She walked around to the other side of the gurney so she could more easily examine the wound on his forehead. ‘I want to have a look at your cut, Uncle Mick.’
‘Fluids set, Terri,’ said Dianne.
‘Thanks.’
A jagged flap of skin had curled back from the triangular laceration but the area looked quite clean. A simple irrigation and suturing job.
‘No! No!’ Her quiescent patient erupted into unexpected action. So quick. One moment she was lifting the dressing and the next she was flying across the room. In slow motion she watched the horror on Frank and Dianne’s faces from the other side of the gurney, their hands uselessly reaching towards her. She saw the sergeant step forward, his mouth tight as he restrained her flailing patient.
Any moment now she was going to hit the floor. Paradoxical that she had so much time to notice everyone’s expressions but none to organise her limbs to save herself from the inevitable painful sprawl.
But it didn’t happen.
Hands reached her, catching her from behind, cradling her against a hard, warm body. Her uncle lay back down in the milliseconds in which she struggled to understand what had happened. She turned her head and looked up into Luke’s grim face. How had he managed to get across the room to save her?
‘Are you all right?’
Pain bloomed in her cheekbone, replacing the numbness of a second ago. His face dissolved and she realised her eyes were tearing up. ‘Yes. Thanks.’
She tried to move away but his hands held her firmly, preventing her escape. Short of an undignified struggle, she was helpless to free herself. Luke was so large and hot and solid. She felt fragile. Insubstantial. Utterly feminine.
Though it must have only been seconds, time seemed elastic, stretching to allow her to feel every square inch of contact. He turned her slightly. She could feel his bracing arm behind her back, the fingers that curved around the top of her arm.
‘Go and get some ice on that.’ He sounded gruff. His eyes, still fixed on her face, were dark.
She blinked the tears into submission, embarrassed at this sign of weakness. ‘I have a patient to attend to.’
‘I’m taking over.’
‘I need to—’
‘You need to stand down and let someone else handle this, Dr Mitchell.’ His voice lowered, losing its sternness. ‘I can feel you trembling, Terri. You need to go and sit down.’
Her defiance ebbed away, making her realise how shaken she felt. ‘Yes. Okay.’
He frowned suddenly and tilted his head to look at her more closely. His fingers tightened on her flesh. ‘You have a slight nosebleed.’
‘Do I?’ As soon as she spoke, she could feel the trickle just below her nostril. Knowing there was physical evidence of her injury made her feel even more vulnerable. An uncomfortable sensation.
She pulled out of his grip and this time he released her.
‘Go and clean up. I’ll finish here then come and have a look at you.’ He turned back to her uncle on the gurney.
She hesitated briefly, then realised that the others had meshed into a team around Luke to treat her uncle. She spun on her heel and left the room.
‘I found you at last.’
At the sound of Luke’s voice from behind her, Terri jumped. The boxes of twelve-gauge needles she’d been handling scattered across the shelf.
‘I wasn’t hiding,’ she said, not entirely truthfully. How long had he been standing there, watching her?
‘Hmm. How are you feeling?’
‘I’m fine.’ When she’d re-stacked the boxes and regained some of her composure, she turned. He was leaning against the doorjamb, his arms folded, one foot crossed over the other. A plain black T-shirt stretched over the chest she’d so recently been clamped against.
‘Good. Let’s have a look at you, then, shall we?’ A slow smile curved his mouth as though he read her reluctance and thought it amusing.
‘I don’t think we need to. But thank you anyway,’ she said, shooting him a discouraging stare.
She’d never appreciated how absurdly claustrophobic the long narrow room was with the well-stocked shelves towering along the walls. It was all his fault, of course, the way he was blocking the only exit.
‘I think we might let me be the judge of that.’ His smile took on a distinctly determined edge. ‘Just think of it as my self interest.’
Terri picked up her clipboard and hugged it tightly in front of her torso. ‘Self interest? In what way?’
‘If I don’t think you’re up to it, I’ll take over the rest of your shift.’
He waited with an expression of polite interest as she thought of and discarded several weak excuses.
‘Oh, all right. Let’s get it over with, then,’ she muttered. The thought of his hands on her, even in a professional capacity, was nerve-racking. The imprint of their earlier contact still plagued her. Her back to his chest, his fingers on her arms as he turned her…
She forced down a swallow and pushed away the distracting memory. ‘Where do you want to do it?’
He raised a brow and his lips tilted.
She felt heat leap through her system. Oh, God, had she really said that? Please, let the floor open up and swallow her now. ‘The exam.’
‘Cubicle three is empty.’ Still grinning, he moved to one side and stood with his back pressed against the shelf. Did he think she was going to squeeze past him? No way.
‘After you.’
He shrugged. ‘Sure.’
She breathed a sigh when he moved but it was short-lived relief. With his back to her, she could appreciate the broadness of his shoulders, the way his torso tapered to his waist and hips, the long, long legs, the easy way he moved. Her mouth felt suddenly dry.
Just outside the door, he turned, looking back at her, one brow raised quizzically. She realised her feet were still planted in the middle of the supply-room floor. Silently cursing her distraction, she tightened her fingers on the clipboard and hurried to catch up.
She walked stiffly to the curtained area, aware of him striding beside her. His lithe, trim body moving smoothly. Unlike her limbs, which felt all angles and awkward gracelessness.
Perched on the edge of the bed, she watched him bend to wash his hands. Her eyes were irresistibly drawn to the denim pulling over the line of his buttocks. When he straightened to rip a piece of paper towel from the dispenser, she looked away quickly.
As he stepped in front of her, she let the deep breath she’d taken trickle out. This was a professional examination, one colleague of another.
Hospital director of staff doctor.
It would only take a few minutes.
‘Look past me. You know the drill, hmm? Focus on a point on the wall.’ He raised his hand and shone a thin beam of light into her eyes.
‘Have you had bleeding from the nose before?’
‘Um, a couple of times.’ She was acutely aware of his face near hers as he assessed her pupil.
‘Recently?’
‘No.’
‘How long ago?’ He moved to her other eye and again bent towards her to do the examination.
‘Oh, um. Years.’ Then she remembered the exact occasion.
The landmine blast which had killed Peter.
And killed her future. Nausea rushed down on her, sweat popped out of her pores leaving her clammy and chilled. ‘It…was…um, a—a couple of years.’
There was a small silence.
‘Are you all right, Terri? You’ve gone very pale.’
The blood abruptly rushed back to her head, filling her face with heat, sweeping away the faintness.
‘Yes. Yes. Really, I’m fine.’ At least he hadn’t commented on her stumbling hesitation. ‘You—you asked about nosebleeds. It’s been a couple of years.’
‘Nothing since?’ He frowned as he straightened up, seeming to weigh her response for dissimulation.
She looked away from the measuring blue eyes. The last of the nausea receded. ‘No.’
&n
bsp; ‘How heavy were your previous bleeds?’
She frowned and pulled back, pulling herself together at the same time. ‘I’ve had a tiny nosebleed here, not an arterial haemorrhage.’
‘Yes, of course.’ He appeared to shake himself mentally as he slipped the penlight back into his top pocket. ‘I’m going to examine your cheek.’
‘Fine,’ she said through tight lips, closing her eyes, hoping to shut him out, so close, so threatening to her peace of mind. A rustle of fabric, the tiniest feather of air across her skin. Had he moved closer? Just the thought made her heart kick into a frantic, irregular rhythm. She was too scared to open her eyes to check.
A few tense seconds passed. Why didn’t he just get on with it?
Then the subtle torture began. Gentle probing fingers travelled down her nose, across her cheekbone, around her eye socket.
Nasal bone, glabella, maxilla, zygomatic.
Breathe in and out. In and out. Perhaps if she recited the muscles. There were so many of them…
She couldn’t think of a single name.
Closing her eyes had been a bad idea. Sure, it meant she couldn’t see him but the other sensory information was overwhelming. The heat of his body reached out to her. His smell—part soap, part tantalising masculine musk—surrounded her. Small whispery sounds of each inhalation, exhalation. How much more measured and normal his breathing was than hers.
His touch was warm and deft. The skin beneath his fingertips was alive with nerve endings. Nearby cells seemed to quiver in anticipation of their turn.
She swallowed, feeling so thoroughly shaken now that she didn’t dare open her eyes lest he read her ragged state.
Think of something else. Now!
Work. The emergency department.
‘How’s Uncle Mick?’ she said, dismayed to hear her breathlessness.
‘Uncle Mick?’ He sounded preoccupied. ‘Oh, yes. Mick.’
After a moment, he cleared his throat. ‘I’m just waiting for the blood results to come back. Particularly the sodium level. I noticed you had a half-strength saline bag standing by.’
‘Yes.’ She pushed the answer out, working hard to keep her tone even. Concentrate on work, on the technicalities. That would surely bring her back to an even keel. ‘I was worried about hyperosmolar hyperglycaemia.’
His fingers stopped moving, the tips resting softly on her skin. The moment hung, oddly alive with possibilities. Had he finished?
Finally, she opened her eyes and looked straight into his, so close. He looked almost puzzled. His pupils were huge, making his eyes dark and intense. For a second, she thought she read a match to her own helpless awareness in the inky depths. Was it real? Or was she desperately trying to see something so she’d feel better? Something to tell her that she wasn’t the only one caught by this sensual spell?
Hard on the heels of that thought, she realised it would be better if the weakness was hers alone. How much more difficult might it be to resist the temptation to explore this if she knew he felt the same way.
‘Dr Daniels?’ Dianne’s voice broke the spell.
Shock shuddered all the way to Terri’s toes.
Luke snatched his hands away from her face as though she were contaminated. He blinked and the earlier, intense look was gone. Now his expression was easy to read. Shock, plain and simple.
‘The lab’s just rung through the results for the sodium and blood sugar on Mick Butler,’ said Dianne, seeming not to notice anything amiss.
Terri felt heat rushing to her face. She wanted nothing more than to cover her cheeks with her hands. Bowing her head, she brushed a crease on her scrubs.
‘Results. Yes. Good.’ Luke cleared his throat. His apparent discomfort was a small balm to Terri’s frazzled system. ‘Er, what are they?’
‘Sodium, one hundred and forty. Glucose, twenty-four.’
‘Right. Thanks, Dianne.’ The rasp had gone from his voice. ‘We won’t need to change to the half-strength normal saline.’
Out of the corner of her eye, Terri saw him dig his hands into his jeans pockets.
‘How’s your nose, Terri?’ asked Dianne. ‘That was a real thump Mick gave you.’
‘I’m fine.’ Terri looked up, making her lips stretch into what she hoped was a reassuring smile. ‘No lasting damage. Just a bit tender.’
‘Are you sure?’ Dianne’s hazel eyes searched her face.
‘Yes.’ Oh, God, think of something to say, before Dianne says anything else. The woman was a fantastic emergency department nurse but no diplomat. But Terri’s rattled brain didn’t produce anything in time.
‘You’re looking very flushed. Almost feverish. Do you think you’ve got a temperature? Will you be all right to stay on duty?’
Terri scowled as she slipped off the bed. ‘Yes, of course I’ll be right to work the rest of the shift. If I look flushed it’s because the two of you are looking at me as though I’m something squashed on a microscope slide. Perhaps you could both take yourselves off and find some other poor specimen to peer at.’
Unconcerned by the tart response, Dianne grinned then delivered her parting comment. ‘You’re going to have a shiner.’
‘Such a good look for an accident and emergency doctor,’ Terri muttered. She glanced at Luke. ‘Are you going home now?’
‘Will you be okay for the rest of the night?’ His voice was low and warm.
‘Yes, of course,’ she said briskly. She needed to take herself in hand. His concern was professional. She couldn’t let that lovely, rich voice fill her with this inappropriate neediness. ‘Thanks for your help and, um, for catching me.’
‘No problems.’ He smiled briefly. ‘I’ll leave you to it, then.’
She watched him go. If her roiling confusion was anything to judge by, it was going to be a physically and mentally draining twelve months.
Perhaps it was time to consider moving on. Her contract only had six months left. But she didn’t want to move. She’d been thinking about extending her contract. It felt wonderful to be home. Comfortable, safe, reassuring after the trauma she’d been through. It felt like the best place for her while she got back on her feet.
Port Cavill had everything. Wonderful people, gorgeous setting, a great hospital, a world-class motorcycle track.
Unfortunately, it also had Luke.
But it only had Luke for a year. Could she survive that long?
CHAPTER FOUR
TERRI’S cottage door was open but there was no answer to his knock. Through the window, Luke could see the small sitting room. A subdued golden glow from the lamp made it cosy and welcoming in the dusk. A far cry from the cramped and messy look he’d cultivated while using the cottage as his bachelor pad in his late teens.
He hesitated. She couldn’t be far away, perhaps down on the beach. Should he follow her down there? Perhaps he should take her absence as an opportunity to slide away unnoticed. He’d been calling himself all the fools under the sun for coming down here anyway…
But when his feet moved it was to follow the path around the cottage, past her bike tucked in the rickety garage.
The shushing of waves grew steadily louder as he approached the line of trees edging the grounds. He picked his way through the grove and paused on the open sand, breathing in the salty tang of the ocean. Moonlight washed the scene with a ghostly aura.
A short distance away, Terri stood at the edge of the water, her hands tucked into the back pockets of her jeans. A floppy knitted top clung to her slender curves. Her head tilted slightly as she stared out to sea. She paid no heed to the wave ripple creeping towards her naked toes. At the last moment it paused and slid away again without daring to touch.
She seemed lonely, sad. He had a powerful urge to reach out to her, to offer comfort. Or was it something else?
He’d kissed her on this very spot. Hard to believe it was a dozen years in the past. He could remember how she tasted. Sweet with a promise of spice.
‘Remember the night of the schoolies
’ party?’ The question was out before he could think better of it. She had a powerful effect on him—a walk down memory lane with her was a torment he could do without. Besides, that night didn’t reflect well on him.
‘Of course.’ Slowly, she turned her head to look at him. Dark shadows from the bruising beneath her eyes made her look mysterious, almost exotic, reminding him how little he knew about her.
‘I wasn’t kind to you that night.’ He’d wanted to take what she’d offered…and more. Much more. He’d wanted to grab, to hold on, to lose himself in her sweetness, her gentle sympathy. Somehow, he’d found the sanity and strength to pull back, to send her away.
But he hadn’t done it graciously.
She shrugged and looked away. ‘I wasn’t asking for your kindness. I only wanted to talk to you about getting a medical degree.’
‘I know.’ He frowned. Had the kiss that came back to haunt him after all these years meant nothing to her? She sounded so indifferent that he felt an inexplicable urge to push, to get a reaction from her. ‘I’m surprised I didn’t put you off.’
‘You weren’t that bad.’ She took her hands out of her pockets and bent to pick something up.
He swallowed, unable to look away from the unconscious provocation of jeans pulled tight against her curved buttocks. The knitted top rode up, exposing a small wedge of pale skin, gone in a flash as she straightened. She bent to examine a curved shell in her long fingers, her face hidden by a curtain of wavy dark hair. It was a little shorter now than it had been when he’d buried his fingers in it twelve years ago.
He pulled his mind back to the conversation.
‘Wasn’t I?’ Perhaps the incident loomed much larger in his mind because sobriety the following day had brought sneaking shame at his behaviour. ‘That isn’t how I remember it.’
‘You were grieving for your cousin.’ She slanted him a look as she pushed the thick curls back over her shoulder.
‘This must be a first for gender interaction.’ He huffed out a small laugh, feeling irrationally frustrated with her. ‘I’m trying in a roundabout way to apologise for the things I said and you’re busy making excuses for me. I took my anger out on you.’
City Surgeon, Small Town Miracle / Bachelor Dad, Girl Next Door Page 20
