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Sounded too organised for him. He liked a little disorder, certainly didn’t have perfectly matched towels or even dinner sets. Not that he’d gone to the second-hand shop for anything, but he hadn’t been hell-bent on getting everything looking like a show home. ‘What was last month?’
‘My bedroom.’ She turned away, and her voice was low as she told him, ‘It’s cream and rose pink. Very girlie, but I wasn’t allowed that when I was growing up so I’m having it now.’
Wow, she’d just mentioned her childhood twice in a short amount of time. Very briefly, sure, but there it was. She hadn’t been allowed to pick the colours for her room. Not a big deal maybe, but it could mean there was nothing she’d been allowed to choose. ‘I’ve never seen you wear pink.’
‘Rose pink.’ Her smile was unexpectedly shy. ‘There’s a difference. And, no, I can’t imagine what patients would think if their surgeon turned up dressed in pink.’
‘They’d probably love it.’ Taking a step back before he walked into that smile filling him with a longing for something special, he brought everything back to reality. ‘Tea or champagne?’
‘Have you got camomile?’ Her smile had widened into that of a cheeky girl.
He told her, ‘Yes, I have,’ and laughed at her surprise. ‘My mother drinks it.’ On the rare times she’s visited.
‘For some reason I didn’t think you were close.’ She followed him to the kitchen, where she perched on a bar stool at the counter. Crossing her legs showed off a length of thigh where that golden creation that was supposedly a dress rode high.
‘We’re not.’ Mum at least tried to accept he was still her son, while Dad … Forget it.
‘You mentioned one brother.’ Was that longing in her voice? Hard to tell from her face.
‘Mark. He’s married with two kids. I only get to see them at Christmas and birthdays.’
Olivia picked at an invisible spot on the counter. ‘That’s incredibly sad.’
‘Yep.’ He made himself busy getting mugs from the cupboard and teabags from the pantry.
She lifted her head and locked her blue eyes on him, suddenly back to being in control. ‘Think I’ll head back to the hotel. I don’t really want tea. Or anything.’ She slipped off the stool and turned towards the doorway. ‘Good night, Zac.’
With little thought he reached for her, caught her wrist and gently tugged her close. With a finger under her chin he tilted her head back so he could gaze down into her eyes. And felt his head spinning with wanting her.
Olivia’s eyes widened and her chin rose further as her mouth opened slightly.
Zac was lost. Any resistance or logical thinking disappeared as he leaned closer to place his mouth over hers. As he tasted her, the heat and need he’d kept tamped down most of the night exploded into a rainbow of hot colours. Olivia. She was in his arms, her mouth on his, her tongue dancing with his. Olivia.
Slim arms wound around his neck, pulling his body closer to hers. He felt her rise onto tiptoe, knew the moment when her hips pressed against his obvious desire. Those breasts he’d been fantasising about all night flattened against his chest, turning him into a molten pool of need. His hands spread around her waist to lift her onto the stool, where she immediately wrapped her legs around his thighs.
This is what I’ve missed so damned much. We are fire on fire. Feeding each other. Consuming the oxygen.
She tasted wonderful, bringing more erotic memories back to him. Making new ones.
Lifting his mouth, he began trailing kisses over her jaw, down her neckline, on towards her deep cleavage. When she whimpered he continued while lifting his gaze to her face, where he recognised the same fiery awakening racing along his veins.
Her fingers kneaded his scalp as she pushed her breasts higher to give him more access with his tongue. She wasn’t wearing a bra. Of course she wasn’t. That dress had clung to every curve and outlined her shape perfectly; including her breasts, those peaks now hard against his mouth and hand.
Zac growled as he licked her, tasted her skin, her nipple. A gentle bite had her arching her back and tipping her head so that her hair fell like a waterfall behind her. And he lost himself, tasting, touching, rubbing.
‘It’s been so long,’ she murmured in a low voice that spelt sex. Her hands fumbled with the buttons of his shirt, finally pushed it open, and then her palms were on his skin, smoothing and teasing as only Olivia could do.
The memories that he’d lived on for all those long months apart rapidly became reality. He hadn’t enhanced any of them. This was how it had been between them. Then his belt was loose, the zip being tugged downward, and … Oh, hell. Her soft hand was wrapped around him, sliding down, up, and down again. Oh, hell. There was nothing quite like making out with this woman. She knew the buttons to push, remembered what he most enjoyed, and if she wasn’t careful would have him coming long before he’d pleasured her.
That wasn’t happening. Zac wrapped his arms around her and carried her quickly down the hall to his bedroom and the super-king-sized bed she had yet to try out. Toeing his shoes off, he knelt on the bed and leaned forward with Olivia still in his arms so that he was covering her before she could move. ‘Your turn.’
‘I’m ready,’ she croaked.
‘I haven’t touched you yet.’ But, then, often he hadn’t had to. All part of that explosiveness that had been them.
‘Don’t, if you want this to last more than the next three seconds.’
Now, there was a challenge. Pushing her dress up over her thighs, Zac slipped down to find her core with his tongue. The moment he tasted her she jolted like she’d been zapped with an electrical current.
Her hands gripped his head, holding him there. Not that he’d been going anywhere else until he had her rocking against him.
‘Zac!’ she cried when he licked her. ‘Zachary …’ As he pushed a finger inside.
Her hips lifted, her fingers pressed into his scalp, and she was crying out his name. Over and over as her body convulsed under him.
Reaching for the top drawer of his bedside table, he grabbed a condom and tore the packet open with his teeth. A small, warm hand whipped the condom from his fingers. ‘Let me.’
Then he was lying on his back, unsure how she’d managed to flip him so effortlessly. She straddled his thighs and, achingly slowly, slid the condom onto his erection.
Placing his hands on her waist, he lifted her over him and lowered her to cover him, took him inside to her moist, hot centre.
‘Zac!’ She screamed his name.
He hadn’t forgotten she was a screamer but it still hit him hard, stirred him and had him pushing further into her.
It was never going to take long, he was that hot for her, had been wanting this from the moment he’d seen her leaning against that counter in the hotel reception. When she put her hand behind to squeeze him he was gone. Over. Finished. One final thrust and Olivia cried out and fell over his chest, gasping for air, her skin slick with sweat and her body trembling against his.
As she lay sprawled across him, he spread his hands across her back, stared up at the barely illuminated ceiling and smiled. Everything was in place in his world. Olivia was in his bed. They’d shared the mind-blowing sex he knew only with her. Everything was perfect. His itch was being appeased.
Or would be when they did it again, just as soon as he got his breath back.
CHAPTER SIX
ZAC HAD NO idea what the time was when he rolled over and reached out for Olivia, only to come up empty-handed. ‘Olivia?’ He sat up and stared around. His heart thumped hard. Not again.
‘I’m here.’ Her voice came from the en suite bathroom.
Phew. He dropped back. Something clattered in the hand basin, and Olivia swore. ‘You okay in there?’ he called.
Silence.
‘Olivia? Are you all right?’ His gut started to tighten.
‘I’m making sure I can walk past the hotel receptionist without looking like I’ve been … urn, doing what I’ve been doing.’
‘You’re heading over the road?’ Now he was on full alert. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he stood. ‘What’s wrong with staying the rest of the night? You and I don’t usually settle for once.’
‘Don’t do this, Zac.’ She stepped into the room, but kept her distance. ‘We’ve got to stop before we get carried away.’
As the cold reality of her words hit him he pulled his head back, glared down at her. ‘Why? We are willing, consenting adults, not two teenagers who have to go home to Mum and Dad looking guilty.’ Hopefully she didn’t hear the anger her rejection made him feel. Again. And the pain because she was right.
‘I’m sorry.’ Her eyes were brimming with tears. ‘I shouldn’t have got so carried away.’
A gut-buster, that statement. ‘We got carried away, sweetheart. We.’ He shoved a hand through his hair, trying to figure out what had happened to cause her to haul on the brakes. He should be grateful. He’d hoped to sooth his need, not crank it wide-open. How wrong could a bloke be?
‘Exactly. We didn’t stop to think about what we were doing. Not for a moment.’ Her back was straight, her shoulders tight, but her chin wobbled as she said, ‘Which is why I can’t go to Fiji with you.’
‘You’re changing your mind?’ Of course she was. For some reason he didn’t feel happy. He’d enjoyed being with her tonight. It had been like finding something precious after a long search. He could barely look at her and not reach for her again. She might’ve put the brakes on but it would take a tank of icy water to cool his ardour and return his out-of-whack heart rate to normal.
In the doorway she hesitated, turned around to look at him, sorrow leaking out of those baby blues. ‘Yes, Zac, I am. Going on holiday together would only exacerbate the situation. I can’t have another affair with you. It’s too casual, and anything more is impossible for me.’
He stood rooted to the floor, unable to ignore the sharp pain her statement caused yet knowing she was stronger than him. The itch had gone beyond scratchy, was now an open wound that needed healing. Olivia was the cure but, as she’d so clearly pointed out, that wasn’t about to happen.
Moments later his main door clicked shut, presumably behind her, and still he stood transfixed. For a moment earlier on, when they’d been sated with sex, he thought he’d found that untouchable thing he’d been looking for in his dreams and pushing away when he was wide-awake. Hell, he’d felt as though he’d connected with Olivia in a way he’d never connected with another human being in his life. Sure, they’d had sex without any preamble, as they’d always done, but there’d been more depth to their liaison. He’d made love to the woman of his dreams. Literally.
Which made Olivia heading back to her hotel room absolutely right. Unlike him, she had a handle on their situation. Where was his gratitude?
Zac’s phone vibrated its way across the bedside table. ‘Hello?’ Had Olivia had a change of heart?
‘It’s North Shore Emergency Unit, Dr Wright. We’ve got a situation.’
Not Olivia. Guess it wasn’t his night. ‘Tell me,’ he sighed.
‘A bus full of rowers returning to Whangarei went off the road an hour out of the city. There are many casualties so we’re ringing round everyone. Can you come in?’
‘On my way.’ It wasn’t as though he’d been sleeping. A certain woman had taken up residence in his skull, refusing to let him drop off to sleep even when his body was craving rest.
‘Kelly Devlin, nineteen-year-old rower, fractured tibia,’ the ED registrar told Zac within moments of him striding into the chaotic department.
Zac studied the X-rays on the light box. ‘She needs a rod insertion,’ he decided, and went to talk to his patient.
Kelly glared at him. ‘I’m a national rowing champion, Doctor. I can’t have a broken leg.’
Zac’s heart went out to her. ‘You have. I’m sorry.’
‘Does that mean the end of my career?’
‘First I’ll explain what I’m going to do to help you.’ He sat on the edge of her bed. ‘I’ve seen the X-rays and your left tibia is fractured in two places. To allow the bone to heal without too much added stress I’m going to put a titanium rod down the centre of the bone. There will be screws to hold it in place while you heal.’ He kept the details scant. He knew from experience that too much information at this stage usually confused the patient and added to their distress.
‘Will I be competitive again?’ the girl demanded.
‘That will take a lot of work on your part, but I don’t see why not.’ When disbelief stared him in the eye, he added, ‘You’re a champion rower so you know what it’s like to work your butt off to get where you want to be. This will be harder. Your muscles will need strengthening and the bone will require time to knit.’ He hoped he wasn’t misleading Kelly. ‘You may have to compensate in some way for the damaged leg, but we won’t know for sure until further down the track.’
Tears slid down her cheeks. ‘You’re honest, but I don’t have to like what you’re telling me. It’s going to be painful for a while, isn’t it?’
‘You’ll have painkillers.’ Bone pain. Not good. ‘A physiotherapist will have you working on that leg when I think you’re ready.’
‘When are you operating?’
‘As soon as I get things sorted a nurse will come and get you ready for Theatre.’ He stood up. ‘I’ll see you in there. Have your family been told about the accident?’
‘Mum and Dad are on their way from Whangarei, but I don’t want to wait. If I’ve had surgery before they arrive it’ll be easier on them.’ She shifted on the bed and cried out as pain jagged her.
‘Take it easy. Try to stay as still as possible. You’ll soon be given a pre-anaesthetic drug that will make you feel drowsy and dull your senses a little.’ Zac nodded at the nurse on the other side of the bed. ‘I’ll talk to the anaesthetist now, get everything under way.’
As he headed out of the ED to arrange everything Zac rubbed the back of his neck. What a night.
‘Morning, everyone. Sorry I’m late. Forgot to set my alarm.’ Olivia slid into the only vacant chair at the table in the hotel dining room where she was having a late brunch with Andy and his family, Maxine and Brent Sutherland, who were Andy’s close friends, and Zac.
‘Have a late night?’ Zac asked.
She scowled at him. ‘Something like that.’
He told her, ‘I’ve been in surgery.’
‘Already? Were you on call?’ He’d have mentioned it, wouldn’t he?
‘A bus went over the bank near Waiwera. The hospital needed orthopaedic surgeons in a hurry.’
‘Why was a bus travelling through the night?’ she asked.
‘Taking rowers home from the nationals down south.’
‘Coffee or tea?’ A waitress hovered with the brunch menu.
‘We’ve all ordered,’ Zac informed her.
‘The kitchen will make sure your meal comes out with the others,’ the waitress said. ‘Drink?’
Yes, yes, yes. Give me a moment. Olivia took the proffered menu. ‘A pot of English Breakfast tea, thank you.’ A quick read of the list of tasty dishes on offer. ‘Pancakes with bacon and banana, and lots of maple syrup.’
When she turned to find Zac watching her with a soft smile on those adorable lips she snapped, ‘What?’
‘Pancakes and syrup? I thought you’d be a muesli and fruit girl.’
She was. Always. But this morning her usually strict control over her diet had gone the same place any control seemed to go when Zac was around—out west somewhere beyond the hills. ‘Thought I’d spoil myself.’ She looked around the table at her friends. Zac’s friends too, don’t forget. ‘Did everyone enjoy last night?’
‘You have to ask?’ Maxine asked with a grin. ‘The band kept playing until one and only stopped because the hotel management asked them to.’
‘The dinner was amazing,’ Brent added.
Olivia looked at the boys sitting quietly opposite her. ‘Did you all have fun too?’
‘Yeah. But Mum made us go to our room early. I liked dancing,’ the oldest said.
‘Your mum’s mean.’ Andy grinned tiredly. Now that the excitement of the night before had worn off he looked as though he had little energy left.
‘It’s part of the job description,’ Zac added.
‘That was a generous gift from Paul,’ Maxine chipped in. ‘I’m assuming you’re both going to take it up. I mean, who wouldn’t go to a luxury island in Fiji, all expenses paid? I know I would.’
‘Does everyone know?’ Olivia shivered. No way would she go after how things had played out last night in Zac’s apartment. Nearly a week sharing a bure with Zac would make a joke of her self-control. Remaining impervious to Zac’s charm would be impossible. As she’d already proved. ‘I don’t think I’ll be going.’ Unfortunately her eyes drifted to the right and locked with Zac’s.
‘If that’s what you want.’
She wasn’t sure about it being what she wanted, but she knew it was how it had to be for her sanity. Amidst exclamations from just about everyone else at the table Olivia told Zac quietly, for his ears only, ‘It’s for the best.’
‘Yours, or mine?’ Why the disappointment? Surely he hadn’t thought they’d be having a five-day sex fest? Though, if she was being truthful with herself, he had good reason to think that, given how quickly they’d leapt into each other’s arms last night.
‘Ours.’ A picture of blue sea and coconut palms crossed her mind. Going to Fiji would be marvellous. That lump at the bottom of her stomach was her disappointment. It was a great opportunity and she was reneging on it.
‘Last night you accepted.’ Zac’s words arrowed to the core of her concern.
‘I did.’ She’d be letting Paul down after he’d done something so generous. She wasn’t used to people doing things like that for her. She had a feeling she’d also let Zac down. Would he want to go alone? Or could he take someone else with him? Jealousy raised its ugly head. She didn’t want Zac going to the tropical island with another woman. If he was going she wanted to be the one at his side. In his arms. Gulp. Make up your mind. What do you want with Zac?
She wanted Zac in her life. But to follow up on that would be dangerous. What if they did get close; moved in together? How long would that last? When her mother acted once too often with the mess Olivia was used to dealing with, would Zac walk? If she had a month like she’d had in February, when she’d had so much work she’d all but lived in the hospital for four weeks, would he begrudge the time he didn’t have with her and leave? There’d only been one man in her life she’d loved unconditionally—her father—and he’d deserted her. She doubted her ability to cope with anyone else doing that to her.
Her tea arrived and she concentrated on pouring, tried hard to ignore the dilemma going on in her head.
But Zac didn’t seem to have any problem continuing the conversation. ‘I take it this is because of what happened in my apartment?’ He leaned closer so only she could hear him.
Unfortunately his movement brought that heady smell that defined him closer to her nostrils. There was no avoiding the scent, or the challenge in his eyes. ‘We wouldn’t be able to go the distance without touching each other.’
‘Is that what you want?’ Disbelief darkened his eyes, deepened his voice. Who could blame him? Last night she hadn’t mucked around about getting into the sack with him. He asked, ‘Seriously?
No, she wanted to spend the whole time in bed with him. That was the problem. ‘It’s what I need.’
Zac sat back, leaning away from her, his gaze fixed on her as though he hoped to see inside her skull and read her mind. ‘I should be glad you’re saying no, but there’s one fabulous holiday going begging. Until Paul pointed it out I hadn’t realised how much I could do with a break. Fiji would be perfect.’
Olivia said, ‘You can still go.’
‘Not much fun alone,’ he said softly.
‘Apply the pressure, why don’t you?’
‘Yep.’
‘Not happening,’ she muttered. Lifting her cup, Olivia tried to concentrate on what the others were talking about. When the meals arrived she joined in the conversation, relieved that the subject of Fiji had been dropped. But all the while that picture of the sea and coconut palms remained at the forefront of her mind, with Zac firmly in the middle.
Her phone rang just as everyone was getting up from the table to go their separate ways.
‘Olivia, it’s Hugo. I’m sorry to disturb your weekend when I said I’d cover for you, but I’m concerned about Anna Seddon.’
Alarm made her voice sharp. ‘What’s up?’ Anna was a healthy woman who shouldn’t be having any post-op complications.
‘Medically she’s fine. Her obs couldn’t be better, she slept well until four this morning. But she’s having a meltdown about the operation. I’ve tried talking to her but I’m a mere male and have no idea what it’s like to have my breasts removed.’ Hugo sighed. ‘She’s right, of course.’
‘Of all the people I’ve done that procedure for I’d never have thought Anna would break up about it. She’s been so pragmatic.’ Olivia echoed Hugo’s sigh. ‘Is her husband with her?’
‘Yes, and looking lost. She keeps yelling at him to go away. He doesn’t know how to help her either.’
And I can? She had to try. She’d told Anna she’d be there for her throughout this difficult time, and she had meant it. ‘I’ll come over now.’ She dropped her phone into her handbag and turned to face everyone. ‘Thanks for the catch-up, guys. I’ve got to go.’
Maxine stepped up to give her a hug. ‘Don’t take so long next time. I want to hear all the details about your trip to Fiji.’
‘There won’t be any. I’m not going.’ She tried to free herself from Maxine’s arms and failed.
‘Go. It would be good for you.’
Maxine dropped her arms to her sides and Olivia stepped back.
‘You might be surprised.’
Olivia couldn’t help herself: she glanced across at the man in question. His familiar face snatched at her heart. Talking animatedly with the others, he appeared relaxed and comfortable in his own skin. Then he looked over at her and winked. Caught. He’d been aware of her scrutiny all along. Like they were in tune with each other, which was nonsense. They’d never been like that. Except when it came to sex. But there was nothing sexual about that wink. It had been more a ‘Hey, girl’ gesture. Friendly and caring, not deep and loving or hot and demanding. But it had been …? Nice? Yes, nice.
Turning back to Maxine, she said, ‘I’d better run. A patient needs me.’
‘You have to be somewhere in a hurry?’ Zac strode alongside her as she raced for the lobby and the elevators, keen to get away before anyone else brought up the subject of that trip away with Zac.
‘The hospital. I did a double mastectomy and implant yesterday morning and apparently my patient is losing it big time this morning.’
‘That’s a biggie for any woman to deal with.’
‘She’s been so brave all the way through discussions about the operation and what size implants she’d like. She’s dealt with her family’s history of breast cancer matter-of-factly, and accepted she didn’t have a lot of choice if she wanted longevity. Guess it had to catch up with her some time.’
‘Has she got good support from her family?’ Zac asked as he pressed the up button for the elevator.
‘Yes, very good.’ Olivia drew a breath. Only yesterday she’d been saying to the Theatre staff how Anna’s husband was a hero in her book. Yep, and she’d had thoughts about the man next to her being a hero too.
‘You want me to get your car out of the basement? Save you some minutes?’
She stared at Zac. ‘I forgot. I need to order a taxi. My car’s in the hospital car park with a flat battery. I didn’t have time to phone a service man yesterday.’ She made to head for the concierge only to be stopped by Zac’s hand on her arm.
‘I’ll be waiting in my car out the front when you’re ready.’ He nudged her forward into the elevator. ‘It’ll only take a couple of minutes to get it.’