out of going out with me that made me even more determined to see it through.

It may sound conceited, but it’s not often that women say no to me, or even try to rebuff my attempts to ask them out. I may have been sleeping with Nikki off and on for the past eighteen months but that’s not to say I haven’t still kept one eye open to the female of the species. I just wasn’t actively trying to meet someone with a view to a relationship.

What started out as a simple apology and get-to-know-you dinner has now got me determined.

Part of the new-and-improved version of myself, I decided that Zoe deserves the whole hog when it came to this date of ours. She wasn’t exactly jumping for joy when I asked her out so I’ve taken it upon myself to be proactive in bringing her around to my way of thinking. If that takes a bit of the ol’ Taylor charm in order to achieve it, then so be it.