Marked for Marriage

by Jackie Merritt

  “Sorry,” she mumbled. “And…thanks.”

  Seated again, he said, “I only asked how your wrapped hand was feeling. I didn’t expect you to jump out of your skin over a simple question.”

  “Well, I didn’t expect your simple question!”

  “Obviously,” Noah said drily. “So, how is it?”

  “It feels fine. Better than before. I suppose I should thank you, so…thanks.”

  “You’re welcome. You’re not eating very much. Don’t you like it?’

  “It’s very good, and I am eating. I just eat more slowly than you do.”

  “Yes, I know I eat too fast. Comes from eating on the run too often, I guess.”

  “During training?”

  “Actually, it happens a lot right here in Whitehorn, which I didn’t expect from a small town. A waiting room full of patients, an emergency situation at the hospital and zap, there goes a decent lunch or dinner break.”

  Maddie marveled that he was actually talking to her like a grown-up, but she didn’t trust it to last. He’d made it much too plain today that he considered her to be a pain in the neck, an annoyance he didn’t need, and that his promise to Mark was the only thing binding him to a troublesome situation he would never have gotten close to on his own.

  But could she blame him? The day had been a nightmare for her—a rather vague nightmare at times, to be sure—so what must it have been for Noah? Since she’d done such a good job of convincing Mark and Darcy that she was well enough for them to be left alone, Noah couldn’t possibly have anticipated the kind of mess he would run into when he dropped in to keep his promise.

  “Your face,” Noah said then.

  Maddie blinked. “What about it?”

  “What are you using on those bruises?”

  “Oh, I forgot.” Maddie fished her tube of antibiotic ointment from the pocket of her robe. “This is what I’ve been using.” She held it across the table and Noah took it.

  He read the label, then nodded. “This is fine. But when did you last use it?”

  “This morning…I think. This morning is pretty…uh, chopped up in my mind.”

  Noah again got up and this time came around the table. “I’m going to put some of this on your facial bruises, and you tell me if that’s how you’ve been using it.” He laid the tube on the table.

  Maddie frowned as he went to the sink and very thoroughly washed his hands. Drying them on a paper towel, he returned and picked up the tube. “You must wash your hands…or your usable hand…before applying the ointment.”

  She stared up at him and felt a most compelling urge to giggle. “Are you actually giving me a lesson in how to apply ointment to a boo-boo?”

  “Are you trying to be funny?”

  “No, but feel free to laugh at me again anytime the mood strikes you.”

  “If I offended you this morning by laughing, I apologize. Now, please sit still and let me do this.” He tipped her chin and began gently rubbing ointment to the discolored blotches on the right side of her face. “How does that feel?” he asked.

  “A little better than it should. Sort of like that kiss you laid on me, Doc.”

  Noah stepped back and scowled. “That shouldn’t have happened.”

  “I agree with you ten thousand percent. It shouldn’t have happened, and since you too know that so well, you’ve taken a different tack with me.” She snatched the tube of ointment from his hand. “Believe me, I know how to use this stuff. I’ve been doing it for two weeks! If you want to touch me so badly, try smiling!”

  “What do you think you are, an irresistible sexpot that even a physician can’t keep his hands off of you? Think again, babe. Oh, and you might try remembering how you looked this morning when I laughed myself sick.”

  “I think sick sums up your character quite well. Thank you for the insight.” Rising, Maddie walked out of the kitchen, wishing with heart, mind and soul that she had the strength and dignity to sweep from the room. Someday, when she felt good enough, she was damned well going to do something to put Dr. Noah Martin in his place! If there was any justice in this world, it would happen. It had to!

  Chapter Seven

  Whitehorn was under siege by the vicious blizzard, as were eastern Washington, northern Idaho and all of western Montana, Whitehorn’s location. The plows made little headway in keeping the streets of the town clear, but they worked nonstop. Business in Whitehorn had come to a screeching halt. The only restaurant that remained open was the one at the truck stop, and it was packed with truckers who had parked their rigs in the huge lot to wait out the worst of the storm.

  Retail shops in Whitehorn had closed early in the day, only hours after the blizzard hit. Every school had shut down and administration had sent the kids home, or delivered them if they were bus riders. The kids, of course, were ecstatic, and before night had fallen numerous snowmen had been constructed all over town. Many of the youngsters and teens exchanged their scooters and skateboards for snowboards and used the massive drifts as slopes. People throughout the storm belt left their jobs early and then got home any way they could. If their own vehicle got stuck, they hitched a ride with someone else. Law enforcement agencies were out in force, helping stranded motorists and making sure that everyone did get home safely. Telephone linemen were out working to repair the break in service, the problem being that the wind had snapped more than one line. People were surprised that they hadn’t also lost electric service and were concerned that it could happen at any moment.

  It was, TV and radio newscasters reported, a storm that the hardy souls living through it would long remember, and “It’s not over yet, folks,” one cheerful weatherman announced. “We have at least one more day of heavy snow and wind with gusts up to fifty miles an hour. High temperatures will remain in the low thirties. Our lows could get down to the zero mark, and below zero, so make sure your water pipes are wrapped and protected.”

  Noah watched television in the living room, tensely listening to all that good news, along with advice that was repeated over and over for everyone to stay at home and inside unless faced with an emergency situation. He kept the volume low so it wouldn’t disturb Maddie, who had vanished into her bedroom. He assumed she was sleeping and he was damn glad to finally be rid of her.

  At least that was what he kept telling himself. It was odd how many times he had to tell himself that simple premise, at the same time passionately defending his natural antipathy toward uncooperative and ungrateful people. His strong defense for harboring a clearly antisocial attitude toward Maddie Kincaid was that she could probably make any man a little bit crazy with her stubborn independence and quick-on-the-trigger, totally unnecessary retorts.

  Okay, so you don’t like her. But if you’re so certain that’s the bottom line, why did you kiss her?

  Noah squirmed in his chair every time that question slammed him, which it did a whole lot more than he wanted it to. He argued with himself about it.

  Is she so gorgeous you simply can’t resist her?

  Good Lord, no!

  Well, is she one of those women who exudes sex appeal in such massive quantities that any man who gets within sniffing distance also gets weak in the knees?

  That question took a lot more thought than the one about Maddie’s beauty. First of all, no one woman attracted all men. That wasn’t just his theory, it was scientific fact. The type of woman who appealed to one man went completely unnoticed by another, and, of course, it worked the same way from the female point of view. It was the reason why Noah could look at a couple and see a bright, attractive young woman and a creepy looking guy and wonder how in hell they had ever gotten together. Sex appeal, the human race’s potent connector, Noah thought cynically.

  But that was quite beside the point, as far as Maddie Kincaid went, or rather, it proved his point. However irritating she was, Noah couldn’t deny her sex appeal. He didn’t like admitting it, he hated admitting it, but truth was truth and fact was fact. Maddie, with her short, u
nruly, rather lackluster light-brown hair and less than imposing stature exuded clouds of that mysterious element known to all of mankind as sex appeal. It wasn’t something one could buy in designer bottles and then spray on certain men. You either had it or you didn’t. Some men got hung up on it with a particular woman, others didn’t. Maddie Kincaid, the most disruptive, irascible little woman he’d ever had the misfortune of running into, had it, and he, Dr. Noah Martin, was much too aware of it.

  “Damn,” Noah muttered as he turned any and all residue of anger left over from their dinner confrontation on himself. Just because that nasty little female suddenly seemed like God’s gift to horny men the world over didn’t mean that he had to succumb. He was above such adolescent behavior, for pity’s sake. He had barely noticed that half of the population was female for far too long a time to ruin his record over a shrimp of a girl who lived in a pull-trailer with her horse and made a living in rodeo.

  Of course, she did have the loveliest green eyes he’d ever seen.

  That thought was a final straw for Noah. He wasn’t going to sit there and debate Maddie’s virtues, or lack thereof, and his ridiculous conduct where she was concerned a moment longer. Switching off the television set with the remote, he got up and began walking through the house extinguishing lights.

  It was when he passed Maddie’s door on his way to Mark and Darcy’s bedroom that she heard him. She’d been only partially asleep, utterly relaxed and feeling better than she had since before her accident. That feeling of well-being included her wrapped hand—minus its sling—that rested easily and painlessly on her own tummy under the covers. Actually, Maddie had been listening to the fury of the storm outside and thanking the Almighty that she was inside, warm and safe.

  And there were other things to think about, as well. As much as Maddie hated facing such an annoying truth, Noah Martin was probably the best doctor she’d ever seen for any reason. For one thing, his destroying her other pain pills, which had hotly fired her anger when he’d told her about it, had proved how smart Noah was. Since taking that one tiny pill he’d given her, she’d had absolutely no pain and her mind hadn’t been affected an iota. It really did seem like some sort of minor miracle to Maddie that she could feel so horrible in the morning and so clearheaded and pain free that same night. Noah deserved high marks for that, if for nothing else, she decided.

  But as physically comfortable as Maddie had been since retiring, she got a little nervous when the house became really quiet and she couldn’t hear Noah moving around. Biting down on her lower lip she frowned and wondered if he’d left her alone again. Not that she really needed him in the house all night. Why on earth would she? But his presence had been…well, vexing, to be true, but hadn’t it also added to her sense of safety and contentment? If the phones were working she’d feel just fine by herself, but the phones weren’t working, and God only knew when the lines or whatever was wrong would be repaired. If only she hadn’t misplaced her cell phone! She could have kept it charged and used it. It was odd, now that she thought about it, that Noah had also lost his cell phone.

  He wouldn’t have lied about that, would he? Maddie sighed. Was Noah Martin a puzzle she continually tried to solve simply because some perverse part of herself found him intriguing, or was it because she had nothing else to do in this housebound situation?

  She was still pondering that question when she heard Noah walk past her door. He was still there! And obviously going to sleep in Mark and Darcy’s bed! Wasn’t that rather presumptuous of him? What was wrong with the sofa?

  Resenting him again, Maddie pursed her lips. But in a few moments she told herself to get over it and go to sleep. Noah Martin was going to do what he wanted, and nothing she said or did would ever alter his course. Admitting defeat once more, she settled down to fall asleep, but her eyes closed momentarily and opened again. The night-light plugged into a wall outlet cast a pleasant glow, and she found herself relaxing and again enjoying the sensations of warmth and safety.

  But then her mind wandered again. Noah is intriguing, darn it! You’ve never met anyone quite like him before. Your love life certainly hasn’t been anything to boast about, but you were perfectly happy with group dating and an occasional mild flirtation. Noah’s personality runs dark and deep, and a virtual innocent like you are—a country girl at heart and proud of it—shouldn’t even be thinking of mixing it up with a too-good-looking guy with an I’m-far-better-than-the-common-folk complex. Why did he kiss me? Maybe he doesn’t know why, the same as I don’t know why I kissed him back.

  You’re attracted to him!

  I’m not! Well, maybe a little. But it doesn’t mean anything.

  To elude any more thoughts of Noah and that kiss, Maddie concentrated on the happy day not too far in the future when she could leave Whitehorn and return to rodeo. She would get the truck serviced and ready to go, load Fanny in their trailer, say goodbye to Mark and Darcy and then head south. This February blizzard wouldn’t last for long…a few days was usually the norm. Then the sun would come out and the snow would melt and Whitehorn would be back to normal.

  But then she pictured her truck and trailer, where it was and would have to stay until the storm passed, and she groaned quietly. She should have known Mark wouldn’t board Fanny anywhere but at a place where the mare would get the very best care. She just hadn’t been thinking clearly.

  She was now, though. Thank goodness for that! Snuggling deeper into her comfy bed, Maddie settled down for a good night’s sleep. Her eyes were almost tightly shut when everything went black.

  With her heart suddenly in her throat, Maddie sat up. The room was black as pitch. The night-light had gone out!

  She shoved the blankets back and turned in bed to feel for the floor with her feet. Because of so much wrapping on her hand and forearm, she had worn a sleeveless T-shirt to bed. Her robe was in the closet, and besides, she thought, she didn’t need a robe to do a little checking to find out if this was a power outage or just something gone wrong with the house’s electricity.

  Rising, she hurried as much as she could in the smothering darkness and found the door. Her heart was racing and even though common sense told her there was nothing to fear—no monsters under the bed, none living in the closet just waiting for a night like this one to escape and grab any warm body within reach—she felt afraid. It was an unusual sensation for Maddie, because she had lived alone for many years and very, very little that occurred in life set off her fright sensors.

  But they were ringing in her ears, flashing within her system, and it never once occurred to her to try the lamp next to the bed. She felt for and found the doorknob, warily opened the door, saw even worse darkness in the hall and nearly hyperventilated. Inhaling deeply in an effort to slow down the adrenaline spreading throughout her body with the speed of light, she took a step beyond the door and collided with human flesh! Lots of human flesh! Lots of naked human flesh!

  “Oh, my God…my God…help! Help!” she shrieked.

  “Maddie, for Pete’s sake! The power went off, that’s all that happened.” Noah put his arms around her, and the shock of his total nudity caused Maddie to panic even more than their collision in the dark had.

  “Let go of me!” she screeched.

  Noah thought her terror was a disturbed-dream syndrome. She’d been sleeping, dreaming, been awakened suddenly by some sound—possibly when he got out of bed—and the inky blackness all around her had triggered a panic attack. He held her close just to keep her from running around half-cocked and playing bumper pool with the furniture in the pitch-black house. She wriggled and squirmed and kept on shrieking, calling for help at the top of her lungs. Didn’t she realize that he was the only help around? Apparently not, because she seemed to think she was being confined within the arms of a terrorist!

  “Dammit, Maddie, simmer down! You’re going to hurt yourself,” he growled, and then thought of one way of cutting off her piercing screams. Holding the back of her head steady—no sma
ll feat when she was much stronger than he’d thought and wiggly as a worm on a hook—he covered her mouth with his.

  “Uh…uh…” She uttered odd noises deep in her throat for a few moments, then made one that sounded to Noah like a sigh of pure pleasure. It went through him like a hot knife through butter, and he deepened the kiss without conscious intent. She leaned into him and moved sensuously against him, which totally destroyed any ideas he might have had to keep this at a sensible level.

  One kiss led to another, and then another, and when neither could breathe without gasping, Maddie whispered in a hoarse, fragmented way, “You…you’re…not…wearing…any thing.”

  “I sleep in the nude. Always have. Since I was a teen, anyhow.” His hands slid down her back, cupped her buttocks and urged her lower body forward. At the same time he bent a little and lifted her a little so the crucial parts of their bodies could meet and meld. A groan of sweet ecstasy flowed from his throat when it happened. He felt as though electricity was passing between them, from her to him, from him to her, and he knew that she felt it, as well.

  Maddie was dazed in the best sense of the word. She had never before gotten so marvelously dazed over a man, although she’d thought she had a couple of times. She wasn’t a virgin, but neither of her two sexual experiences—each of them a very short-lived one-time affair—had scalded her blood the way standing in the dark and kissing a naked and hot-skinned Noah Martin did.

  She felt more alive than she ever had, alive and wanton and womanly, with the most delicious sensation of falling deeper and deeper into a fairyland that promised abundant and never-ending joys. Dizzily she wondered if she was falling in love with Noah, and if it was even possible for a person to fall in love this fast.

  Noah’s thoughts were jumbled and easily as foolhardy as Maddie’s. He wanted her. His body wanted hers. His hands ached to touch every inch of her, and somewhere within the sexual fog clouding his brain he knew beyond a shadow of doubt that the most glorious gift in the universe would be to lie with her, to share her bed, to make love with her.