Rescue Nights

by Nina Hamilton

  Kate heard the door next-door thud, and with it, her nerves ratcheted up a little more. If Andrew was following the routine he’d developed, he’d be changing his clothes, putting on jeans and a button up shirt. Then he would come over, ask a million health-related questions and then trespass on her sofa, treating her like a sister. If Kate followed her own routine, she’d be dressed in an oversized track pants, a hoodie of Andrew’s that she had requisitioned, and she would spend the whole night curled in her own armchair, not even moving with any vigour to eat the food the resort’s kitchen would send over.

  Sometimes patterns needed to be broken.

  This time when Andrew opened the door after a cursory knock, she was at the kitchen bench preparing an evening meal.

  ‘How was work?’ she asked, beating him to a discussion about her particular aches and pains.

  ‘Good,’ he answered, although she could see his puzzlement. ‘We got called to a semi-trailer versus car. Two critical patients who had to be airlifted, but, on the balance of probabilities, they should make it OK.’

  While he was speaking, Kate kept her nervous hands busy, tossing the salad and checking on the Atlantic salmon she was oven cooking in freshly squeezed orange juice with shallots and grated ginger. She had dressed carefully, going through her wardrobe to find a long length, long sleeved sapphire blue embroidered silk caftan. The look had the advantage of covering her still marked skin, but it still looked appealing in the way it clung to her tall body. She also bothered with makeup for the first time in over a week, using her foundation to disguise the impact zone of the punches. There wasn’t much she could do about the vivid bruises that still coloured her neck, but she looked like an approximation of her normal self.

  Andrew stood on the other side of the kitchen bench, and jumped in with his questions before she had a chance to expand on her own. ‘How are the ribs feeling today? Did you experience any shooting pains after the swim?’

  ‘Yeah, about that,’ Kate replied. ‘I’ve decided you are not my doctor anymore. Let’s face it, you never really were in the first place. So we no longer talk about my pain levels, my recovery, or the exact nature of my bruising.’

  ‘What exactly has brought this on?’ Andrew asked. His voice was cold, his displeasure evident.

  Kate stilled her hands that had been serving out the rice. ‘There are certain oaths that frown upon you shagging me while I’m a patient. I’m a trained medical professional with plenty of doctors just a car ride away and I’d like you to sleep with me more than I need free medical advice. So,’ she asked, ‘are you ready to sit down for the meal?’

  Andrew took a moment to clear his throat before he nodded his assent. Kate might have spoken confidently but she wasn’t quite sure of the outcome of the evening. He was so blond, so perfectly handsome. Maybe he would find someone else, someone beautiful, someone who wouldn’t freak him out.

  ‘I didn’t know you could cook like this’, Andrew commented, as he helped her bring the plates over to the already set table.

  ‘The resort kitchen has been great at sending over meals. But I’m well enough to cook now and I thought it would be a nice thank you for your company.’

  She hoped he was realizing that she was well enough to do much more.

  The subject stayed on neutral things until she served the after-dinner coffee. Kate had had to forgo wine because of the pain medication she was still taking, but she offered him a scotch.

  She poured the drink he had accepted, and, walking towards him, she chose to sit on his lap before offering him the glass.

  When he took the glass from her and touched the liquid to his lips, Kate said, ‘There is only so much rejection that a girl can take.’

  ‘Women,’ Andrew chuckled. ‘First you ambush me, then you claim you are being rejected because, in the last hour, I’ve not figured out the right response.’

  Now, Kate found herself perched awkwardly on his knees. The only way forward was to brazen it out, so she reached over and laid her hand across his cheek letting the warmth of his skin transfer to her hand.

  It was as if Andrew didn’t know what to do with his hands. ‘I don’t want to hurt you,’ he said.

  Kate took his hand and placed it on her breast. ‘You’ve seen my scans, hell you’ve seen the real live technicolour version of my bruises, and you should know that there are places on my body that you can touch without causing any pain.’

  As his hand flexed against her, Kate was definitely grateful that her breast was one of those places. His other hand went to feel her and she revelled in the awareness of her body filling his hands. She longed to straddle him, as she had what felt like a lifetime ago. However, that move was definitely currently banished from her repertoire.

  Instead, Kate consoled herself with new sensations and she ran her hand along his thigh, and felt his indrawn breath. When she got to his zipper and felt his erection straining against the confines of the denim, she at least was comforted that his desire for her hadn’t died. She leant down and touched her lips to his. Andrew soon dominated and their kiss was deep and captivating.

  ‘Are you sure you are ready for this?’ Andrew asked, pulling back from her mouth.

  ‘I’m not ready to screw you up against a wall. But a bed should do nicely.’ With those words, Kate slid from his lap and held out her hand.

  Once in the bedroom, Kate felt suddenly shy. She had practically begged Andrew to be here. What if the sight of her battered body freaked him out? She again decided that the best policy was attack. Ignoring the tug of pain as she reached back for her buttons, she undid them one by one.

  Taking a deep breath for courage, Kate let the silk fall to a puddle at her feet. Andrew took a step forward and reached around her body to release her bra. The scrap of lace joined her dress on the floor.

  Just as she was about to reach for Andrew’s buttons, he knelt on the floor before her. With agonising slowness he skimmed his hands along her hips and then pulled at the side of her panties, inching them down her legs.

  The intensity with which he looked at her had her quaking. He leant forward and put his mouth to the tender line where hip met thigh, almost but not quite to the pleasure point that was begging for touch.

  Her hands tangled in his hair. It was so good to be lost in the pleasure her body could offer rather than being obsessed with its pain. He must have felt her unspoken demand because he reached for her, touching her wetness, making her swallow a scream.

  ‘One day I’m going to see you naked and your body won’t boast a bruise,’ he said, as he kissed her inner thigh and then her centre.

  Kate dragged in an uneven breath. ‘One day I’d like to see your naked body,’ she tugged at the shoulder of his long sleeved shirt. ‘Clothes off now.’

  Andrew took a while to respond to her demand, as he finished tasting her. Then he pulled back and in one graceful moment got to his feet and started shedding his clothes.

  Without taking her eyes off him, Kate stepped backwards and sat down on the bed. When he stepped out of his jeans, his cock sprang free and proud.

  ‘Hope it was worth the wait,’ Andrew said, as he approached the bed.

  Kate leant forward and put a teasing mouth to his hip, the identical spot he had tortured her with, just minutes before. She was rewarded by an involuntary jerk of his hips. ‘The proof will be in the pudding so to speak.’

  ‘Damn condom,’ he said. ‘I’ll have to go back to my room.’

  Kate put her hand on his hip before he could move away. ‘My bathroom will be quicker. Under the sink, you can grab what you need.’

  As much as Kate thought she would expire from frustration as Andrew pulled away, the view was worth the price of admission. Broad shoulders narrowed down to slim hips and a wonderfully shaped arse. The man was a masterpiece. He was possibly the most beautiful thing she had ever had in her bed and she was determined to make the most of it.

  Taking advantage of his absence, she scooted back on the bed, layi
ng herself over the large Egyptian pillows. She might have lost some of her decorative advantage, but what she had to work with, Andrew quite seemed to like. When he came back, foil package in hand, seeing her on the bed, a wolfish smile had his dark eyes crinkling at the edges.

  ‘Mine,’ she said, as she grabbed the contraceptive out of his hand when he went to lie beside her.

  Tearing the packet open, she slowly and torturously covered him in latex. He leant over and kissed her, biting at her lower lip.

  Suddenly he rolled away and lay on his back, a challenge in his eyes. ‘There is no way I can be on you and not hurt you,’ he said. ‘So you are going to have to come to me.’

  Looking at the sinuous twists of muscle that made up Andrew’s body, Kate had to agree the man was right.

  She was turned on enough not to worry about her lack of grace as she straddled him, the blunt head of his erection touching her intimately enough for a moan to escape her lips. His pupils dilated as he looked up at her and then he reached forward and parted her delicate folds.

  ‘Uh,’ was Kate’s inarticulate response, as she tipped her head back, close to coming apart.

  His erection further prodded against her and Kate knew that she had to take control. Her body wasn’t used to limitations, but before she could ponder it Andrew stopped teasing her and offered to take her hands in his.

  With the strength of Andrew bracing her, Kate rose up and then sank down, taking his body in hers. He stretched her, filled her and the pleasure was remaking her. There was a power in setting the pace and Kate rode him, setting an enthusiastic rhythm.

  His back arched off the bed and Kate knew if she hadn’t been injured, in that moment he would have flipped her over and pounded into her. She appreciated the iron-clad control that had his muscles tensing.

  Kate felt the world start to fracture around her so she clamped her body around Andrew’s and felt him too fall over the edge.

  Ragged with pleasure, she collapsed onto his chest. Both sated, his hands ran lazily over her back.

  ‘If you did that at full strength, you might have actually killed me,’ Andrew said when his breath slowed down enough for him to actually speak the words.

  ‘I think that was pretty good even by healthy standards,’ said Kate. She was genuinely slayed with emotion but kept her voice light.

  As the pleasure wound down, Kate began to feel the discomfort of her injuries again. Not wanting him to see her pain, she distracted him by running her hand over his still sensitive nipples, enjoying the flex of his rock hard abs in response.

  Touching his body could become addictive, Kate thought, such was its perfection.

  He went to the bathroom and when he came back, he sat on the bed beside her. ‘Do you want me to go?’ he asked. ‘I could roll over in the middle of the night and accidentally squash your ribs.’

  ‘Stay,’ she replied. ‘You can’t do much damage, and if you accidentally were to cause me any discomfort I am quite capable of kicking you awake.’

  With that, Andrew moved to lie beside her, and wove his fingers through her own. Her last memory before falling asleep was one of this sweet intimacy.

  The dream came as it always did, in the hours before dawn. In it, she was drowning in the way she would have been, as if she hadn’t heard Andrew’s voice. Drowned as if she hadn’t fought and kicked. As if she had drowned in the ocean that she loved.

  Andrew brought her back to consciousness by shaking her shoulder. Obviously, his presence hadn’t been enough to keep the dreams at bay.

  ‘You are here in bed safe, with me,’ he ordered. ‘Wake bloody up.’

  Andrew reached out and awkwardly got an arm under her shoulders. The warmth of his body went some way to convincing her that she wasn’t still in that cold water.

  I hate that I can’t properly hold you,’ he said, gently urging her to rest upon his chest. ‘How long have those nightmares been happening?’

  ‘Each night since I stopped the heavy painkillers,’ Kate replied, hating the quiver in her voice. ‘So you slept with the messed up girl.’

  ‘Not the messed up girl,’ Andrew disagreed, his hand warm at the nape of her neck. ‘Do you think I don’t have flashbacks to what happened? I only wish mine were confined to the night. I thought you were going to disappear under the waves before I could get to you. That you would be gone and we never would have been able to find you.’

  Kate hadn’t really considered how awful their position had been up there watching what had happened, until she heard the hoarse pain in his voice.

  ‘Your words helped me remember to fight,’ she confided. ‘My dreams are about what would have happened if you hadn’t said that, what would have happened if the shock had kept me paralysed.’

  It wouldn’t have happened.’ Andrew tilted her head, so she could see the truth in his gaze. ‘You are the bravest woman I have known. You are sometimes stubborn and take way too many risks. But you fought to save yourself .’

  Both Andrew’s conviction and his fear had Kate snuggling into the crook of his neck.

  ‘Tell me a secret that will make me forget about all this?’ she asked.

  Kate wanted back some mindlessness, some normalcy.

  ‘Before I decided to come to Australia,’ Andrew said, his embracing arm still holding her gently, ‘the woman I was going to marry broke up with me and didn’t even have the decency to wait more than twenty-four hours before making it very clear that there was someone else, a colleague.’

  ‘I’m sorry. Did you love her?’ Kate asked. It was so much easier to ask these sorts of questions in the dark while looking up at the bedroom ceiling.

  ‘No, not really, but I would have married her anyway. We were well suited, our lifestyles worked,’ Andrew replied. ‘But I have never felt humiliation like that. I wanted to punch her lover but I couldn’t risk the damage to my career. The gossip was bad enough as it was.’

  Typical Andrew. Worried about the gossip as much as the betrayal. There was something so quintessentially English and reserved about that. However, like tonight, when he woke her, there were also glimpses of a man who cared more than that.

  His hand slipped up to stroke her hair and she could feel the thunder of her pulse rate, high from the earlier nightmare, slow under his touch and conversation.

  ‘Now my dirty laundry is out there, you have to share too,’ Andrew said. ‘Have there been men who have done you wrong?’

  Kate smiled against his shoulder. ‘I’m a girl who didn’t choose to enter a nunnery. Men doing me wrong is a rite of passage to existing in the world. Nothing too horrible, no broken engagements. Mainly short term relationships that failed to launch and one longer term relationship where I realized that although I loved him in a way, there wasn’t enough love there to commit.’

  The trauma of her nightmare had gradually receded to the back of Kate’s mind as she conversed with Andrew. Again, he had brought her safety and distraction. Here in his arms, she felt safe enough to let the conversation drift away and let her eyelids close.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Andrew woke up with more than the usual hard-on, something that might have had to do with the breast in his hand. He looked over to where Kate was lying still asleep, still peaceful. Something about that calmed his soul. Watching her panic, as she woke last night, reminded him of how hard hit they had all been after her assault.

  Even now, he couldn’t completely enjoy the view, couldn’t completely enjoy the feel of her body under his hand. Not with the ring of bruises around her neck, still so raw. He knew she would resent the characterisation of her as fragile, but after what happened, it was hard not to think of her as somewhat breakable.

  The sex had been heart-stoppingly terrific last night but even as he had longed for her body, he had to keep a part of his consciousness separate. He hadn’t been able to lose himself in her, such was his fear of worsening her injuries.

  Her eyelids fluttered; a flicker of pain passed over her face. That t
hought looked to be quickly followed by a smile of satisfaction when she realized where they were.

  ‘Hey,’ she said, softly, reaching out to touch his shoulder.

  Whatever she had been about to say was interrupted by the beeping of his phone as his alarm engaged, its rapidly increasing volume causing him to scoop up his pants and fumble for the off switch.

  ‘Sorry, sorry, sorry,’ he said. There didn’t seem to be a huge amount of dignity in standing there bare arsed, so he made use of his trousers and pulled them on as Kate watched. With the alarm any optimistic thoughts of morning sex also seemed to have gone.

  ‘I guess work calls,’ she said, distance again present in her voice.

  If Andrew couldn’t still feel the imprint of her teeth against his shoulder, he would have figured he was also mistaken in the memory of the breathy way she had said his name as he came.

  He was leaving her behind and the woman was not best pleased, but with the scent of her on his body, Andrew wasn’t going to allow that distance to stand.

  ‘Make sure you stay under the shower for at least twenty minutes today,’ he instructed. ‘The heat helps the bruising and muscle soreness.’

  Andrew picked up his t-shirt but didn’t even bother to put it on. He leant down and with his mouth bit her very controlled lower lip. ‘Glad we finally got to fuck and next time I’ll add enough time to the alarm so I’ll be able to make you scream before I have to leave.’

  Those words were enough to startle a laugh out of the still sleep-mussed Kate. The sight of her sitting naked in her bed, smiling at his words, was enough to make Andrew really wish that his job didn’t actually involve saving lives, which tended to make taking a sickie very, very morally wrong.

  ‘The patient is trapped under the four-wheeler. No rollbar so the caller at the scene thinks that head injuries are serious…’

  Andrew hated the look in Kate’s eyes when the call came through for a mission. She was focused when giving them the information about the rescue scenario, but it didn’t take a genius to realize she resented not going with them in the air. She had been back at work for two weeks now and light duties were grating even if she didn’t complain.