by Emily Forbes
‘No.’ He was laughing, with her she hoped, not at her, but at least he didn’t look ready to trade her for someone else just yet.
‘I thought you said this was an easy game.’
‘It is. Let me show you.’ He came and stood behind her this time. ‘You need to keep your elbows straight for this shot.’ He wrapped his arms around hers, laying them along the outside of hers as he straightened her elbows. His hips were pressing into her bottom and he used his legs to pull her down into a slight squat. ‘Get yourself behind the ball and keep your elbows straight. Angle your arms down here…’ he pulled her hands down to a forty-five-degree angle to the sand ‘…so that when the ball hits your wrists you’re aiming it up and forward. Straighten your knees to get the power behind the ball.’ He tightened his arms around her and pulled her up into a standing position. ‘You need to master the “dig” because you’re probably not tall enough for the “spike”.’
She still had absolutely no idea what he was talking about, but she could feel his thigh muscles pushing against her buttocks, guiding her into position. Even through a couple of layers of clothing the sensation was highly charged. She didn’t think she’d ever get the hang of the actual game but the lessons sure were enjoyable.
‘Try again.’ He let go of her arms and picked the ball up from the sand.
This time she managed to get the ball to travel forward. A huge achievement.
‘Well done! Now a serve and that’s it. Normally we aim for the back left corner of our opponent’s court but anything over the net will be good.’
‘Don’t be rude! I’m sure I can manage that.’ At least she knew what a serve was supposed to look like, that was fairly obvious from other games of beach volleyball that she’d walked past. She picked up the ball, went to stand behind the base line and popped the ball over the net just as James had told her to. ‘I did it!’
‘All right!’ James grinned and high-fived her and Ellie felt invincible. ‘Let’s find someone to have a practice against.’
As she expected, a game situation was a little different. It was a lot faster and she didn’t have James’s hands around her to guide her. The ball went flying in all directions, occasionally making it over the net and landing in their opponents’ court, but to his credit James just laughed and continued to encourage her, even when she served the ball straight into the back of his head.
‘I’m so sorry. Are you okay?’
‘Yes, I’m fine.’ He laughed. ‘I just wasn’t expecting that one! I’ll be ready next time.’
They persevered for an hour or so before James declared it was time to call it quits. ‘I think we’ve lost by as much as we can. I reckon we should call it a day and go for a swim.’
Ellie hadn’t worn bathers and despite the sunshine she knew the water would be cold. ‘Too cold for me,’ she said as she pulled her drink bottle out of her bag, ‘but you go ahead.’ She picked up their towels and carried them down to the water’s edge.
James jogged into the water and dived through the waves. He swam several strokes out to sea before turning and swimming back to shore. He came out of the water, wet and glistening, and collapsed onto his towel beside her. The cool water had hardened his nipples and Ellie fought to keep her eyes fixed on the waves. She could feel the difference in their body heat now. He was sitting very close to her and the contrast between the coolness of his skin and the warmth of hers was palpable. She could smell him too, limes mingled with the salty tang of the ocean. A fresh, clean scent that would always make her think of him.
‘Have you enjoyed our “non-date”?’ he asked.
‘I actually have,’ she admitted. Despite the fact that she’d failed spectacularly at beach volleyball, she’d had one of the best mornings ever. ‘Thank you.’
‘My pleasure,’ he said. He smiled at her and even though she hadn’t thought the day could get any better, once again the power of his smile made everything seem just that little bit more special.
In James’s opinion yesterday’s ‘non-date’ had worked perfectly. He knew Ellie had enjoyed it and now it was time to up the ante. He was going to get her to agree to a proper date. He was going to get past her obstacles and over her objections. He picked up the phone in the doctors’ lounge and dialled the extension for the nurses’ station.
Ellie answered the ward phone, surprised to hear James’s voice. Even from afar his voice sent her pulse racing.
‘Ellie!’ He sounded pleased she’d answered. ‘I have a favour to ask. I’ve got a case study to present and I thought I might use Dylan Harris as he’s got some interesting psychological aspects. Would you mind bringing me his case notes?’
If it had been any of the other doctors she would have told them she was too busy and they’d have to get the notes themself. But because it was James she was willing to do it. Did that make her a hypocrite? She knew it did but she didn’t care. After their ‘non-date’ the attraction she felt was becoming harder to resist, the invisible link she could feel between them pulled her to him at every opportunity and it was getting stronger.
She found Dylan’s file and carried it down the corridor to the doctors’ lounge. James was waiting just inside the door and he held it open for her as she stepped into the room. She took a few steps forward, aware that James was close behind her. She stopped beside a small couch and turned and handed him the file. He dropped the notes onto the couch, making no pretence of looking at them.
Ellie looked around. Except for them the lounge was empty. It was a generously sized room but Ellie was only aware of how close James was standing. He hadn’t stepped away from her and she hadn’t moved. She didn’t think she could. She was held motionless by their energy field, that invisible bubble. She waited for him to speak, somehow knowing he would, knowing he had something to say.
‘The movie date you went on with Damien…’
‘Mmm.’ She heard his words but was grateful he hadn’t formed a question because she didn’t think she could articulate an answer while he was standing so close. She knew she should remind him that it hadn’t been a proper date but her brain couldn’t think beyond the basic senses. She could smell him, his now-familiar lime scent. She could hear him, his deep, warm, rich voice. She wanted to touch him, to feel his smooth olive skin and taste him. She could imagine how his lips would taste. It was as though all her functions had shut down except for the basics. She couldn’t formulate anything sensible.
‘Was it as much fun as our game of beach volleyball?’
She shook her head. ‘It was nice.’ Three words. That was all she could manage and even they were a struggle.
‘Nice?’ he queried. ‘How about our non-date, how would you describe that?’
Now she was definitely lost for words. How did you tell someone your head was still spinning from the memory of the touch of his hand on her skin? How did you describe the way her heart raced when his arms wrapped around her as he taught her the game?
‘Better than nice?’ he suggested when no reply came from her.
She nodded.
‘Would you go out on a proper date with Damien, do you think?’
This time she shook her head.
‘How about with me? Has our non-date changed your mind about me at all?’
‘Why would it have?’ she asked, surprised to find she was able to tease him.
‘Because of this.’ He reached out and ran his hand along her arm. He started at her elbow, where her arm emerged from her short-sleeved shirt. His fingers burned over her skin until he reached her wrist. He turned her hand over and ran his thumb over her palm and a ripple of desire surged through her belly. The air around them buzzed. ‘You feel it too, don’t you?’ She could feel a pulse in her throat throbbing, her heart was racing and her breaths were short and shallow. ‘And I know you couldn’t have felt that with Damien because there’s no way on earth you could describe this as “nice”. This is something else. This is chemistry. Pure and simple.’
She took a
deep breath, inhaling his subtle lime scent, holding it in her chest.
‘When he held your hand in the movies you didn’t forget to breathe, did you?’
She couldn’t remember Damien holding her hand but she knew James was right. It wouldn’t have had the same effect. It wouldn’t have come close. And he was right about her not breathing too. She couldn’t breathe but she didn’t feel as though she needed to. James’s touch was all she needed.
Her legs felt like jelly. She didn’t think she could support her own weight. James moved his hands to her hips, holding her up, supporting her. She looked up at him, into the depths of his chocolate eyes, as he moved towards her.
‘And when his knee brushed against your thigh it didn’t make you quiver with anticipation.’ His voice was a whisper. His words a statement. He slid one hand down her thigh and the heat of it burned through the fabric of her trousers. She trembled, grateful she was pressed up against the back of the couch, sandwiched between the furniture and James’s hips. She couldn’t move. She didn’t want to move. His face was mere inches from hers.
‘And when he leant towards you, did you find yourself leaning in just a little bit closer?’ He lifted one hand, pressing his fingertips to the pulse that was throbbing in her neck as his thumb brushed over her lips. Another ripple of desire ran through her. Automatically she parted her lips, her tongue darting out to lick them. She saw James’s gaze follow the movement, she could see her own desire reflected in his eyes and heard him moan as he bent his head towards her, closing the gap. His chest pressed against hers as his head came down and she felt her nipples harden in response. His breath was warm on her mouth. And then his lips were on hers. Firm and warm, and this time it was her moaning.
CHAPTER FIVE
HIS lips tasted of salt, his mouth of coffee. His hand slid up her back, crushing her to him. His tongue was inside her mouth, exploring, as his hands moved over her body. His fingers brushed over one breast, sending a spark of desire through her, so intense it made her gasp. James stopped kissing her, pulling away, and she knew he was checking that she was okay. His eyes searched her face.
She was fine. She smiled and she could see passion flare in his eyes. There was fire in their dark depths. She’d thought his eyes were brown but now they looked black, as black as coal, and she knew how coal could burn.
‘What are we doing?’ She sounded out of breath. She was out of breath.
‘Something I’ve wanted to do since the first day I saw you.’ His hands were firm against her arms, holding her to him as if he were afraid she might leave. But there was nowhere she wanted to go.
Until she remembered where they were.
‘What if someone walks in?’ she said in a panic. She didn’t think her heart could beat any faster but the idea that someone could walk into the doctors’ lounge at any moment and find them there, together, scared her.
‘I locked the door behind us.’
That surprised her. He must have thought this through and it made her wonder how many times he’d been in this situation. Obviously more times than her! ‘You were that confident I’d let you kiss me?’
‘It pays to be prepared.’ He grinned at her, not at all embarrassed. His eyes shone and desire flared in her again. ‘But you’re free to leave if you wish.’ He stepped to one side. Ellie could easily step around him and make her escape but she made no such move. Instead she reached out to him, pulling him back to her. She had one hand on his back and she could feel the muscles flex under her fingers as he stepped towards her. She wound her other hand through his thick, dark hair and pulled his head down to her again. He didn’t resist as she kissed him.
Ellie forgot about her list. About her pledge not to date another doctor. This wasn’t a date. This was a chemistry lesson. Just as James had said.
But chemistry had never been this much fun at school.
Eventually she came to her senses and remembered she was in the middle of her shift. She couldn’t believe she’d forgotten all about work. ‘I’d better get back on the ward.’
She wouldn’t have thought she was the type of girl who sneaked off at work but, then, she’d never felt this undeniable attraction before. She’d never been this powerless, never had her body betray her mind to such a degree.
‘So I take it you’ll have that drink with me now?’
So much for not getting involved with another orthopaedic surgeon! She didn’t have enough willpower to stay away from him. She knew that if he wanted her, he would have her and she’d go willingly. She couldn’t fight this feeling. She nodded.
‘Tonight?’ he asked.
She tried to recall what she was doing after work. Damn. She and Jess had a class to go to.
‘I can’t tonight.’
‘You’re not going out with Damien, are you?’
Ellie was tempted to say yes just to hear what he’d say, but he looked so anxious that she took pity on him. ‘No, I’m doing a course with a girlfriend.’ She was rewarded with a wide smile that made her add. ‘And we’ll probably go to the Stat Bar for a drink afterwards. Around nine.’
James smile grew even wider. ‘Nine?’
Ellie nodded.
‘I’ll see you later, then,’ he said, before he leant forward and kissed her on the mouth.
She knew she had to get back to the ward, she couldn’t stay hidden away in the doctors’ lounge with James all day, as much as she wanted to, but it was all she could do to get her feet moving one at a time when he opened the door for her. He stuck his head out into the corridor, making sure it was clear, and Ellie hurried back to the ward, hoping no one had noticed her absence. She ducked into the staff toilet to check her appearance. Her lips felt swollen and her eyes were a bright, sparkling blue but she didn’t think anyone else would notice anything amiss. She ran her fingers through her hair, repositioning her Alice band, and straightened her shirt before returning to her duties.
She floated through the rest of her shift on a little bubble of happiness and even Rob’s mid-afternoon visit to the ward didn’t dampen her spirits.
Ellie kept her commitment to Jess, accompanying her to the wine appreciation class they’d enrolled in, but she spent the entire evening with one eye on the clock wishing she could leave and hurry to the Stat Bar. It didn’t help matters that Jess had chosen the class thinking it might be a good place to meet men who weren’t doctors but there certainly wasn’t a lot in the way of potential. They both struggled through the class as Ellie regaled Jess with a slightly edited version of the afternoon’s events and after that it didn’t take much effort from her to persuade Jess to call in to the Stat Bar to meet Ruby and Cort for a drink.
They’d only been at the bar a few minutes and were waiting for Ruby to arrive when Ellie felt the hair on the back of her neck rise, as if a warm breeze has brushed over her. She knew, before even seeing the look on Jess’s face, that James was behind her.
‘Hello, gorgeous.’ He leant over her shoulder and his voice was soft in her ear as his breath warmed the nape of her neck. To hear him use such a familiar greeting in public both surprised and excited her.
His fingers were resting lightly on her upper arm and she was enveloped in his lime scent. She felt a rush of desire as the memory of the afternoon came flooding back with his touch. She turned in her chair and greeted him before introducing him to Jess.
‘Can I buy you both a drink?’ he asked.
‘I’m fine, thanks,’ Jess replied. ‘Why don’t you go with James, Ellie?’ she suggested.
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes, go.’ Jess waved them away. ‘I can see Ruby heading over now,’ she said as she dismissed them both, guessing correctly that Ellie didn’t want to share James.
Ellie didn’t need to be asked twice. She stood and left with James.
Two steps into the bar she wished she’d stayed in her seat because sitting at a table, right in their path, was Rob with a woman Ellie didn’t recognise. She was a brunette and Ellie assumed sh
e was Rob’s wife but, with Rob’s track record, she wasn’t about to jump to conclusions. But if she was Rob’s wife, she wasn’t at all what Ellie had pictured—she was tall and thin with long dark hair tied into a ponytail and a long face.
Rob stood to shake James’s hand but ignored Ellie and made no attempt to introduce the woman he was with. James made the introductions himself as Rob sat down.
‘I’m Penny, Rob’s wife,’ the woman responded to James’s introduction.
Hearing her assumptions confirmed gave Ellie a moment of relief as she realised she’d been wondering what Rob’s wife was like. She’d envisaged a glamorous English rose but the bitchy side of her was pleased to see that Penny was older and plainer than she’d imagined.
James was being far more gracious. ‘I thought you must be,’ he said. ‘Welcome to Australia. How are you settling in?’
Ellie saw Penny glance at Rob as she answered, ‘It will take a little bit of time to adjust but we’re getting sorted.’
‘We’re just on our way to the bar—can I get you anything?’ James offered.
‘No, we’re fine, don’t let us hold you up,’ Rob replied. His words were directed at James but he was looking at Ellie. His eyes were cold and hard, all traces of warmth gone from their green depths, and his stare made her feel uncomfortable. There was no invitation to join them, for which Ellie was grateful, but she was aware of the tension in the air and wondered whether James or Penny noticed it too.
James had. ‘Well, that was awkward,’ he said as they made their way to the bar.
‘Mmm. Maybe they just wanted some alone time.’ She almost mentioned their daughter but caught herself just in time. She didn’t want to advertise the fact that she knew anything personal about Rob. Standing at the bar, she could feel someone’s eyes boring into her back. She’d bet it was Rob and the thought increased her discomfort at the situation. ‘Do you think anyone would miss us if we left?’ she asked in what she hoped sounded like a casual tone. ‘You’re welcome to have a drink at my place.’ She didn’t care if he thought her forward, she didn’t want to stay here under Rob’s scrutiny any longer.
