He put a hand on the small of her back and pressed her closer. The feel of his hot urgent male body against her called to everything that was female in her. She had always struggled with desire in the past. She could talk herself into it eventually, but it had never been an instantaneous reaction.
Now it was like a dam had burst. Desire flowed through her like a flash flood, making her flesh cry out for skin-on-skin contact. Her hands came up to link around his neck, her body pressing even closer against his. Her breasts tingled behind the lace of her bra; she had never been more aware of her body, how it felt, what it craved, how it responded.
He gave a low, deep sound of pleasure and deepened the kiss, his hands going to both of her hips and locking her against him. She felt the hardened ridge of him against her and a wave of want coursed through her so rampantly it took her breath away.
She started on his shirt, pulling it out of his trousers and snapping open the buttons so she could glide her hands over his muscled chest. She could feel his heart beneath her palm. Thud. Thud. Thud. She could feel where his heart had pumped his blood in preparation. It throbbed against her belly with a primal beat that resonated through her body like a deep echo, making her insides quiver and reverberate with longing.
He kept kissing her, deeply and passionately, as his hands ran up under her light cotton shirt. The feel of his broad, warm, work-roughened hands on her skin made her gasp out loud. Her blood felt like it was on fire as it raced through her veins at torpedo speed.
Her inner wild woman had been released. Uncaged. Unrestrained. And the wild man in him was more than up to the task of taming her. She felt it in the way he was kissing her.
This was a kiss that meant business.
This was a kiss that said sex was next.
His hands found her breasts, pushing aside the confines of her bra to cup her skin on skin. She shivered as his thumbs rolled each of her nipples in turn; all while his mouth continued its mind-blowing assault on her senses.
The sound of the door opening at the front had Izzy springing back from him as if someone had fired a gun. She assiduously avoided Zach’s gaze as she tidied her clothes with fingers that refused to co-operate.
‘You there, Fletch?’ Jim Collis called out.
‘Yeah. Won’t be a tick.’ Zach redid the buttons before tucking in his shirt. Izzy envied his cool cop composure as he went out to talk to Jim. Her nerves were in shreds at almost being discovered making out like teenagers in the back room.
‘Is the doc still with you?’ Jim asked.
There was a moment of telling silence.
‘Yes, I’m still here.’ Izzy stepped out, carrying her doctor’s bag and what she hoped passed for doctor-just-finished-a-consult composure. ‘I’m just leaving.’
Jim’s eyes twinkled knowingly. ‘So you’ve got him all sorted?’
‘Er, yes.’ She pasted on a tight smile. ‘No serious damage done.’
‘I hope you weren’t annoyed with me, Fletch, for sending her over to patch you up?’ Jim said.
Zach still had his cop face on. ‘Not at all. She was very...professional.’
‘Did you charge Adam Foster with assault?’
‘Not this time. I gave him a warning.’
‘You’re too soft,’ Jim said. ‘Don’t you think so, Dr Courtney?’
Izzy blushed to the roots of her hair. ‘Um, it’s late. I have to get home.’ She gripped the handle of her bag and swung for the door. ‘Goodnight.’
CHAPTER SIX
‘WHAT HAPPENED TO your eye?’ Doug Fletcher asked the following morning.
‘I got in the way of Adam Foster’s elbow.’ Zach switched on the kettle. The less he talked about last night the better. The less he thought about last night the better. He had barely been able to sleep for thinking about Izzy Courtney’s hot little mouth clamped to his, not to mention her hot little hands winding around his neck and smoothing over his chest. Even taking into account his eighteen-month sex drought, he couldn’t remember ever being so turned on before. He had always prided himself on his self-control. But as soon as his mouth had connected with hers something had short-circuited in his brain.
He gave himself a mental shake and took out a couple of cups from the shelf above the sink. ‘You want tea or coffee?’
‘What did the doctor say?’
He frowned as he faced his father. ‘What makes you think I saw the doctor? It’s just a little cut and a black eye, for pity’s sake. I don’t know what all the fuss is about.’
His father gave him a probing look. ‘Is it true?’
‘Is what true?’
‘The rumour going around town that you’re sleeping with her.’
‘Where’d you hear that?’
‘Bill Davidson dropped in last night while you were at work. Said his wife Jean saw the doctor a couple of days back. She said the doctor blushed every time your name was mentioned.’
‘Oh, for God’s sake.’ Zach wrenched open the fridge door for the milk.
‘Find yourself another woman, by all means, but make sure she’s a country girl who’ll stick around,’ his father said.
‘Dad, give it a break. I’m not going to lose my head or my heart to Dr Courtney. She’s not my type.’
‘Your mother wasn’t my type either but that didn’t stop me falling in love with her, and look how that ended up.’
Zach let out a long breath. ‘You really need to let it go. Mum’s never coming back. You have to accept it.’
‘She hasn’t even called, not once. Not even an email or a get-well card.’
‘That’s because you told her never to contact you again after she forgot my thirtieth birthday, remember?’
His father scowled. ‘What sort of mother forgets her own son’s birthday?’
A mother who has two other younger sons she loves more, Zach thought. ‘What do you want for breakfast?’
‘Nothing.’
‘Come on. You have to have something.’
‘I’m not hungry.’
‘Are you in pain?’ Zach asked.
His father glowered. ‘Stop fussing.’
‘You must be getting pretty low on painkillers. You want me to get Dr Courtney to write a prescription for you?’
‘I’ll manage.’
He threw his father an exasperated look. ‘How’d you get to be so stubborn? No wonder Mum walked out on you.’
His father’s eyes burned with bitterness. ‘That may be why she walked out on me but why’d she leave you?’
It was a question Zach had asked himself a thousand times. And all these years later he still didn’t have an answer other than the most obvious.
She hadn’t loved him enough to stay.
* * *
‘So how are you and Zach getting on?’ Margie asked on Monday morning.
Izzy worked extra-hard to keep her blush at bay. ‘Fine.’
‘Jim told me you saw to Zach’s eye on Saturday night.’
‘Yes.’ Izzy kept her voice businesslike and efficient. ‘Do you have Mrs Patterson’s file there? I have to check on something.’
Margie handed the file across the counter. ‘The Shearers’ Ball is on the last weekend of your locum. Did Peggy tell you about it? It’s to raise money for the community centre. It’s not a glamorous shindig, like you’d have in England or anything. Just a bit of a bush dance and a chance to let your hair down. Will I put you down as a yes?’
It sounded like a lot of fun. Would Zach be there? Her insides gave a funny little skip at the thought of those strong arms holding her close to him in a waltz or a barn dance. ‘I’ll have a think about it.’
‘Oh, but you must come!’ Margie insisted. ‘You’ll have heaps of fun. People drive in from all over the district to come to it. We have a raffle and door prizes. It’s the social event of the year. Everyone will be so disappointed if you don’t show up. It’ll be our way of thanking you for stepping in while William Sawyer and his wife were on holiday. They come every year withou
t fail.’
Izzy laughed in defeat. ‘All right. Sign me up.’
‘Fabulous.’ Margie grinned. ‘Now I can twist Zach’s arm.’
* * *
Izzy left the clinic at lunchtime to pick up the sandwich she’d ordered at the corner store. Jim gave her a wink and a cheeky smile as she came in. ‘How’s the patient?’
She looked at him blankly, even though she knew exactly which patient he meant. ‘Which patient?’
‘You don’t have to be coy with me, Izzy. I know what you two were up to out back the other night. About time Zach got himself back out there. I bet that ex-fiancée of his hasn’t spent the last eighteen months pining his absence.’
She kept her features neutral. ‘Is my salad sandwich ready?’
‘Yep.’ He handed it over the counter, his grin still in place. ‘Do me a favour?’ He passed over another sandwich-sized package in a brown paper bag. ‘Drop that in to Zach on your way past.’
Izzy took the package with a forced smile. ‘Will do.’
* * *
Zach looked up when the door opened. Izzy was standing there framed by the bright sunlight. She was wearing trousers and a cotton top today but she looked no less feminine. Her hair was in one of those up styles that somehow managed to look makeshift and elegant at the same time. There was a hint of gloss on her lips, making them look even more kissable. He wondered what flavour it was today. Strawberry? Or was it raspberry again?
‘Jim sent me with your lunch.’ She passed it over the counter, her cheeks going a light shade of pink. He’d never known a woman to blush so much. What was going on inside that pretty little head of hers? Was she thinking of that kiss? Had she spent the night feeling restless and edgy while her body had throbbed with unmet needs, like his had?
‘Thanks.’ He stood up and put the sandwich to one side. ‘I was going to call you about my father.’
‘Oh?’ Her expression flickered with concern. ‘Is he unwell?’
‘He’s running out of prescription painkillers.’
She chewed at her lip. ‘I’d have to officially see him before I’d write a script. There can be contraindications with other medications and so on.’
‘Of course. I’ll see if I can get him to come to the clinic.’
She shifted her weight from foot to foot. ‘I could always come out again to the homestead, if you think he’d allow it. I know what it’s like to have something unexpected sprung on you. Maybe if you told him ahead of time that I was coming out, he would be more amenable to seeing me.’
‘I’ll see what I can do.’
The elephant in the room was stealing all the oxygen out of the air.
‘What about coming out for dinner tomorrow?’ Zach could hardly believe he had spoken the words until he heard them drop into the ringing silence.
Her eyes widened a fraction. ‘Dinner?’
‘It won’t be anything fancy. I’m not much of a chef but I can rub a couple of ingredients together.’
‘What about your dad?’
‘He has to eat.’
‘I know, but will he agree to eat if I’m there?’
He shrugged, as if he didn’t care either way. ‘Let’s give it a try, shall we?’
Her eyes went to the Steri-strip above his eyebrow. ‘Would you like me to check that wound for you?’
Zach wanted her to check every inch of his body, preferably while both of them were naked. He had to blink away the erotic image that flashed through his brain at that thought—her limbs entangled with his, his body plunging into hers. ‘It’s fine.’
Her gaze narrowed as she peered at him over the bridge of the desk. ‘It looks a little red around the edges.’
So do your cheeks, he thought. Her eyes were remarkably steady on his, but he had a feeling she was working hard at keeping them there. ‘It’s not infected. I’m keeping an eye on it.’
‘Right...well, if you think it’s not healing properly let me know.’
Zach couldn’t figure if it was her in particular or the thought of having sex again that was making him so horny. He had tried his best to avoid thinking about sex for months. But now Izzy Courtney, with her toffee-brown eyes and soft, kissable mouth, was occupying his thoughts and he was in a constant start of arousal. He could feel it now, the pulse of his blood ticking through his veins. His heightened awareness of her sweet, fresh scent, the way his hands wanted to stroke down the length of her arms, to encircle her slim wrists, to tug her up against him so she could feel the weight and throb of his erection before his mouth closed over hers.
Her gaze flicked to his mouth, as if she had read his mind, the point of her tongue sneaking out to moisten her plump, soft lips. ‘Um... What time do you want me to come?’ Her cheeks went an even darker shade of red. ‘Er...tonight. For dinner. To see your dad.’
‘Seven or thereabouts?’
‘Lovely.’ She backed out of the reception area but somehow managed to bump her elbow against the door as she turned on her way out. She stepped out into the bright sunshine and walked briskly down the steps and out of sight.
Zach didn’t sit down again until the fragrance of her had finally disappeared.
* * *
‘What do you mean, you’re going out?’ Zach asked his father that evening.
His father gave him an offhand glance. ‘I’m entitled to a social life, aren’t I?’
‘Of course.’ Zach raked a distracted hand through his hair. ‘But tonight of all nights? You haven’t been out for months.’
‘It’s been a while since I caught up with Margie Green. She invited me for dinner.’
‘She’s been inviting you for dinner for years and you’ve always declined.’
‘Then it’s high time I said yes. You’re always on about me not socialising enough. I enjoyed that run up to Bourke. It made me realise I need to have a change of scene now and again.’
Zach frowned. ‘Isabella Courtney is going to think I’ve set this up. I asked her to come out to see you, not me.’
‘She can think what she likes,’ his father said. ‘Anyway, I don’t want to cramp your style.’
‘But what about your painkillers?’ Zach asked. ‘You know what your rehab specialist said. You have to stay in front of the pain, not chase it.’
Doug chewed that over for a moment. ‘I’ll think about going to the clinic in a day or two.’ A car horn tooted outside. ‘That’s Margie now.’ He shuffled to the door on his frame. ‘Don’t wait up.’
Within a few minutes of his father leaving with Margie, Izzy arrived. Zach held open the door for her while Popeye danced around her like he had springs on his paws. ‘My father’s gone out. You probably passed him on the driveway.’
‘Yes, Margie waved to me on the way past. I bet she’s pleased he finally agreed to have dinner with her.’ She picked Popeye up and cuddled him beneath her chin. ‘Hello, sweetie pie.’
Zach was suddenly jealous of his dog, who was nestled against the gentle swell of Izzy’s breasts. He gave himself a mental kick. He had to stop thinking of that kiss. It was becoming an obsession. ‘Why’s that?’
‘I think she’s been in love with him for years,’ she said, and Popeye licked her face enthusiastically, as if in agreement.
‘She’s wasting her time,’ Zach said. ‘My father is still in love with my mother.’
She put the dog back down on the floor before she faced him. ‘Do you really think so?’
He looked into her beautiful brown eyes, so warm and soft, like melted caramel. The lashes like miniature fans. She seemed totally unaware of how beautiful she was. Unlike his ex, Naomi, who hadn’t been able to walk past a mirror or a plate of glass without checking her reflection to check that her hair and make-up were perfect.
Another mental kick.
Harder this time.
‘He’s never looked at anyone else since.’
‘Doesn’t mean he still loves her. Some men have a lot of trouble with letting go of bitterness after a break-up.’
Zach coughed out a disparaging laugh. ‘How long does he need? Isn’t a couple of decades long enough?’
She gave a little lip-shrug. ‘I guess some men are more stubborn than others.’
He wondered if she was having a little dig at his own stubbornness. He knew he should have found someone else by now. Most men would have done. It wasn’t that he wasn’t ready... He just hadn’t met anyone who made him feel like...well, like Izzy did. Hot. Bothered. Hungry.
At this rate he was going to knock himself unconscious with all those mental kicks. ‘What would you like to drink? I have white wine, red wine or beer...or something soft?’
‘A small glass of white wine would be lovely.’ She handed him a small container she was carrying. ‘Um...I made these. I thought your father might enjoy them.’
He opened the plastic container to find home-baked chocolate-chip cookies inside. The smell of sugar and chocolate was like ambrosia. ‘His favourite.’ And mine. He met her gaze again. ‘How’d you guess?’
She gave him a wry smile. ‘I don’t know too many men who would turn their nose up at home baking.’
‘The way to a man’s heart and all that.’
She looked taken aback. ‘I wasn’t trying to—’
‘He’ll love you for it. Eventually.’
After he’d put the cookies aside he handed her a glass of wine. ‘Have you had the hard word put on you about the Shearers’ Ball yet?’
‘Margie twisted my arm yesterday to sign up. You?’
‘I swear every year I’m not going to go and somehow someone always manages to convince me to show up if I’m in town. I try to keep a low profile. I’m seen as the fun police even when I’m not in uniform.’
‘I’ve never been to a bush dance before. Is it very hard to learn the steps?’
‘No, there’s a caller. That’s usually Bill Davidson. He’s been doing it for years. His father did it before him. You’ll soon get the hang of it.’
‘I hope so...’
He couldn’t stop looking at her mouth, how softly curved it was, how it had felt beneath the firm pressure of his. Desire was already pumping through his body. Just looking at her was enough to set him off. She was dressed in one of her simple dresses, black, sleeveless and just over the knee, with nothing but the flash of a small diamond pendant around her neck. There were diamond studs in her ears and her hair was in a high ponytail that swished from side to side when she walked. She had put on the merest touch of make-up: a neutral shade of eyeshadow with a fine line of kohl pencilled on her eyelids and beneath her eyes, emphasising the dark thickness of her lashes.
Flirting with the Socialite Doc (Mills & Boon Medical) Page 6
