The Last Doctor She Should Ever Date (7 page)

‘But you’re not saying no, right?’

When he didn’t answer she sucked in a breath, exhaled slowly. She stood and paced back and forth. ‘Okay. What about patient confidentiality? You made an oath. You’re not
allowed
to tell anyone about this. Even if the management, the press and the nation all believe they own a piece of him, they don’t. He has as much right to privacy as anyone else.’

‘And if your father does get wind of this? What happens then for you?’

That seemed to sway her a little. He knew just how much getting her father’s affection meant to her. And she’d be taking a huge risk; he didn’t want her to fail on such a scale.

But she shook her head. ‘I know what risk I’m running here. I’ve endured worse. It’s okay, I’ll take the rap for it.’

The look she gave him now was devoid of emotion’as if she expected him to let her down like everyone else in her life. And he knew at that moment he’d do anything to wipe that look from her eyes.

It still didn’t feel right, but what choice did he have? ‘Okay. Then we need to get him out of this public area for a start. Who is he sharing with?’

‘Manu. But we can’t take him back there. The fewer people who know, the better. And anyway, he’s going to need babysitting for the next few hours.’ Now she was the most serious he’d ever seen her. ‘Alcohol poisoning is horrible. But getting through it on your own is even worse.’

He shoved his shoulder into Jaxon’s armpit and levered him upright. ‘Mine, then? No, Matt’s there. Yours?’

‘Yes, it’ll have to be.’ She took Jaxon’s other arm. ‘We can watch him in shifts. Okay?’

Despite every part of him telling him this was crazy, he edged their patient to the lift and then shuffled him towards Dani’s room. Once they’d put him into the recovery position and secured bowl, bucket and towels Zac looked round for Dani. She was reaching into the wardrobe for spare duvets so they could be comfortable as they took it in turns to watch their patient.

This was so not what he’d had in mind when he’d dreamt about spending the night with her.

* * *

‘Thank you. I mean it.’ Dani handed the duvet down to Zac. She’d watched him struggle with his decision to help her, and seen how much it had cost him. And she couldn’t shake the thought he’d done it for her. Not for Jaxon. This was new ground’someone who put themselves on the line to help her. New and shaky, and she didn’t know how to process the warmth it gave her. Sure, he was funny, smart and now...loyal. She had to keep reminding herself he was also holding things back and very, very temporary in her life. So distance was called for. ‘Why don’t you get some rest. I’ll take first watch until four-thirty, you can do until seven.’

‘And where do you propose we rest with our guest taking up the king-size?’ He smiled. ‘At least my room is a twin.’

‘And occupied. Talking of which, what are you going to tell Matt about where you spent the night? He could get the completely wrong idea.’

The smile wavered. ‘I don’t know. And I locked myself out too.’

‘Typical.’ She laughed. ‘I don’t know who’s worse. You or our friend here. Your brain is hot-wired for sex, not sense.’

‘Hey...I didn’t know I was going to end up here like this. I came to help...’

‘You came for sex.’

‘Okay...’ he conceded. ‘Might have been on the agenda. You seriously need to make yourself clearer in your texts. I’ll make something up...say I went for a swim. Or a walk.’

‘With a lifetime supply of condoms?’

He frowned. ‘There’s ten. Not much of a life.’

‘I was thinking it was more than enough. For you.’

‘I get my fair share. Don’t you worry.’ He inhaled sharply. ‘With a bit of luck Matt will still be asleep and won’t even know I’ve been missing. I can get a new swipe card from reception. Surely?’

Why did it feel like they were breaking every rule in the book? And why was it so exciting? Her heart danced a little jig and every part of her felt alive. Their jobs were on the line; and right now her body didn’t seem to give a damn about that.

‘Okay, you can deal with that early tomorrow, after sleep has doused your sex drive and you have a working brain cell or two.’ She glanced around the room. Nice decor, shame about the lack of anything for two people to sleep on. ‘How about the chaise longue? We can top and tail. Unless you want the bath.’
Please take the bath.
Up close and personal without meaningful contact was not on her bucket list. But then neither was imagining him using those condoms with someone other than her.

She shuddered. Spending time with Zac was like a lesson in emotional states. She’d gone from wired to regretful, irritated and now jealous. Of someone who existed purely in her imagination.

Don’t even mention aroused. Aroused could not be on the menu. Although it was there. More there than anything else. Jeez, she was too confused by her over-enthusiastic hormones and the craziness of having not one but two men for an unscheduled sleepover to think straight.

He took the duvet from her and threw it over the chaise. ‘We’ll take that, at least it has padding.’ Then he shoved the piece of ornate furniture against the wall. ‘You take the end with the backrest. I’ll prop myself up against the wall.’

‘Thanks. See, you can be nice when you try.’ She plumped up two large white pillows and threw him one. Aiming at his head, but he caught it swiftly, winked and popped it on his side of the chaise.
His side
.

‘I aim to please.’

‘Well, you do. I suppose. Sometimes.’

‘Wow, Dani. Don’t get carried away with the praise.’

‘Trust me, I won’t.’ Grabbing her nightgown she ducked into the bathroom and got ready for bed. All the time hyperaware that spending the night with Zac, even under strange circumstances, was a bad idea. A good bad idea. A delicious bad idea. And dumb in the extreme. But what choice did she have?

She opened the door a crack. ‘I’m coming out now, close your eyes.’

‘When?’ He smiled as she stepped into the room pulling her nightgown down to cover her knees. Why hadn’t she brought sensible flannelette PJs instead of this red satin number?

‘Now!’

‘Oops. Too late. I forgot.’ He spluttered. ‘Whoa! What are you wearing?’

His eyes grew wide as his gaze travelled from her neck to her cleavage, down her body’slowly...excruciatingly slowly, past her hips to her knees. His smile grew warm, hot. Very hot.

She clutched her wash-bag to her chest’as if that would hide either her embarrassment or the flare in her eyes that she knew was there. Fire shot to her belly.

‘You’re supposed to have your eyes closed.’

‘And miss this? No way.’ He shucked off his hoodie and wrapped it over her shoulders. ‘But put this on. If Jaxon wakes up and sees you in that flimsy thing you’ll give him a heart attack on top of his hangover.’

Ignoring the heat and his smell enveloping her she shrugged the hoodie off and glared at him. ‘I’m going to be under a duvet. What’s he going to see? Besides, not everyone has the same one-track mind as you.’

‘Darling, believe me, everyone would be on this track if they saw you in that. That’s some serious lingerie.’

‘It’s one of my vices. A hangover from school.’ She climbed under the duvet, her cheeks burning and heart ramping up to overdrive. She had to spend the night with him and somehow survive, so her raging heart could damn well stop raging and go back to slow and steady. Thank you.

He looked at the deep V of lace-trimmed silk covering her cleavage. ‘No one ever wore anything like that at my boarding school.’

‘Clearly you didn’t have unwritten bitch contests to see who had the most money, the most famous parents or on-trend clothes, like at mine.’ She shuddered as she remembered those hideous days, the catfights and false friendships. ‘Petty rivalry even went as far as bed wear.’

‘No, no bitch contests and definitely no sexy lingerie at mine.’ She searched his face for the shadows, but clearly he was remembering better school times. His eyes glittered as he laughed. ‘It was all boys for a start.’

‘You are such a jerk, Zachary.’ So the man had a zillion different sides and she liked them all. The one that agreed to put his own job on the line to help her, the one who wanted to protect her no matter how much she didn’t need him to. The one who made her laugh. The one who was easy to talk to.

He was becoming more and more of a problem. His smell, the memory of his taste, his smile, those broad shoulders. That wicked twinkle in his eyes. Not to mention the darned dimple. All taunted her like off-limits treats.

It was too hard to imagine what life was going to be like beyond the tournament. Beyond this. Could men and women be friends? Just friends? Or did the sex thing always get in the way?

Right now, as he sidled in opposite her wearing nothing but a pair of black boxers and a killer smile, the sex thing was raising its hand screaming,
Pick me
.

She drew her eyes away from his hard wall of chest, the defined pecs and smattering of jet-black hair that made him even more man, and found her voice.

‘I’ll keep this side light on if you don’t mind. It’ll make it easier to keep an eye on our pal over there. I think I’ll read to keep myself awake.’ She waved her physiotherapy text book at him and opened the chapter on iliotibial band injury management.

They both jumped as Jaxon snorted, sniffled and groaned. Then settled back to sleep.

‘Go for your life. And I hope you don’t make as much noise as him when you’re asleep.’ Zac wriggled under the duvet, his toes reaching up to her thigh. She edged away from him as he folded the pillow under his head and closed his eyes. From this angle she watched the slow rise and fall of his chest, the flutter of his dark long eyelashes against his cheek. And felt her blood pound round her body with such force it made her feel dizzy. Just friends? Who was she trying to kid? Just friends was impossible, but more than friends was impossible too.

Silence stretched across the night. His breathing became rhythmical, doing the off beat to Jaxon’s four-four-time snuffling. She sighed and started to relax.

‘Iliotibial band syndrome...’
was not holding her attention.

Suddenly his foot tapped gently against her leg. ‘Talk to me.’

‘Shouldn’t you be sleeping now?’ She tried to squeeze away from him but there was nowhere to go.

‘Oh, yes. Forgot. Right.’ He closed his eyes again and grinned. ‘But I’ll go to sleep way quicker if you talk to me. A bedtime story?’

‘How old are you?’

His grin broadened. ‘It could include potential list items...I hear erotica is all the rage. I’ll leave it open.’

‘No lists. No funny stuff. We are not alone, remember?’

‘With that noise I’m not likely to forget.’ His toes wriggled against her thigh. ‘Spoilsport.’

‘One more time and you’ll be in the bath.’ She huffed out a breath. Loudly. Just so he’d hear the frustration. ‘Okay. Once upon a time there was a very irritating man who refused to go to sleep, so his...friend did away with him in a very nasty grisly way. With lots of blood and pain.’ She tweaked his toe. Hard. ‘The end.’

‘Don’t ever take up writing for your next career. You really suck.’

‘No fear, I’ll stick to twisting limbs. Much more fun.’

‘So you have an evil side too. Very interesting...you are very interesting, Daniella.’ He laughed and opened his eyes. Heat from his body curled around hers. His smile kicked up one corner of his mouth, making his dimple twinkle. He looked for a second like a mischievous child.

He watched her for a while, but slowly his expression changed to thoughtful. He pushed back against the wall and sat up. ‘Hey, princess. Tell me about that photograph. What was going on back then?’

‘Why are you asking?’ She drew her legs up in an effort to wriggle away from him, wrapped her arms around her knees. She was so not ready for this.

‘You were so angry down there tonight, thought it might help if you talked a bit.’ He leaned forward.

‘Oh, yeah. The big guy who won’t talk wants me to talk. Right.’

He took her hand. ‘I’m trying to help. Maybe build a bit of trust here. Reckon we could both use it.’

‘No.’ Her reaction was automatic. She couldn’t hold in the tight bitter laugh as she snatched her hand away. ‘I don’t trust any man, not least one who’s employed by my father.’

‘I’m a man. And I’m employed by your father. Can you separate the two?’ He held his palms out to her. ‘You keep harping on about talking. Go on, try me.’

She sat there watching his face in the half-light, remembering the thunderous look when he’d arrived in the bar all breathless and confused. All she’d been able to think about was how the heck to save Jaxon, but all Zac had been concerned about was saving her.

Well, actually, it had been about sex. But he’d stayed and helped. To save her’the younger her. To prove someone cared.

That he would do that for her’

Something shifted inside her, swelled and filled a hole she hadn’t realised had been there. For so long she’d kept her own counsel, hadn’t let anyone in, but maybe it would feel good to let that go just for a few minutes. Trouble was she didn’t know if she could, and now was not a good time to learn to trust a man. Right when he was going to walk out of her life in a matter of weeks.

But hell, if she wanted him to open up to her, she had to lead the way. Just a bit’after all, touching on details wasn’t baring her soul, right?

‘They were wild, crazy days. We had too much time on our hands and too much money to blow on booze and dope.’ She nodded towards Jaxon. ‘Like Numpty here. Getting wasted was our number-one priority.’

‘Our? We?’

‘My friends.’ As she said it she rolled her eyes and made speech mark shapes with her fingers. Zac got the impression that people like the Danatellos didn’t have friends. They had hangers-on, wannabes. ‘People who I trusted and who let me down. People who sold me out when I was in rehab. Paul.’

‘Paul?’

‘My ex-fiancé, who only wanted to marry me to get to Davide. Oh, not just him. Others. People on Daddy’s payroll...’

Like him. Things cleared a little in Zac’s muddled brain. No wonder she’d put up barriers. Everyone she’d trusted had let her down. Still let her down if he counted Desere. And yeah, he was counting.