The Doctor & the Runaway Heiress

by Marion Lennox

  ‘Pippa…’

  Was she still dreaming? She wasn’t, he knew she wasn’t, but still she was in some dreamlike state where normal boundaries didn’t apply. Saying exactly what she thought. Feeling what she wanted to feel. Loving the way she was feeling and letting him know that, too.

  Her body was heating against his, and he knew… he knew…

  That he should leave, now. Put her away from him. Let reality take over again. But she was holding him, needing him, wanting him, and how strong would he have to be to put her away? She was a mature woman. She was melting against him, sensual, languorous, seductive…

  Seductive?

  ‘Thank you,’ she murmured again, and before he could realise what she intended she twisted in his arms. She wound her arms around his neck, then pushed herself up, just a little, so she was gazing down at him in the moonlight.

  And before he could even think how to stop her, or even if he wanted to stop her-she kissed him.

  She surely kissed him.

  For this was no kiss of thanks, a polite brushing of lips, fleeting contact and then pulling away.

  This was a kiss of a woman wanting a man.

  More.

  It was the kiss of a woman claiming her man.

  Her lips met his and the contact burned.

  Maybe his whole body had been heating before this point, and now… It was like the heat suddenly exploded into flame and the point of flame was his mouth, her lips, the melding of the two together.

  This woman in his arms.

  ‘Riley.’ Had she said his name? She couldn’t have, but the sound was between them, a long drawn-out sigh, a sigh of longing, of aching need, of want.

  Of need between two people?

  This was crazy. Unwise. Cruel even. To kiss her under such circumstances…

  He wasn’t kissing her-she was kissing him. But maybe the delineation was blurring.

  Maybe they were simply kissing. A man and a woman and a need as primeval as time itself.

  Pippa.

  His defences were disappearing, crumpling at the touch of her loveliness, in the aching need of her sigh, in the heat of their bodies. He was kissing in return, demanding as well as giving, his mouth plundering, searching her sweetness, glorying in her need as well as his own.

  Pippa.

  She was like no woman he’d ever touched. His body was reacting without control. She was stripping him bare, exposing parts of him he never knew he had, parts hidden behind barriers he’d built up with years of careful self-restraint.

  Where was the self-restraint now?

  Certainly not with Pippa.

  She needed this. He knew it at some basic gut level. She was a mature woman, a woman who knew her way in the world, a woman who fought for what she wanted. Or didn’t want.

  Right now she didn’t want control.

  Eight hours in the water had shown her, as his job showed him almost every day, that control was an illusion.

  Pippa had cheated death. Her nightmares had brought it back but she was fighting past them.

  Tonight was all about life, about affirmation of now. She was taking what she needed to survive.

  This woman…

  There were so many undercurrents, so many things he should make himself consider, but all he could think was how she felt in his arms. Her kiss, her mouth. Her hands holding him close, demanding he hold her close as well, growing closer… closer…

  Her kiss was almost savage in its intensity-fire meeting fire. Sense was disappearing-had disappeared. There was only this woman.

  There was only now.

  Her fingers were unfastening the buttons of his shirt. He felt the tug, registered it for what it was, somehow made himself react. There was nothing between them but these clothes. If they disappeared…

  He hauled back and it hurt, but he made himself put her away, holding her up from him, meeting her gaze in the moonlight.

  ‘Pippa, if we go further…’

  ‘Do you want to go further?’ Her voice was steady, as it hadn’t been steady until now. The tremors had ceased. She met his gaze squarely, surely, with honesty and with trust.

  Trust. The sensation made something inside him wrench open. Barriers… Where were they? Not here. Not now.

  ‘More than life itself,’ he said, and knew it was true. ‘But it’s not wise.’

  ‘I’m not feeling wise.’ And before he could realise what she intended, she tugged her shirt off and tossed it aside. Her hands reached behind her back for her bra clip. ‘Riley, I’m a mature woman. I’ve spent the night deep in horror. Yes, I’m using you. I know I am. Can you accept that? Want it even? I want it so much.’

  He caught her hands and held. Stopping the bra disappearing.

  ‘No.’

  ‘No?’ The tremor was suddenly back.

  ‘Pippa, this is unprotected sex we’re talking.’

  ‘I’m supposed to be on my honeymoon. I’m protected.’

  ‘You know as well as I do that-’

  ‘That there’s more risks than pregnancy?’ Her eyes didn’t leave his. ‘There is that. I’m safe. Roger’s a careful man. Double blind crossover tests, safe from everything except bridesmaids. How about you?’

  ‘You shouldn’t believe-’

  ‘Neither should you. But I will believe. Can I be safe with you, Riley Chase?’

  ‘You can be safe,’ he said huskily, for the feel of her body over his was making his whole body seem to transmute into something he barely recognised. ‘But, Pippa, is this purely to make you forget?’

  ‘Forget?’

  ‘Roger? Near drowning? Hopelessness?’

  ‘No,’ she said, surely and strongly. ‘It’s to make me remember. And before you ask,’ she whispered, lowering herself again so her mouth was close to his, ‘yes, it’s seduction. Yes, I’m using you. I need you to affirm… life.’

  She faltered then, suddenly unsure, but he knew it wasn’t her actions she was questioning, it was her reasons. ‘This night… You… It seems as natural as breathing. I’ve signed no contract yet at Whale Cove. Tomorrow I can walk away. I well may, because what happens tonight could make working together impossible. But it’s not interfering with me wanting you now. And you… do you want me?’

  How could she ask?

  There was something changing within him. Something he hadn’t been aware could be changed. The tenderness… the aching need he had for her…

  Pippa.

  Was she a fool?

  She probably was, but she didn’t care. She was in the middle of the Australian desert with a man she didn’t know. Or maybe she did know him.

  He’d saved her life but this went deeper. Something about Riley Chase resonated with her as no man ever had before.

  Someday she’d ask him about his childhood, she thought. If she stayed around that long. If there was a shared tomorrow.

  It didn’t matter if there wasn’t.

  Or maybe it did matter, but for now she couldn’t allow herself to care, for if she cared she’d allow in caution, rational thought, sense.

  She didn’t want those things. She only wanted Riley.

  She’d told him it was to drive away nightmares. It was, but there was more. More she could hardly admit. More she didn’t understand.

  She was still resting lightly over him. She let her fingers run the length of his face, feeling the roughness of the stubble on his jaw, tracing the faint indentation of a scar at the side of his mouth, feeling the strength of his features.

  She knew this man.

  It was a strange sensation, but she believed it. She didn’t need to know how he’d got that scar, where the life lines had been formed. Something within this man was stirring a response within her that she couldn’t understand but could only believe.

  Two halves of a whole? That was fantasy, but there was something. Some basic link.

  If he told her now he’d had a happy childhood, a safe, secure existence, she’d never believe him. He was a man who walked
alone. As she had, all her life.

  As she would again tomorrow?

  Maybe, but not tonight, for tonight she was holding Riley, and he was driving away every other thought. Taking away terror, giving her life.

  She was exploring his face with her fingers, loving what she was learning. She met his gaze, devouring the look of him.

  There was need in his eyes. There was strength and truth and passion.

  Another man might have taken what she offered without questions. He was still and silent, making sure…

  He could be sure.

  ‘Riley,’ she whispered.

  ‘Pippa.’ He smiled at her.

  And here was a wonder, for the smile said he was loving her. She knew it was just for now, but now was enough.

  With his smile, the terrors of the last few days disappeared. As did the betrayal that was Roger, the accusations of her parents, the pressures from home. Even the awfulness of the sea; in the face of Riley’s smile it was nothing. For now, for this wondrous moment, the horrors of the past made way. For Riley.

  And then control was no longer hers. Impulse was no longer hers. For Riley took her face in his hands, he tugged her down to him, and he kissed her.

  He kissed her as she ached to be kissed, a possessive, loving, searching kiss that said for tonight she was his woman and everything else must fade to nothing. This kiss was his seal of commitment. He deepened the kiss, and deepened it still more, and the sensation made her want to cry out with wonder.

  He put her away from him once more and she almost cried a protest. But he was only moving her a little, so once more he could read her eyes.

  ‘This is love-making,’ he said softly. ‘Pippa, what you’re offering… it’s a gift without price. I won’t take it lightly.’

  ‘I wouldn’t expect you to,’ she said, struggling to make her voice light in response. ‘But I know it’s only for tonight. You won’t wake up to find yourself with a woman hanging on your sleeve, wanting commitment. I’ve been engaged to Roger on and off for more than ten years. That’s more than enough commitment. I’ve told my mother where she could put my wedding dress and it wasn’t anywhere polite.’

  She smiled, finding shared laughter. Somehow she’d kept her voice steady. Somehow she’d made herself sound like she was telling the truth.

  She didn’t want commitment?

  She was under control?

  There was an illusion. The truth was that even though she was now independent, since last Sunday night her life had spun totally out of control, and Riley Chase was making it a thousand times worse. Oh, it was no fault of Riley’s. She didn’t even mind.

  In truth, for the first time in her life she was out of control and she was loving it.

  ‘So are you intending to kiss me again?’ she teased. ‘Because I’m getting a bit uncomfortable. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed but I’m lying on your chest and it’s not quite as comfortable as that nice, soft mattress you’re lying on.’

  ‘Then let’s fix that,’ he growled, and swung her over so they lay side by side. And she was being kissed as she’d never been kissed in her life.

  Riley was kissing her, tasting her, exploring her.

  Riley was loving her.

  And all that must be said had been said. Hesitations were gone.

  She closed her eyes, savouring the feel of him, the taste, the touch. His hands were working their magic on her skin, knowing every inch of her, and every tiny movement sent shivers of sensual pleasure through her entire body.

  She arched back and he found the clips of her bra. It finally fell away and she loved that it did. His fingers cupped the soft swell of her breasts, tracing her nipples, making her sigh with sheer, unmitigated pleasure.

  She wanted closer. She had his buttons undone now-how had she done that? She hardly knew but his shirt was gone and she loved that it was gone. The feel of her skin against his… the strength of his body… the sheer maleness of him… It was taking her breath away.

  The moonlight washed through the window, and the sight of his body was making her dizzy. His body heat, the touch of his mouth, the feel of his hands…

  She was starting to burn.

  His breathing was becoming ragged, and she gloried in it, gloried that he was feeling as she was. This was mutual need. Mutual pleasure. This was right, she thought, in some far recess of her mind. This man had given her her life, and this… it felt like giving life in return.

  Her hair was tumbled on his face. He tucked her curls behind her ears and then tugged her tight so he could reclaim her mouth.

  Oh, his mouth…

  It wasn’t enough. He was kissing her everywhere, a rain of kisses, her neck, her shoulders, her breasts, and the feeling was so breathtaking she could hardly take in air. Was that what was making her light-headed? She felt like she was floating, and he with her.

  She was moving to another place. Moving to another life?

  Her breasts were moulding to his chest as his hands tugged at her hips. Her clothing had disappeared entirely. Excellent, but fair was fair. She found the zipper of his jeans and tugged, and then her fingers returned to where the zip had been.

  The night was swirling. Her mind was swirling.

  Somehow she was shedding a skin, being hauled from her old life into this, the new.

  Oh, the feel of him. The joy. He was discovering every secret of her body. She felt herself arch with sheer animal pleasure, abandoning herself to him entirely. He could do anything he wanted with her and she could do the same to him. For this night anything was possible.

  The nightmares had faded to nothing. The terror that had lingered was gone, dissolved in Riley’s heat, Riley’s body, Riley’s need.

  Her need.

  Skin against skin.

  She couldn’t get close enough.

  She was on fire.

  ‘Riley.’ She heard herself moan but it wasn’t her voice. It was a stranger, a woman Riley was loving. She heard the aching need and wondered at it. ‘Riley.’

  ‘My beautiful girl…’

  And he was up and over her, his dark eyes gleaming in the moonlight. ‘Are you indeed sure?’

  Was she sure? For answer she reached and held his hips, she centred him, she tugged…

  He was hers.

  The night was dissolving around her. Riley…

  ‘Pippa.’ His voice was a husky whisper, in her ear. He was taking her slowly, with languorous pleasure, forcing her to wait, forcing himself to wait.

  Riley.

  This was where she was meant to be. This was her heart, her home, her centre.

  This man.

  He was a part of her, merged with her, one. Their bodies were riding each other, but there was no physical effort. Her mind was as clear as the stars outside. She came and came again but she didn’t lose sight of Riley for one moment.

  How could she close her eyes? She marvelled at his body as he moved within her. His raw strength. His muscles, delineated, beautiful.

  Riley. For tonight, her man.

  He was deep within her, and her body was taking her rhythm from his. He could take her anywhere he wished. He could love her for ever. This moment…

  And the next.

  For it went on and on, building, building, and she felt herself weeping with joy. She wept and she held his beautiful body and finally, wondrously, she felt him surge within her-and she knew nothing could ever be the same again. When finally he lay back, spent, when she lay on his chest and felt his heartbeat merged with hers, when she felt his fingers run through her hair with tenderness and wonder and love…

  She knew the nightmares wouldn’t return.

  She knew he’d brought her out from the far side.

  She just wasn’t exactly sure he’d come out with her.

  She slept, cradled in his arms, warm, secure, safe.

  Pippa.

  What had he done?

  He’d slept with her.

  He’d made love with her.

  He’d
never meant to. She’d been his patient. She was his colleague.

  She’d woken in mid-nightmare. He’d come to comfort her and he’d taken her.

  Or she’d taken him.

  It was her need as well as his. What had happened had been the culmination of a need so basic it was almost past comprehension, past his ability to judge on right and wrong.

  Because right now, lying in the dark with Pippa’s naked body curled against him, it felt right. How could there be anything wrong with something that had felt so inevitable?

  It didn’t feel like he was holding Pippa. It felt like he was holding a part of himself. If something was to wrench her away right now, it’d hurt like tearing a part of himself away.

  He turned his head a little and his face was in her hair. He was smelling the faint clean scent of her. She murmured a little in her sleep, her hand shifted, sought, held. His fingers were entwined in hers.

  Pippa.

  He was lying in the dark, holding his woman in his arms.

  He closed his eyes and a peace he’d never felt before settled over him.

  Right or wrong, for now, for this moment, Dr Riley Chase had come home.

  CHAPTER SIX

  SHE woke and he was gone.

  She lay in the filtered dawn light and forced herself to absorb the fact without panic. She was trying to figure where she was, what had happened, what was real and what was dream.

  She was naked. The bed smelled of love-making. There was a strong indentation in the pillow crushed beside hers. She rolled over and buried her face in the linen, thinking she could smell him.

  She’d made love to Riley Chase.

  She’d taken him…

  She closed her eyes, letting the sensations of the night before unfold, reveal themselves, sort themselves into some sort of order.

  She’d had a nightmare. Riley had come in to comfort her. She’d pulled him to her and she’d made love.

  Talk about needy…

  She should be mortified to her socks, only she wasn’t wearing socks. She was wearing nothing at all.