A Doctor Beyond Compare

by MELANIE MILBURNE

  She gave a frustrated sigh and squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself to sleep.

  ‘Is everything all right?’ Cameron asked, switching on the bedside lamp.

  Holly nearly jumped out of her skin at the rich deep sound of his voice. She turned her head to see him looking down at her, his hair looking all mussed and sexy, his eyes still looking sleepy and his jaw peppered with dark stubble.

  ‘You were snoring,’ she said. ‘You were keeping me awake.’

  He gave a little frown. ‘Really?’

  ‘Well…it was more of a snuffle really but I’m a very light sleeper.’

  ‘You should have elbowed me in the ribs.’

  ‘I didn’t want to wake you in case you…’ She bit her lip to stop the rest spilling out.

  ‘In case I what?’

  Holly couldn’t quite wrench her gaze from his. ‘N-nothing.’

  He reached out with a long finger and traced the upper curve of her mouth where some tiny beads of perspiration had gathered. ‘You’re hot.’

  So are you, Holly replied mentally. So hot I think I’m going to go up in flames if you come any closer with that sensual mouth of yours.

  ‘I did warn you about those pyjamas,’ he said as he used the same finger to tuck one side of her damp hair behind her ear.

  Holly could barely breathe. His eyes were holding hers like two powerful magnets, his naked chest so close to hers she could feel each breath he took—in and out, in and out…not quite touching her breasts as he exhaled but close enough to stir her senses into overdrive in case he did.

  ‘Why are you looking at me like that?’ he asked.

  ‘How am I looking at you?’

  ‘As if I’m going to kiss you.’

  ‘That’s ridiculous,’ she said. ‘As if you would be so…’

  ‘So what?’

  ‘Um…’

  ‘Um?’

  ‘Are you making a move on me?’ she asked with a narrow-eyed look.

  ‘Do you want me to make a move on you?’

  ‘No! Of course not!’

  He laughed, the deep rumble making his chest momentarily connect with hers. ‘You’re so cute when you’re trying to hide what you’re really feeling. Come on, admit it, Holly. Wouldn’t you like to check out what’s under my bonnet?’

  ‘Why would I want to do that? I’ve seen plenty of naked men before. I’m sure you’re no different.’

  ‘I have a birthmark in a very interesting place. Do you want to look at it?’

  She gave him a patronising look. ‘That is the most pathetic line I’ve ever heard. Can’t you think of something better than that?’

  ‘I can, actually,’ he said, drawing her even closer, his mouth coming down to hover just above hers. ‘Want to hear it?’

  Her mouth tingled from his breath moving over its too sensitive surface. Her heart was racing like a startled rabbit’s, her quivering belly doing a complete somersault as his sea-green eyes turned to deep ocean-blue. She couldn’t speak, didn’t trust herself to speak. She was turning into a burning pool of longing and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

  ‘I want to kiss you,’ he said into the pulsing silence. ‘In fact, I want to do a whole lot more than kiss you.’

  ‘Y-you do?’ she croaked as his head came closer and closer.

  His mouth connected with hers in a kiss so soft she thought she must have imagined it. She ran her tongue over her lips to make sure and tasted him and her stomach gave another reshuffle.

  His mouth came back down and commandeered hers with such firm insistence that her heart rate escalated higher than her personal trainer had ever managed to achieve, notwithstanding his punishing workouts on the treadmill.

  ‘God, you taste so good,’ he said against her mouth, his tongue sweeping over its surface.

  She gave a little groan as she felt its sexy rasp on her tender skin. He deepened the kiss, pressing her back down on the bed as one of his hands slipped beneath her thick pyjama jacket to cup her right breast. She arched into his palm, relishing the feel of her nipple pressing into him with pert insistence.

  He lifted his mouth from hers and, removing his hand from her breast, began undoing each of the little buttons on her jacket, one by one, his fingers brushing against her skin until she was trembling with need.

  ‘I think we should take these off,’ he said. ‘What do you think?’

  Holly was beyond thought, let alone speech, as he peeled away the thick pyjama jacket. He looked at her with eyes dark with desire before lowering his mouth to each breast, circling each areola with his tongue in ever decreasing circles until she was mad with the need to feel him take her in his mouth. He made her wait each time, her back almost lifting off the bed in delicious anticipation.

  He left her breasts and began kissing his way down her stomach, pulling her pyjama trousers out of the way as he went. Holly sucked in her breath as he lingered over her belly button and then completely forgot to breathe when he went even lower.

  Her fingers clutched at his head but it was impossible to control the tumultuous sensations as they flooded through her as his mouth worked its sensual magic. She felt herself lifting off and there was nothing she could do but go with each crashing wave of delicious sensation.

  Once she’d come back to earth Holly felt his arm reach across her for the bedside drawer where he took out a small foil-wrapped packet.

  Her eyes went wide as he kicked his boxer shorts out of the way before applying the condom. She couldn’t see any sign of an interesting little birthmark anywhere, but what she could see was very impressive.

  ‘We don’t have to carry on if you don’t want to,’ he said, stroking one hand down her thigh.

  ‘But that’s not really fair…I mean…you…you made me…you know…’

  ‘I know, but it doesn’t mean you have to feel obliged in any way.’

  Holly could hardly believe her ears. Here was a man who was prepared to put his needs aside, taking nothing that had happened so far for granted.

  ‘But I want you to make love to me,’ she said and then inwardly cringed at how desperate she’d sounded. ‘I mean…if you want to, that is…I wouldn’t want to force you or anything…you’re probably not even all that attracted to me and you’re only doing this because it’s sort of expected that men will try and have sex with anyone, even when they don’t feel a thing about—’

  ‘Will you shut up?’ he growled playfully, and pinned her with his body.

  ‘I was only giving you an out…that’s if you wanted…one…’

  ‘I don’t want an out,’ he said, gently parting her thighs to accommodate him. ‘I want an in.’

  Holly gasped as he surged into her softness, going so deep she could feel him nudge against her womb. He began slowly, tantalisingly so, each thrust of his body sending a shockwave of delight through her before he increased his pace, his fullness sending her into a tailspin of feeling as her body gripped him tightly. She hadn’t thought it possible to come again so quickly but with his body so thick and strong in hers and his fingers working their clever little magic where she most needed them she began to soar even higher than before.

  She came floating back down in time to feel his body tense for his own freefall into paradise, the muscles of his back where her hands were pressed bunched in preparation.

  He burst with a deep primal groan and her skin shivered all over in reaction at the sound of his pleasure, the pumping action of his body gradually slowing until he collapsed on top of her, his head buried against her neck.

  Holly stroked her fingers up and down his back, a warm feeling of connection she’d never experienced before filling her. Julian would have been up and off her and in the shower by now, meticulously removing every trace of intimacy from his body, even brushing his teeth and rinsing with mouthwash.

  Cameron was still encased in her body, his warm breath feathering against her neck as he drifted off to sleep.

  ‘Cameron?’ She gave him a littl
e nudge.

  ‘Mmm?’ He gave a soft little sigh and nestled closer. His lips nuzzled her neck. ‘You feel so nice…’

  ‘Cameron.’ She pushed at him. ‘You can’t fall asleep now!’

  He propped himself up on one elbow to look at her. ‘Why not?’

  She frowned at him. ‘Don’t you want to have a shower or something?’

  ‘What a great idea.’ He eased himself away from her and discreetly disposed of the condom before tugging her out of bed by one hand.

  ‘What are you doing?’

  He pulled her into the bathroom with him. ‘You said you wanted a shower, didn’t you? Let’s save water and have it together.’

  ‘I didn’t mean together. I meant you—ouch!’ She winced as the spray of water hit her. ‘That’s freezing!’

  ‘I know, but we’ll soon warm it up. Turn around and I’ll scrub your back.’

  Holly turned around but he didn’t scrub her back. What he did was far more erotic. She could feel his growing thickness between her inner thighs, so excruciatingly close to where she most wanted him.

  He turned her around and she opened her mouth for his kiss, the water cascading all around them somehow making everything she was feeling all the more intense.

  Cameron tore his mouth off hers as he tried to get control. He hadn’t brought a condom into the shower and he was ready to explode again. He sucked in a sharp little breath when she placed a flat hand on the middle of his chest and pushed him back against the shower stall. ‘What are you doing?’ he gasped.

  She didn’t answer. Instead she tiptoed her fingertips all the way down, gradually lowering her height until she was on her knees in front of him.

  ‘Oh, dear God…’ he groaned.

  Holly woke just as dawn was breaking. She stretched languorously, amazed at how alive her body felt. Every part of her was still tingling in remembrance of the intimacy she and Cameron had shared.

  She turned her head and saw him looking at her. It was hard to read his expression accurately but she wondered if he was regretting what had happened. There was a hint of a frown between his brows which seemed to suggest he was. Her heart instantly sank with disappointment. She had seen that look in Julian’s eyes before and it had spelt the end of their relationship. What had she been thinking? That somehow things would be magically different with Cameron McCarrick? After all he was a full-blooded man who probably hadn’t had a physical relationship since his break-up. No wonder he’d jumped at the chance she’d handed him on a plate, garnished lavishly with her naivety.

  She lowered her eyes. ‘You must think I’m totally without principles.’

  ‘Why would I think that?’

  ‘I haven’t ever slept with someone I’ve only met a few days before.’ She worried her bottom lip for a moment. ‘I mean, we hardly even like each other and now we’ve…we’ve…’

  ‘We’ve?’

  ‘Become intimate.’

  He laughed at her euphemistic choice of words. ‘We had sex, Holly. And damn good sex, I might add.’

  ‘But it mustn’t happen again.’

  ‘Oh? Why not?’

  ‘Because…’ she mentally cringed at his casual, unaffected tone ‘…because I don’t want to complicate my life with a temporary affair. I’m only here for a year and it wouldn’t be fair to you or indeed to me to get involved knowing it would all have to end eventually.’

  Cameron inwardly frowned at her words. She wasn’t ready for a relationship; it was clear she was still getting over her ex-fiancé—sleeping with him last night had more or less proved it. She wasn’t the sleep-around type but perhaps wanted to prove something to herself—that she wasn’t too afraid to get back on the horse, so to speak.

  But the year had only just begun. There was time to make her change her mind if he played his cards right. What she needed right now was a friend and, although it would test his self-control to the very limits, he was determined to stand by her and help her gain more confidence. Her trust had been betrayed by her ex-fiancé but that didn’t necessarily mean it couldn’t be rebuilt with careful and tender handling. Anyone could see she had a big heart. She practically wore it on her sleeve, which made it all the easier to love her. He would just have to be patient.

  ‘That’s OK. I understand,’ he said.

  ‘I’m sorry, Cameron.’ She eased herself out of the bed, taking the top sheet with her to cover herself. ‘I hope I didn’t mislead you in any way.’

  ‘Not at all,’ he answered in the same casual, easygoing tone. ‘It was fun while it lasted.’

  Holly wished he wasn’t being so relaxed about it all. Why couldn’t he be telling her how deeply she’d affected him last night instead of dismissing what had taken place as if it was of no real importance?

  Because to him it is of no real importance, she reminded herself painfully. It was just sex.

  Cameron got out of bed and stretched. ‘Do you want the first shower?’

  She looked away from his nakedness. ‘No, you go right ahead. I think I’ll go back to my place.’

  ‘I’d better come with you.’ He reached for his clothes.

  ‘You don’t need to bother.’

  ‘It’s no bother.’ He zipped up his jeans. ‘Aren’t you going to get dressed?’

  She looked down at the sheet she was wearing. ‘Turn your back.’

  He folded his arms across his chest. ‘You’re surely not serious?’

  She lifted her chin. ‘I am.’

  He shook his head and turned around. ‘What is it with women and modesty?’ he said, addressing the wall in front of him.

  ‘OK, I’m done,’ she said a short time later.

  He turned back around and, picking up her bag from the floor, led the way out without speaking another word.

  When Holly arrived at the clinic that morning, she found that not one patient had booked in to see her.

  Sally was neither surprised nor sympathetic. ‘You have only yourself to blame. You can’t expect to come to a town this size and tell people they’re fat or someone’s not guilty of murder when they’ve been tried and convicted. Nor can you insinuate that a well-respected, long-serving previous medical practitioner somehow made a mistake in a diagnosis, not to mention convince a teenage girl who’s been viciously attacked not to press charges.’

  ‘I did nothing of the sort!’ Holly tried to defend herself at least on one point. ‘Jacinta Jensen made that decision all by herself. I had absolutely nothing to do with it.’

  Sally gave her a disbelieving look. ‘You’re supposed to be here to take the load off Dr McCarrick but all you’ve done is make his life even busier. He’s double-booked for the whole morning and half the afternoon, as well.’

  Holly spun away in anger and stomped to her consulting room. She closed the door and leant back against it, fighting against tears of frustration.

  She spent the morning reading journals but just before lunch Sally buzzed her on the intercom and informed her that she had a patient after all.

  Holly went out to reception, her eyes widening slightly when she saw the name printed on the patient file. She turned to the waiting room and called, ‘Mrs Lisa Shoreham?’

  A frail-looking woman in her mid to late sixties got to her feet and, ignoring Holly’s greeting, followed her to the consulting room.

  Holly opened her mouth to ask her usual question when dealing with a new patient, but Mrs Shoreham got in first.

  ‘I suppose you are wondering why I’ve come to see you.’

  ‘Um…’

  ‘But I had to come and tell you that I’m terribly sorry.’ She looked down at her worn hands and turned her wedding ring over a few times.

  Holly frowned in puzzlement. ‘Sorry, for what?’

  Lisa Shoreham brought her eyes back to hers. Holly had never seen such sadness in a woman’s eyes before. Her entire face was like a road map of pain, fine lines of it etched in amongst deeper trenches of torment.

  ‘It was my husband’s idea�
�’ Mrs Shoreham went on raggedly. ‘He’s never been the same since our daughter was…murdered…we both haven’t…’

  ‘I understand…’ Holly said softly.

  Mrs Shoreham looked down at her hands again. ‘He’s not well so you mustn’t hold it against him. When we…lost Tina he started to drink. We both did for a while but I gave it up as I knew it wasn’t going to bring her back. Nothing could ever do that. Grant couldn’t handle the grief so he kept drinking to block it out.’ Her eyes came back up. ‘He hasn’t seen a doctor for years, but I know he’s not well. I guess that’s why he did what he did…’

  ‘What did he do?’

  Mrs Shoreham started to cry, great wrenching sobs that tore at Holly’s heart. ‘He broke into your house and…’ she said and dropped her head into her hands.

  Holly was totally speechless. She stared at the sobbing woman, trying to get her head around this startling confession.

  After a while the old woman lifted her head and looked at her through reddened eyes. ‘He wanted to pay you back for defending Noel Maynard. We’d heard you weren’t convinced he killed our daughter. I told him not to do such a thing but he wouldn’t listen. He said you needed to be taught a lesson.’

  ‘How did he get inside the house?’

  ‘He had a key,’ she said. ‘The people who owned the cottages before Dr McCarrick bought them were our friends. We had each other’s keys in case we ever lost a set as there’s no locksmith around here.’ She gave Holly a pleading look. ‘I know you have every right to press charges but I beg you not to. It would kill him. He’s not well.’

  ‘I’m not going to press charges,’ Holly assured her.

  ‘Oh, thank you…’ Mrs Shoreham started to sob anew. ‘We’ve suffered enough…We can’t take much more…It’s just so hard with that…that…animal out of prison, walking around, while our daughter has been lying in the cemetery for the last twenty-five years.’

  ‘It must be hell for you,’ Holly said gently. ‘I’m so sorry for causing you further pain by my actions and comments in regards to Mr Maynard.’

  ‘It’s all right,’ Mrs Shoreham said. ‘You weren’t to know, being so new to town and all.’ She gave her wedding ring another little twirl and added, ‘I hope you weren’t too upset by what you saw last night…’