A Doctor to Heal Her Heart

by Annie Claydon

  ‘There are some things that you can’t work out in advance.’

  The sheer audacity of it made him chuckle. ‘Who are you? And what have you done with Sam?’

  She turned her beautiful eyes up to meet his gaze. ‘She’s okay. Busy working out her next move. She’s wasting her time...’

  ‘You think so?’

  ‘Yes, I do. Sometimes you just have to take a step in the dark.’

  In respect of pretty much everything else, he’d be the first to agree. ‘I’m not much good as a lover, Sam.’

  ‘Really?’ She laid a finger on his chest, her touch seeming to burn through the fabric of his shirt. ‘Would that be in the emotional sense or the physical?’

  She was taunting him now, and a man’s ego could only take so much. Euan kissed her, giving it everything that he had, until his body screamed and hers melted. ‘You can push a guy too far...’ His voice didn’t sound like his own. It was gruff, demanding. The kind of voice that took what it wanted, whatever the consequences.

  Fire sparked in her grey eyes. ‘Yes, I know. You think I can’t handle this?’

  That was exactly what he’d been thinking. ‘You’re a strong woman, Sam. But—’

  ‘Then don’t second-guess me. I know who you are, and I know who I am. And I know what I want.’ Her hips rolled against his, and for a moment Euan lost the ability to focus. ‘Seems like you want it too.’

  He twisted her round, imprisoning her against the fridge. ‘No rules, Sam. No promises. We take it slow and easy.’

  ‘Yeah. Slow and easy sounds good to me.’ She took his hand and laid it over her breast. A perfect fit. Euan took his time, exploring the various ways he could make her gasp, indulging his senses with how much she wanted him.

  ‘Will you...?’

  She kissed him and in that moment he knew the answer to all his unspoken questions. It was a big, beautiful yes.

  * * *

  He wanted to undress her. Which was just fine with Sam, because that was exactly what she wanted too. Carefully, he undid each button of her blouse and slipped it from her shoulders. Slid his hands across the silk and lace of her bra, and then turned his attention to her skirt.

  She batted his hands away. ‘Hey. Hey, you too.’

  He grinned, pulling his shirt open with considerably less care than he’d taken over her. She tugged at the belt of his trousers, and they joined his shirt on the bedroom floor.

  ‘Now you.’ He slid his hand past the hem of her skirt, and upwards until he found the top of her stockings. ‘Mmm. I’ve been wondering all morning...’

  His eyes were shockingly tender. Dark with desire and wicked and exquisitely teasing. His free hand adroitly unhooked the waistband of her skirt, drawing the zip down, steadying her as she stepped out of it.

  Sam put her hand up to the back of her head, but his was already there. Carefully removing the pins, twisting the long coil of hair around his hand, as if measuring its strength and thickness, then finally disentangling the elastic loop and smoothing her hair around her shoulders. She shook her head and an inarticulate growl of approval escaped his throat.

  There was no need to ask whether he liked what he saw. His lips moved against the skin of her neck, his hands following the silk route that led from her hips to between her legs. Laying her down on the bed, he slowly began to peel her stockings off, caressing her legs, kissing her toes.

  ‘Be careful.’ She murmured the words, her hand drifting to his side. The dark red line that sliced across his ribs, seemed so much better than it had on Sunday evening but she couldn’t really tell.

  ‘I’m okay.’ He stood up, slipping his boxer shorts down. ‘I’d far rather you concentrated on the task in hand.’

  He was beautiful, strong and muscular, and if his words had left her in any doubt about how badly he wanted her, his body was unequivocal. He lay down beside her, measuring the length of his body against hers. And then, as the heat built between them, there was no more me or I or him. Just we and us. Together.

  She could feel sweat at the small of her back, soaking into the sheet beneath her. Skin against skin. The soft erotic slide, as a film of perspiration covered her limbs. His gentle, insistent hands, and the heat of his body.

  He slowed a little when her body jerked convulsively in response to his caress.

  ‘Hold me...’ Her words were instinctive, as unexpected as the movement of her limbs had been. Something seemed to have taken hold of her, dictating her responses before she had a chance to think them through.

  ‘I’ve got you.’ She was in his arms, warm and safe. He smoothed her hair back, making way for his lips to brush her forehead. ‘I can’t let you go now.’

  ‘Are you sure?’

  He kissed her, letting the slow, gentle rhythm send the temperature up close to boiling point.

  ‘It’s about the only thing I am sure of.’

  He was as lost as she was. Both making it up as they went along, and in the bright fire of his embrace that seemed blissfully right. Each movement a reply to the last. Each sigh a promise for the next.

  The woman who planned everything, always calculated her next move, melted away. There was only Euan, and he was making love to someone who was a stranger to Sam. Someone who gave herself up to the moment, made each one last, in case the next should be too much to bear. But somehow it wasn’t. He took her to the very edge of a scream, and then flung her past that, into a world where only sensation mattered, making it last until they were both trembling with the force of the climax that had fused them together in long moments of fiery release.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  THEY MIGHT HAVE been twisted together on the bed like this for some time. Maybe it was just minutes, but if it was, they were minutes when every second felt like something new minted, softly ticking away in the silence. Euan shifted slightly, and she heard him catch his breath.

  ‘You okay?’ Sam gently disentangled her limbs from his and sat up, leaning over to inspect the wound on his side.

  ‘A lot better than okay.’ He wound his fingers around the back of her neck in a sign that he wanted a kiss instead of her concern, and she resisted him.

  ‘Stop it. Let me see.’

  A resigned breath, and he rolled over slightly, letting her inspect the gash on his side. ‘There. Does it look okay.’

  ‘Yes, I think so.’

  ‘Is it bleeding?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Then it’s okay.’ This time he didn’t take no for an answer, and pulled her back for a kiss. ‘It just catches me sometimes. There’s nothing to worry about.’

  ‘You think I shouldn’t worry about you?’

  He chuckled. ‘Just a little maybe. You can plump a few pillows if it makes you feel better.’

  Sam rolled her eyes, pulling him upright and arranging the pillows behind his back. ‘There. Is that more comfortable?’

  ‘Much. And you could kiss me. Just here.’ He laid a finger on his jaw.

  ‘There?’ Sam bent to kiss him, right on the spot he’d indicated.

  ‘Up a bit.’

  She kissed him again.

  ‘To the left perhaps.’

  Sam brushed her lips against his cheek then ran her tongue around the edge of his ear.

  ‘Yeah. Nice touch. Come here.’ He made a spot for her, curled in the warmth of his arms.

  ‘Anything else?’

  ‘I’m making a mental list. Just working on relative priorities. Dependencies.’ His lips curled with still-hungry humour.

  ‘Oh, so you were listening? When we ran through the timetabling the other day.’ She trailed one finger across his chest and then downwards to the flat sheet of muscle over his stomach.

  ‘I always listen...’

  ‘And then you go ahead
and do whatever you were going to do in the first place.’ She nudged him gently.

  ‘That’s not quite true.’ He ran his hand across her breast, drawing a gasp. ‘I listen...’ The next caress came from his lips, and Sam squirmed with pleasure. ‘And I modify my approach...’

  ‘Like this?’ She returned the gesture and he caught his breath.

  ‘Yeah. Just like that.’

  It was a delicious novelty to feel that he loved every minute of it when she made free with his body. All of the urgency was gone now, but none of the desire. Talking, kissing. Letting the afternoon slide gently away.

  ‘Your skin is so soft...’ His touch had worked its way lazily down her spine, and he spread his fingers, as if measuring the curve of her hips. Soft and gentle began to give way to possessive, and he rolled onto his back, pulling her on top of him, guiding her body so that she was straddling him.

  ‘I thought you liked being in control.’

  ‘I love being in control.’ His eyes teased her. ‘So do you.’

  She dipped for a kiss. His lips were cool against hers. ‘Then this is all for you.’ She wanted to please him. Wanted more than anything to feel him inside her again, and to make him roar with pleasure.

  ‘But I was looking forward to watching you...’ There was no one else in the room, but he whispered the words into her ear. ‘I want to see you move.’

  It seemed unbearably intimate. Having him watch while she took her own pleasure. If he hadn’t been so tender, it would have been impossible. Sam reached for the open box of condoms on the bedside table and he grinned, holding out his hand to take the foil packet from her.

  ‘I’m supposed to be in control here, remember?’ She batted him away and unwrapped the foil package.

  ‘Whatever you say.’ He was grinning, his eyes darker suddenly when she touched him. ‘Did you know that you put your tongue out when you’re concentrating? Oh...’ He groaned when she sank down onto him.

  ‘And you have a crease...’ she ran her finger across his forehead ‘...just there.’

  ‘I’m concentrating on taking in the view.’ His hands rested lightly on her waist. Waiting for her to make the next move.

  Her courage deserted her. What if...? There were so many unknown ways in which she might fail him.

  ‘You’re frowning.’ One finger tapped lightly on her skin, as if to draw her attention to the fact that he was there. ‘Stop thinking...’

  Easier said than done. And then she looked into his eyes. Warm and loving, accepting her for what she was. Asking for nothing else. As she slowly started to move he encouraged her with words and caresses. His body grew harder, hotter, and she knew now that she could satisfy him.

  Everything that she wanted was what he wanted, too. When her orgasm finally started to bloom, pulsating in ever stronger waves of pleasure, it was Euan who groaned, gripping her waist tight. She held onto him, fingers digging into the muscle of his shoulders. Here and now. This was all there was.

  * * *

  It was late in the evening by the time they had eaten and got back on the road again. The sea was like a moving expanse of glittering flint as Sam drove along the promenade. ‘I don’t want you to take this the wrong way.’ She’d been wondering how to ask him for the last five miles, and had got no closer to a resolution.

  ‘I’ll take it any way you want me to. What is it?’

  ‘Do you mind if I go back to the flat tonight?’

  She could feel him watching her and she kept her eye on the road in front of her. ‘Yeah, I mind. But I’d mind a lot more if you didn’t let me know what you wanted.’

  ‘I just...’ She couldn’t explain it. Sam felt almost raw after that afternoon. As if he’d peeled off her protective layer and the world could hurt her now.

  ‘Need some space? That’s okay.’

  ‘Yeah. Thanks.’

  When she drew up outside the office he got out, opening the driver’s door of the car for her. Walked her to the door and kissed her.

  ‘I’m sorry...’

  He laid his finger over her lips. ‘Never be sorry. Not for anything we did today.’

  ‘No. I’m not. Would it be okay if I dreamt of you?’

  Euan chuckled. ‘I think I’m going to insist that you do. I want a full report in the morning.’

  He waited until she was inside, and Sam watched through the window as he walked to his car and got into it. He was everything that she wanted. All the love and acceptance that she could ever handle. She just had to get over the nagging feeling that she didn’t deserve this.

  * * *

  She’d really thought that she might dream of Euan tonight, but she didn’t. It appeared that whatever had happened during the day, there was still no such thing as forgiveness during the hours of darkness.

  Sam woke with an overwhelming feeling of guilt. How had Sally turned to drugs for help in coping when Sam had been there all along? The answer was the same as it had always been. She had been there, but she’d been absorbed in her work. And now she was neglecting that work, as if it were nothing, in favour of doing the things that she and Sal had talked about but that Sal had never got around to doing. Finding the right man. Falling in love.

  Maybe this was survivor guilt. Maybe it didn’t matter what it was called. Experience told Sam that by the time she’d showered and dressed, the claws of the night would have released her, and she’d be ready to face the day.

  * * *

  Euan’s side felt a little stiff, but nothing that the walk to work wouldn’t take care of. His body had still been humming with remembered pleasure when he’d woken up that morning, but he’d woken up alone. He checked his phone, wondering vaguely if she might have called, picked up his keys and wallet, and headed for the front door, a trickle of dread grasping at his heart. He’d given Sam her space, but what if she thought that gave her the right to leave without a word, the way that Marie had done?

  They met on the doorstep. She was dressed all in white in a lacy top and white linen trousers. He could see the curve of her body, the soft skin that only yesterday he’d felt he had a right to touch. Now he wasn’t so sure.

  She smiled. ‘I was just on my way to the office. Thought I’d call in and collect you.’

  ‘It’s a bit of a detour.’

  She nodded, and took a step closer. He waited. When she stood on her toes, he bent to meet her, taking her into his arms as she pressed her lips against his. ‘Worth it, though. Good morning, sweetheart.’

  Euan could almost hear the drip-drip of all his fears melting away in the sunshine. ‘Mmm. That’s a good way to start the day.’

  He pulled the door to behind him, and she fell into step beside him as Euan shortened his stride. It seemed natural to put his arm around her shoulders as they walked, and she looped her thumb around his belt at the small of his back.

  ‘What’s the plan for today?’

  ‘I still have some work to do on your website. I thought I’d do that today, and stay over until next week to finish off the database configuration.’

  He grinned. London was only ninety minutes’ drive away, but this was still very new. He wanted her here, for another few days at least, so they could find out where it was going. But from the tone of the email that had pinged into his inbox this morning...

  ‘Have you checked your emails yet?’

  The blank look on her face told him that she hadn’t. He should let her do that before he extracted any promises from her with regard to the weekend. He’d only skimmed The Centre’s email, but the paragraph that talked about sharing information and comparing notes on implementation had left him in no doubt about their decision concerning Sam’s software.

  ‘You haven’t, have you? You’re going to tell me that you came to see me, without stopping to check your emails first...’ He t
wisted to face her, walking backwards along the pavement in front of her.

  ‘I...’ She was trying to avoid his gaze.

  He stopped walking, suddenly enough that she almost bumped into him. ‘Go on. Say it.’

  ‘Okay, so I wanted to see you. I haven’t checked my emails. What’s the big deal?’

  They both knew it was a huge deal. Sam didn’t go anywhere without checking her emails first, and this morning Euan had knocked that task from the top of her list of priorities.

  He resisted the impulse to punch the air and decided he should be magnanimous in victory. ‘You’ll see. Perhaps we should talk about our plans for the weekend after you’ve got around to that.’

  She slid one finger behind the buckle of his belt. Just one finger, and every nerve in his body quivered. She had that power. ‘What do you know that I don’t?’

  ‘Nothing... Nothing. Not that I can say, anyway. We take confidentiality very seriously in this business.’

  ‘Give me your phone.’

  Euan chuckled. ‘You mean you’ve come out without your phone as well?’

  ‘It’s in the office. I didn’t think I was going to be long...’ She stepped closer, stretching up as if to kiss him. ‘Give it to me...’

  ‘What for?’ He’d stretch this delicious torture out as long as he could. Euan reckoned he had a good thirty seconds more before he reached the limits of his endurance.

  ‘So I can get onto the internet and see my mail.’ She reached around behind him, pulling his phone out of his back pocket. ‘You should password your phone, you know. Anyone could get hold of the information on it.’

  He chuckled. Her body was pressed against his still, and she was thumbing the screen of his phone. He was enjoying this a little too much... ‘It wouldn’t matter if they did. It may be a smartphone, but I’m not smart enough to use it for anything other than calls.’

  She rolled her eyes, and resumed her scrutiny of the small screen of his phone. Then she caught her breath. ‘Yes!’

  ‘Got it?’

  She turned her shining eyes up towards him. ‘The Centre wants my software... You knew that, didn’t you?’