by Jessica Gray
Rowan scooted closer to her and put his hand on her arm. Fatalities were the unfortunate side effect of his profession. After his first years at medical school, he’d learnt that not every patient could be saved, and he had developed techniques to cope with his emotions. It was vital for a doctor’s mental health not to let the fates of his patients become the measure of success, but when a friend or relative was involved, it was a whole different story.
The warmth of his hand seeped into Joanna’s cold skin and as her skin heated under his touch, the shadows of the past dissolved, until she cast him another of her shy, but stunning smiles.
“You do know, that many aspects of modern medicine originated in traditional medicines and cures. There is much more to healing a patient than administering a drug.”
“Are we having our first argument?” Rowan grinned, moving his hand up her arm. He longed to touch her flushed cheek, but feared she would jerk away like a young deer flitting nervously through the landscape.
“No, just a difference of opinion.” She looked at him and desire for her threatened to overwhelm him.
“That’s a good way of putting it. I do like a good discussion.”
“What about you? Why did you want to become a doctor?” she asked with genuine curiosity.
“Me?” He cocked his head saying, “Let’s see. My father is a doctor, my mother a nurse, my older brother a veterinarian. It was natural to pursue medicine, too.”
“I don’t believe you,” she stated boldly and moved away from his touch.
Rowan’s hand hung in the air, acutely aware of the sudden loss of her warm and silky skin.
“I guess you’re right,” he said on a sigh. “It’s something I don’t like to talk about.”
“You don’t have to.” Her voice carried so much compassion, his heart wanted to explode. As did his cock the very next moment, when she moved her hand across his biceps.
Oh my god. I’m gonna lose it right now if she doesn’t stop touching me.
“So, you mentioned you had just moved to Beijing. Where are you originally from?” Rowan changed the topic to something more mundane and willed his throbbing cock to stand down.
“My parents have a small farm in a rural area in the region of Sichuan.”
“How rural exactly is rural?” Rowan asked.
“It’s about fifteen minutes by bus to the city, which has more than a million residents.” Joanna grinned. “But everyone still considers it a village.”
Rowan chuckled. “Only in China could a million people living in one place be considered a village. In any other part of the world, that would be a large city.”
“But this is China. We have more than a hundred cities with above one million people living in them. But only a handful of places are considered true cities. Beijing. Shanghai. Shenzen. Guangzhou. That’s the reason why I moved there to take up my studies. The universities in the other places just don’t compare.”
“Well, I guess, one billion people have to live somewhere.” Rowan scooted closer to her on the couch. When she didn’t draw back, he ran a fingertip down her bare arm. “What did you like most about the ice festival?”
Joanna leaned into his touch and the words about all the fantastic sculptures they’d seen tumbled out of her mouth. Her English was surprisingly perfect, albeit with a cute sing-sang accent that sometimes made it difficult to understand the words.
Rowan could have watched and listened to her for hours. As her full red lips moved to pronounce the words, he was drawn to her like a moth to the flame. But he fought off the urge to take her in a searing kiss, remembering how timid she’d been when he’d kissed her in the elevator. Instead he trailed his fingers up and down her arm, feeling the goosebumps arise and listening to her soft melodic voice recant the day’s brighter moments.
His self-control already hung on a thin thread, when a sound similar to the meowing of a cat escaped her and shot hot flashes straight to his groin. Good Lord, he would ravage her if he didn’t put a stop to this right now.
Faking a yawn, he stretched and said, “We better get some sleep.”
“Are you sure you don’t mind sleeping on the couch?” she asked one last time.
“I insist you take the bed. Sleep tight.”
Joanna nodded and walked to the other side of the room, where she took off her shoes, put them neatly besides the bed and then gracefully slipped beneath the down blanket fully dressed.
He arranged a pillow and blanket and then adjusted his long frame on the too-short couch, trying to ignore how uncomfortable he was, and also trying to convince his body to calm down. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so aroused by a virtual stranger, and given her timidity, he knew he needed to cool his jets. There was a fragility and vulnerability about her that suggested she was a novice when it came to relationships.
He lay awake a long time, listening as she fumbled beneath the covers, hearing her heavy breathing. Looks like she can’t sleep either.
Despite how Nelson had tricked him into this blind date, the day had been amazing. And he couldn’t think of a person he’d wanted more to share his day with than Joanna. What had started out as an awkward encounter had kept him enthralled throughout the day. Enthralled and horny as hell.
Unlike Nelson, Rowan hadn’t slept with a woman since he’d arrived in China several weeks ago and the need for physical relief had him tied up in knots. But with Joanna still not sleeping some fifteen feet away, he couldn’t even sneak into the bathroom to take care of things himself.
Rowan rolled over, pulling the blanket up around his shoulders and forced his eyes shut and his mind blank. He was going to stay right there, on the uncomfortable couch and he wouldn’t have to apologize for anything come morning.
Chapter 11
Joanna lay there in Rowan’s bed wishing sleep would come. But it eluded her. How could she sleep with her heart beating staccato in her throat at the thought of the attractive man in the room?
With her eyes closed, she could not only hear his forced breathing, and smell his cologne in the air, but she could also feel his presence and the effect it had on her body. It was confusing to say the least.
Never before had a man caused such a turmoil in her – physical and emotional. At the age of nineteen, most of her school friends were married already. Except her.
Not that she wanted to rush to the altar. No, her priority in life was to become a doctor, not a housewife tending to the government-allowed single child, her husband and the household. Not that she’d ever hoped for romance and butterflies. One day, after finishing her studies, she’d marry someone out of convenience like her parents had done. An agreeable man who would allow her to practice as a doctor and would not beat her.
But deep down she yearned for love and romance, like every other girl she knew. Unfortunately, every man she had met so far was bland and uninteresting. Some even outright boring like the boys in her home village. Others, like Nelson, arrogant and boisterous. Some were nice enough. Nice, not butterfly-inducing awesome. None of them had ever made her heart race or her breathing stall in her chest.
Until Rowan.
From the first moment she’d spotted him this morning in the arctic cold of Harbin, her body had been tingling in awareness. It didn’t help matters that apart from looking spectacular he was also intelligent, funny, humorous and a true gentleman.
She smiled at the memory of his angry face, a clear indication the festival was the last place on earth he’d wanted to be. But his grumpy behavior had soon changed for the better, making him even more attractive.
Joanna took a deep breath and then let it out, willing her body to relax. It worked for a few seconds, until she heard him roll over and her mind started all over again. This time, fantasies of the kisses he’d bestowed upon her sent hot flashes throughout her body, followed by delicious shivers.
She wondered what would have happened, if…what if he hadn’t said goodnight…would she…should she? Did she even w
ant to? Her body apparently had made a decision so just to be safe, she fisted her hands into the sheets. Or she might get up and walk over to the couch to relish in the gentle way his fingers had stroked her arm.
Kiss him again, succumb to the sensations he evoked in her, and let him take over. Isn’t that what they all wanted? Stick their penis into a woman, pound and grunt and done?
That thought sobered Joanna. She unfisted her hands and rolled on her side, remembering the few experiences with sex she had. Most of it was hear-say. Back at home, she’d always stopped the boys early in the game. She had hated the implicitness with which they assumed a simple smile from a girl gave them permission to touch wherever they liked. That a kiss naturally led to fondling and coitus. Joanna’s neck hair stood on end. Even the word was awful. How could any woman actually enjoy something called coitus?
She finally fell into a fitful sleep, filled with dreams of a green-brown eyed man with dark hair and a killer smile. Her dreams were interrupted sometime later by the sound of heavy footsteps, muttered curses, and a large male body crashing onto the bed beside her with a loud groan.
Joanna shrieked and jumped out of the bed, staring wide-eyed at Nelson, who had collapsed on the bed and stared back at her with a lopsided grin. “Hey, you’re Mei’s friend.”
Joanna shook her head and backed up, barreling straight into the hard chest of Rowan, who’d awakened upon hearing her shriek of alarm. Despite the electric zings that the connection with his body sent through her own, she jerked around like a frightened deer and held her hands out to ward him off as he tried to pull her against him.
For a moment her eyes darted between the two men, and then she raced to the hotel door, running for the stairs and descending them as fast as her feet would carry her.
Her purse, coat and shoes remained in Rowan’s room, but right now she neither noticed nor cared. Reaching the man-free safety of her own hotel room became her single focus. When she reached it in her stocking feet, she pounded on the door, grateful when Mei opened it a moment later.
Joanna hurried inside, latching the door with the door chain, before she turned around to look at her friend. Mei rubbed at red and swollen eyes, and Joanna’s heart constricted.
“What happened?” she asked, taking a step towards Mei.
Mei gave a derisive snort and then blew her nose. “Nelson is what happened. The man lied to me!”
“How so?” Joanna asked and followed Mei to the small sitting area.
Mei looked at her, bleak despair and regret in her eyes. “He has a wife back home in the States.”
Joanna opened her mouth, but could only form an “O” with her lips before closing them silently. What can I say to that?
Mei ranted about awful, cheating men in general and Nelson in particular, but Joanna couldn’t muster any sympathy right now. If Mei didn’t make it her mission to sleep with every foreigner she met, this kind of thing would never happen. Mei actually seemed to believe that sleeping with a man on the first date would increase her chances of becoming the trophy wife of a rich, foreign husband.
“I’m going back to sleep,” Joanna interrupted Mei’s stream of words and changed into her pajamas, ignoring her friend’s indignant looks. It was only then that she noticed her stocking feet and inwardly groaned. The next morning she would have to get back her belongings.
Chapter 12
Rowan turned to go after Joanna, but he stopped when Nelson started laughing out loud.
“What’s so funny?” he growled.
“Did you see her face?” Nelson asked, scrubbing a hand over his face.
“Sure did. You scared the hell out of the poor girl. She even left her purse and coat here.” Rowan gathered up her belongings, placing them in a pile by the door with the intent to return them to Joanna’s room.
“I wouldn’t go down there, if I were you. Her friend isn’t too happy with me right now.”
Rowan sighed and asked, “Did you pull the fake ‘I’m married’ card again?”
“Works every time,” Nelson grinned.
“You’re disgusting.”
“What’s a man to do? She was already hearing wedding bells!”
“So, why not just tell her the truth upfront? That you’re in for the sex, not for the commitment?” Rowan asked, even though they’d had this discussion many times before.
“Because they are more accommodating when they hope for a relationship,” Nelson smirked. “But this one, she was a tough nut. Talking about meeting her parents already. Saying I’m already married is the best way to get rid of the likes of her.” Nelson paused for a moment and glanced at the bed. “Sorry for disturbing you and…”
“Joanna is her name.” Rowan grew angry, itching to slap Nelson in his smug face. “And just for the record, contrary to other people who shall remain nameless, I’m not chasing everything that wears a skirt. Nothing happened between Joanna and me.”
“Really?” Nelson asked in disbelief. “Tell me you didn’t pass up that fine looking ass?”
“Stop it!” Rowan growled.
“Why? If you don’t want to grope those perky breasts, I certainly won’t say no. In fact, I’ll make my move on her tomorrow. Knowing I’m married, she won’t get any wrong ideas, either.”
Jealousy surged through Rowan and he took a menacing step towards his friend. “Stay away from Joanna.”
“Why is that?”
“She’s much too young and innocent for the likes of you. You keep your hands off of her.”
Nelson appeared to think it over and then grinned, shaking his head negatively. “You think she’s a virgin? Yeah, that works for me. Nothing like a tight and unused pussy.”
Rowan wanted to kick Nelson in the nuts and put him out of commission. That man – in fact no other man – would ever roam his dirty hands over Joanna’s sweet body. He lowered his voice and stared Nelson down growling, “You heard what I said. Don’t go near her or…”
“Geez, you’re awfully touchy about that girl. If you wanted her for yourself, why didn’t you seize the opportunity already?”
“Because I’m not a man-whore like you.” Rowan flung himself onto the bed and rolled over, presenting his back to Nelson and the rest of the room. Lying in the same place that Joanna had slept only minutes earlier, her lingering scent of spicy Wintersweet blocked out all anger at Nelson and lulled him into a sleep filled with erotic dreams where her black eyes filled with passion as his hands and mouth roved her soft skin.
A few hours later, he woke with a painful hard-on, but instead of sensual Joanna, snoring Nelson occupied the other side of the bed. Rowan cast a disgusted look at his friend. Not sure whether Joanna and Mei would already be up, he took a shower first.
On his way to the breakfast room, he knocked at Joanna’s door, but there was no answer. He slipped a note under the door and left her things at the reception. Breakfast was a lonely affair, if you can call a hall full of noisy Chinese lonely.
Rowan rounded the breakfast buffet several times and his Western stomach churned at the sight of meat dumplings, deep fried food, tofu pudding, several types of noodles and rice, rice and more rice. Rice porridge, rice noodles, steamed rice, fried rice, rice balls, rice cakes… At long last he finally found some pancakes with eggs and awful-tasting coffee.
It didn’t take him long to finish his breakfast and soon he returned to his room, where Nelson was just getting up.
“Morning,” Rowan greeted him, still annoyed at him for messing up so badly last night.
“Morning. What a night! My head is exploding,” Nelson said, heading to the bathroom to take a shower.
“Breakfast is nothing to look forward to,” Rowan called after him, but the only answer was some grunts.
Their plane was leaving in the afternoon and Rowan wanted to spend some more time with Joanna, if possible. He called her room, but hung up after about twenty rings when nobody answered. Shit! He dialed reception and inquired about the girls.
“I’m s
orry, sir. The two ladies have checked out already,” the clerk said in acceptable English.
Rowan flopped down on the bed fully clothed with his shoes on and stared at the ceiling, angry with the world and himself. Why did she leave without a word?
“What’s up asshole?” Nelson’s voice startled him from his morose thoughts.
“Nothing,” Rowan growled.
“Doesn’t look like nothing to me.”
“Joanna and Mei already left the hotel,” Rowan said, pressing out the words through tight lips.
“Thank God! It would have been awkward to make small talk to Mei.”
“You’re a pig!”
“Maybe. But a good one.” Nelson gave a dirty chuckle. “That girl did get her share of fun out of it, I can tell you. Those Chinese girls can bend their limbs at impossible angles. Gosh, when I fucked her from behind and at the same time she—”
“Stop it right there, okay? I’m not interested in details of your sexual escapades,” Rowan said, trying to drive away the disgusting mental images.
“You might get some ideas, for…what was her name again? I bet she could do the splits while you’re sucking her.”
Rowan preferred to keep his mouth shut and busied himself with packing his things. Should Nelson fuck all the girls in the world more power to him, as long as he kept his hands off Joanna. Maybe it would even be a good idea to let Nelson believe that he was interested in her. Which he wasn’t. Not at all. Just because he wanted to protect her from the likes of his degenerate friend didn’t mean he wanted her for himself.
After Nelson returned from breakfast, sharing Rowan’s opinion that rice to the fourth power definitely wasn’t edible in the early morning, they left their luggage with the reception and took off to the festival again.
But watching the sculptures and shows with Nelson only made him yearn harder for Joanna’s sweet and gentle company. He missed her petite figure, her soft voice and her melodic laugh. He also missed her spicy-sweet scent, the softness of her black hair and the way her presence heated his body.
