‘No, thanks.’ But she was already standing up, balancing easily in those knee-high black boots with heels that were taller than him. His brain short-circuited. The air got hotter when his gaze cruised up from the boots, over her thighs clad in black stockings to the edge of a very short denim skirt. Up to layers of tight-fitting tops that accentuated her stunning curves.
Nikki Page. The girl who’d haunted his sleep for years. All the times he’d cried for her, for them, when life had got too tough to handle alone. He’d never been able to let her go from his heart, from his soul.
‘You happy to sit there like an old man?’ Nik stood, hands on hips, smiling down at him. His breath stuck in his throat. Her skirt and boots showcased those stunning legs. A few extra kilos used to cover her hips and he wished she hadn’t lost them. All that running she did had thinned her down too much. But she was still so lovely he wanted to weep.
‘Or do you want to dance with someone else?’
He heard the surprising hurt in her voice, knew she still held deep concerns over her attractiveness. Because of him. He jumped up and grabbed her hand. ‘Old man, eh? You’re so going to regret that comment by the end of the night.’
A new tune filled the air, a much slower pace than they’d had for a while. Nikki glanced up into Fraser’s eyes and stilled.
His gaze was fixed on her, so intense, so full of something she wasn’t sure she should believe. Desire. For her. Slowly shaking her head from side to side, she tried to step back.
His hands were on her waist, holding her, pulling her so close she had to tip her head back to keep watching him, his gaze obliterating all thought processes. His face came slowly closer and closer until his lips brushed her forehead, down her nose and, at last, her mouth. Her lips were trembling as she pushed up on to her toes to get more of his mouth. Her hands gripped his shoulders. To hold him as near as possible. To hold her upright on suddenly lifeless legs.
Fraser’s mouth stole across hers, opening on her lips. His hands slid around her back and he hauled her in against him so close she could feel all of him. His chest was rock solid under her breasts. His thighs were hard muscle against hers. His rigid reaction to her pressed firmly into her belly.
Someone bumped into them. ‘Sorry, guys.’ Amber laughed.
Nikki jerked back, glanced around the room. No one else seemed to be taking the slightest bit of notice of them.
‘Let’s go somewhere quieter,’ Fraser murmured by her ear.
She nodded, her tongue suddenly glued to the roof of her mouth. She wanted more of that kiss. It would be so unfair to stop now. Her fingers laced with Fraser’s as they sped to the door and out into the hall’s entry area, where he stopped their hasty retreat and picked up where he’d left off kissing her.
Her mind sparked and melted. All reason disappeared in a heartbeat. Her body became liquid, moving only to keep her lips pressed to Fraser’s, to keep her breasts rubbing against his chest, to hold him tight.
‘Nikki,’ he murmured against her mouth. ‘You’re driving me insane.’
Welcome to her world. Insane about described it. Wonderfully, beautifully, sexily crazy. She was in Fraser’s arms and she did not want to back off. The tiniest warning sounded somewhere inside her skull, but she shoved it aside and focused entirely on kissing Fraser. Sliding her tongue across his lips, she sought his taste, his mouth. Their tongues danced around each other, teasing, promising, rediscovering.
He slipped his hands up to her face, held her closer, his eyes slumberous with yearning. For her? Suddenly he tore his mouth away and snatched her hand. ‘Come on. We need privacy.’
They ducked into a tiny room off to the side and Fraser banged the door shut, sliding the lock into place. Then he leaned back against the door and lifted Nikki into his arms. Stretching up on her toes, teetering on the tips of her boots, she ran her fingertips across his mouth.
Fraser groaned as she slipped each finger over his bottom lip. He sucked them into his mouth, rolled his tongue over their pads. Needles of desire zipped through her hands, up her arms and spread out over her body, bringing every nerve ending to life, awakening her body.
He turned her round so she leaned back against his body. His hands slipped under all her tops up to her bra, pushing beneath the lacy fabric to find her nipples.
Nikki sucked a breath through her teeth at the onslaught of raw longing slamming into her, pounding her. Her nipples were exquisitely tight under the ministrations of his thumbs. Two small peaks, one massive wave of heat rolling through her. How much more of this could she take without melting into a puddle?
Frazer nibbled a line of soft, teasing bites down her neck, making her back arch and pushing her breasts further into his hands. Against her backside pressed his need for her, hard and strong, insistent.
‘Fraser?’ she croaked.
His mouth stilled, his body tensed. ‘Yes?’ he breathed against her skin.
‘Don’t stop.’ What had she really been going to say? Her mind had gone blank, taken over by a growing sense of urgency.
His groan excited her further. ‘For a moment there you had me worried.’ He spun her round, his hands sliding from her breasts to her sides to her back, then down over her buttocks, taking his time to savour every cell on the way. ‘Your skin’s so soft, like satin.’
Was that a good thing? Must be. His tone sounded hungry.
‘And firm muscles.’ Excitement ramped up in his voice. ‘Very firm.’ His mouth trailed a line of moist kisses down the side of her mouth to her neck to her cleavage.
Nikki straightened under his touch, tried to undo the buttons of her tops, and when they wouldn’t go through the holes she gave up and tugged the offending garments over her head, dropping them at her feet.
Fraser unclipped her bra with one hand, his other busy teasing a nipple and driving her to the edge of the precipice. Her legs shook as she reached for the buckle of his belt. When his manhood sprang free she wrapped her fingers around it.
‘Niiikkiii.’ Her name fell slowly off his tongue as his eyes widened, his fingers trembling on her skin. There had been times when this moment had only been a fantasy in his mind, when he’d been afraid it would never happen again, especially not with Nikki. But now it was real. She was here, and in his arms. Fraser let out a sigh.
With her free hand Nikki pushed those tight jeans down enough to make it easier for her to hold all of his sex.
Fraser gasped, his body shuddering. She loved the power she had over him at this moment. And then he was picking her up, pressing her against the wall, pushing her skirt up to her waist and tugging her panties aside. His fingers slid across her moist centre, stroking her slowly, slowly. Then faster and faster until it seemed she was floating.
The tension grew inside her, tightening, twisting, filling her to the point she thought she’d explode with need. Suddenly her body rocked against his hand as she split in two.
Then Fraser entered her, hard and strong, hot and slick. And when he cried out his passion it was her name on his lips.
Stunned, Fraser let Nikki down so her boots reached the floor. Her uneven breath heated his chest. Her hands trembled on his waist.
She tipped her head back to peer up at him. ‘What just happened?’
Her eyes, usually light, were darker, bigger and dazed. His heart jolted, banged his ribs. His hold tightened, brought her so near it was as though they were one. ‘I don’t know.’ But he did know he wanted to do it again. Soon. When he got his breath back, when his body had the strength to begin all over again.
Her cheek settled on his chest. She had always done that afterwards.
He returned to running his thumb over the exposed skin on her lower back. Silky skin, warm skin. Nikki’s skin.
On his waist her fingers were pressing softly, one after the other as though playing a tune on a piano. A sensual tune that had a direct line to his libido. Not possible. It was too soon. He’d hardly begun to recover. But south of his waist his body hadn�
��t heard of restraint, didn’t realise it was supposed to take a break before coming out to play again.
Under his hands Nikki’s body swayed, moving softly left then right, as though to get maximum sensation from his hands. Shock delighted him. Nikki was more than ready for a repeat performance.
Lowering his head, his lips found hers, softly swollen from his kisses. As his tongue swept across them then delved inside her sweet mouth, she groaned and all but climbed into him.
He rocked as the hot sensations clawed at his gut, at his manhood. This was unbelievable, this was Nikki. This brought hope for the first time in years.
CHAPTER NINE
STANDING under the jets of hot water, rinsing the shampoo out of her hair, Nikki felt drained of energy. Her emotions had been through a blender and were now all mixed up and messy ever since the night of the party.
She’d had sex with Fraser. Twice. And loved every exquisite, nerve-tightening, sweet moment.
Which was the problem.
Because she wanted more. But …
But.
They weren’t getting back together. She needed to know he’d always be open and honest in the future. Going by how she had to drag things about the past out of him still, she didn’t feel confident that he’d always do that.
He’d had five years to get in touch and tell her why he had walked away. He needn’t have waited for the all-clear to do that. Had it never occurred to him that she’d needed closure, had a load of self-doubt that only he could dispel by telling her the truth?
No. Obviously it hadn’t.
But.
She’d missed him when he’d gone to that course in Christchurch. She’d enjoyed working alongside him since he’d returned. She even joked with him now. And since the party a fortnight ago neither of them had referred to what had happened between them. It was as though it hadn’t happened. Weird. Like the tension between them since Fraser had joined the Blenheim staff had evaporated in a cloud of passion. Weird.
Yet there was still tension deep within her. How could there not be? Dang, she’d made love with him. Twice. More than enough to crank up the fires of desire smouldering inside her.
I will not be distracted. I want more than great sex. I need to know he will always be there for me. And I don’t.
She suddenly shivered. The water had gone cold. How long had she been in the shower? Fraser had distracted her.
Outside the shower she sniffed. Something was burning. The brownie. Snatching her towel, she wrapped it around her as she raced for the kitchen. Her cellphone rang. The smoke alarm shrieked a warning.
‘Okay, okay, I’m coming.’ Tugging on an oven mitt, she quickly took the offending cake from the oven and dumped it in the sink.
Hunting in the utensil drawer for the rolling pin while answering her phone, she swore silently. Yet again she’d ruined something she was cooking because of Fraser.
‘Hello?’ She spoke into the phone as she jabbed the off button on the alarm.
‘Hey, girlfriend, what took you so long? I haven’t interrupted anything going on between you and lover boy, have I?’ Amber giggled.
‘How many times do I have to tell you not to call him that?’ Amber didn’t have a clue what had happened in that storeroom at the party. Did she?
‘As many as it takes to convince me nothing’s going on between you two. And considering the way Fraser’s always looking at you as though you’re the best thing since cellphones were invented, I’d say you haven’t got a chance.’
‘Thanks, pal. It takes two, you know.’
Amber only laughed. ‘Did you know it was Mike’s birthday?’
‘Yes, and I’ve just burnt the brownie. I’ll have to go shopping for more chocolate drops, cocoa and eggs.’
‘How many cooking debacles is that since Fraser turned up?’
‘Too many.’
Amber’s tone changed. ‘Nikki? You are all right, aren’t you? It’s just that you’ve been very distracted all week. I’ll stop teasing you if Fraser is becoming a problem.’
The real concern in her friend’s voice brought tears to her eyes. ‘I’m fine. He is a problem of sorts but nothing I can’t handle.’ One way or another. ‘After I’ve been shopping and made more brownies. Tell the guys I’ll be in with a treat later this morning.’
Fraser clicked off the online ambulance service study site and rubbed his eyes. ‘That’s doing my head in.’
‘How’s this assignment going?’ Mike asked.
‘Not too bad. Doing the practical course last month certainly helped make sense of it all. Sometimes I think the trainers deliberately make the online notes hard to follow.’
‘Wait until you take your practical exam. Then you’ll really see how difficult they can make it.’
‘I was afraid of that.’ On the chair Fraser stretched his hands behind his head and touched his feet to the wall at the back of the desk.
‘You’ll hose in. You know your stuff, and don’t get in a flap on the job. As long as you show that, you’ll be an AP in no time.’
Then what? He wouldn’t be working alongside Nikki. They’d each have their own crew. Although it made sense not to waste resources, the thought saddened him. Working with Nik was fun. He appreciated her knowledge and skills on the job. This wasn’t about loving her. This was about having found something new that they both enjoyed doing.
‘Hey, happy birthday, Mike,’ the woman right now churning his brain to mush said from the doorway. ‘I’ve brought something for your lunch.’
Watching Nik as she crossed to their boss and gave him a hug, Fraser sighed. She was downright gorgeous. And confident about her role here as an AP and in her colleagues’ lives. She was more relaxed with him these days, despite their hot night in the storeroom. Would they ever get back that easy, loving relationship they’d once had? Or was he destined to watch her from the sidelines?
Mike took the proffered cake tin, tugged off the lid. ‘Brownies? My favourite.’
‘Any cake’s your favourite.’ Nikki flicked his arm before filling the kettle.
Amber asked, ‘Coffee, everyone?’ After a chorus of requests she lined up six mugs and spooned in coffee and sugar.
Nikki sat at the table and glanced his way. ‘Did you hear Charlotte’s coming back to Wairau Hospital tomorrow?’
He sat up. ‘Really? That’s fantastic news. Isn’t it?’
‘The best. She still needs a lot of care and rehabilitation but the Wellington doctors think it’s best she gets that here now that she’s on the mend. She’ll be able to see friends and other family members. Ella and Mark are thrilled.’
‘I bet they are.’
The phone rang in Mike’s office. ‘Don’t touch that brownie till I get back.’
Then Mike charged back. ‘Fraser, turn your phone on. That was the police. It’s your father. He’s gone missing.’
‘What? Dad’s missing?’ Fraser’s stomach churned. Tugging his phone out of his back pocket, he stabbed the keys. ‘When did I turn this off?’ One ring and his mum answered. ‘Mum, what’s happening? How long’s Dad been missing? I’m on my way.’ He barely gave her time to answer before snapping the phone shut, his face grim.
Nikki stood in front of him. ‘I’m coming with you.’
Of course she would. ‘Mum only noticed Dad wasn’t there when she went to get him for breakfast. He could’ve been gone for hours.’
As Fraser headed out the door, Nikki grabbed his hand. ‘I’ll ring my mother on the way. She can sit with Molly while this is going on.’
His fingers tightened around hers as they ran to his vehicle. His heart thudded against his ribs. Where could his dad be? What had been going on in that warped mind today? ‘Dad, give me a clue, will you? I need to find you. For Mum’s sake. For mine.’
Nikki stayed with Fraser as he ran up the footpath at his parents’ home and hauled Molly into a tight hug. Her heart broke all over again as he gently wiped the tears from his mother’s face.
; ‘I’ll find him, Mum. I promise.’
Stepping forward, Nikki also hugged her.
‘Mum’s on her way to keep you company. And Dad’s going to join the searchers.’
‘Thanks, Nikki.’ Molly squeezed her tight. ‘Stay with Fraser, won’t you?’
‘Try keeping me away.’ She smiled softly then turned to dash back into Fraser’s truck just as he banged it into gear.
He raced down the drive, along Redwood Street, taking the first road on their left. His head flicked from side to side as he searched. His foot lifted from the accelerator as he peered down driveways then pressed down, making the little truck surge forward, only to slow again.
‘Fraser, you look on the right, I’ll take the left.’
‘Makes sense.’ The truck raced forward, stopped.
‘And maybe go easy on the pedal,’ she added quietly as her head jerked forward and her neck cricked, doubting he’d take any notice. She refrained from pointing out that they should stop and make a plan, approach this in small increments, not race around like headless chooks.
But Fraser would only tell her she didn’t know what she was talking about. Which, in terms of the fear and worry for his dad, she didn’t. But she did know her heart was hurting for him, that she wanted to make everything right for him. And there just wasn’t much she could do.
Tugging her phone from her pocket, Nikki called Jay. ‘We need help.’
Fraser lurched the car around a corner, the tyres squealing. ‘Where the hell would he go? Damn it, now Mum has to listen to reason and put Dad into care.’
‘Jay’s already on his way. SAR has been notified. Blake’s with Dad.’
‘Right.’ Fraser’s head was still flipping back and forth, left and right, as he drove down the road. Not trusting her to look as carefully as he did? Fair enough. She’d probably do the same.
‘Want me to drive so you can concentrate on looking out the window?’ Before we crash into something.
‘No, I’m fine.’
‘Then slow down. Please.’ Nikki squinted at an old man disappearing around the corner of a house. Too short to be Ken McCall. ‘Fraser, think about places your dad used to go, places that were important to him. Where did he work?’
Medical Duo - Dr Chandler's Sleeping Beauty & Christmas with Dr Delicious Page 27
