Molly got to her feet and rinsed her mouth under the flowing water before trailing her hands over his chest. ‘Good?’ she asked.
‘Where the hell did you learn to do that?’ he asked in a husky rasp.
‘Instinct,’ she said. ‘You bring out the wild woman in me.’
He put his hands on her hips and brought her against him. ‘You’re incredible,’ he said.
She turned in his arms and wiggled her behind against him. ‘Scrub my back for me?’
He pumped a handful of shower gel from the dispenser on the wall and smoothed it over her back and shoulders. He used slow, stroking movements, caressing all the way down to the dip in her spine. She shuddered in pleasure as he trailed a finger down the crease of her bottom. She shifted her legs apart to give him better access and shuddered again when he found the swollen, pulsing heart of her. She gasped as he played with her, teasing her, taking her to the brink before backing off.
‘Please...’ Molly leant her weight against the shower wall in front of her. ‘Oh, please...’
‘You like that?’ he said as he brushed against her from behind.
She shivered as she felt his erection between her legs, every pore of her skin intensely aware of him. ‘Yes, oh, yes,’ she said.
He guided himself between her parted thighs, rubbing against her, letting her know he was about to mount her but letting her have full control. The sensation of him entering her from behind was wildly, wickedly erotic. There was a primitive aspect to it as he finally possessed her, his groin flush against her buttocks, his thighs braced around hers as he started thrusting, gently at first but slowly building momentum.
Molly was lost within seconds. She tumbled headfirst into a whirlpool of such intense pleasure she was gasping and sobbing with it as it rumbled through her. The tight convulsions of her body triggered his release. She felt him pump himself empty, his hands holding her hips with a tight, almost fiercely possessive hold.
His whole body gave a shiver, and then he slowly turned her round and pushed her wet hair back off her face, his eyes dark and intense as they met hers. ‘Still want to be on your own to sulk and brood?’ he asked.
Molly put her hands on his chest and raised her mouth for his kiss. ‘What do you think?’
CHAPTER ELEVEN
MOLLY DIDN’T KNOW if it was because she was so busy with work and organising the dinner dance that time felt like it was set on fast forward, but suddenly it was the day of the dance and she had only three weeks left of her post at St Patrick’s.
She had taken the day before the event off to be at Lucas’s house to help Gina with the final clean and polish before the flowers and decorations were delivered. The ballroom looked amazing by the time Saturday evening came around.
When Emma dropped by with the after-dinner chocolates a London chocolatier had donated, she gasped in wonderment when Molly led her in to see her handiwork. ‘It’s like something out of a fairy-tale,’ she said turning around to look at the black and white helium-filled balloons festooned in giant bunches with satin ribbons dangling in curling tails.
‘Uh-oh,’ Molly said as Mittens made a grab for one of the ribbon tails. She scooped him up out of harm’s way and hugged him close to her chest.
‘Isn’t he adorable?’ Emma said, reaching to give him a pat.
‘He’s a little mischief maker, that’s what he is,’ Molly said. ‘He’s been unstoppable since he got his cast off.’
‘Are you going to take him back with you to Sydney when you go?’ Emma asked.
Molly felt the all too familiar pang seize her at the thought of leaving. She took Mittens to the entrance of the ballroom and closed the door to keep him out before she answered. ‘I was hoping Lucas might keep him. But nothing’s been decided as yet.’
Emma began to chew at her lower lip with her teeth. ‘I was kind of hoping you and Lucas were going to stay together...’ She looked at Molly and blushed. ‘To be honest, I didn’t feel like that at the beginning. I feel embarrassed about it now, but I think I was a bit in love with him myself. I suppose it was more of a crush really. But, then, I think a lot a patients fall in love with their doctors. My mum said she fell in love with her obstetrician, her GP and her dentist. I think falling in love with the dentist was taking it a bit far but anyway...’
Molly smiled wryly. ‘I’ve had a few crushes over the years myself.’
‘The thing is...’ Emma continued. ‘Dr Banning needs someone like you. You understand the stress and strain he’s under because you experience it yourself. You probably think it’s none of my business and I shouldn’t be so impertinent to comment on your and his private life, but these last few weeks I feel I’ve got to know you. You love him, don’t you?’
Molly gave her a bitter-sweet smile. ‘Of course I do,’ she said. ‘But sometimes loving someone is not enough.’
‘How can it not be enough?’ Emma asked. ‘Love is supposed to conquer all.’
‘Lucas isn’t ready to commit to a relationship,’ Molly said. ‘I can’t force him to be ready. He has to do that in his own time.’ If he ever does, she thought with a crippling pain around her heart.
‘But he loves you,’ Emma said. ‘I know he does. It’s so obvious. His eyes light up when you walk into the room. And he actually smiles now. He never used to do that before. It must be love.’
Molly wanted to believe her, but Emma was like a lot of young girls caught up in the romantic fantasy of seeing what she wanted to see.
Did Lucas love her?
She had thought so, but if he truly did why wouldn’t he promise her the future with him she wanted so much?
* * *
Lucas had planned to help Molly with the preparations for the dinner dance but a new patient had come in with severe pancreatitis. He had been caught up with putting in a central line to the forty-eight-year-old man and managing his treatment. Time had slipped away, which it had a rather frightening habit of doing just lately.
As each day came to a close he felt a sickening feeling assail him. He would lie awake for hours with Molly asleep beside him, wondering how he was going to find the strength to let her go. He had thought about it from every angle but he always came to the same conclusion’she was better off without him.
He was concerned that she hadn’t spoken to her father since that phone call when Jack Drummond had issued an ultimatum. He knew how much it distressed her to have to choose between him and her family. He had seen relatives torn apart with guilt when an estranged loved one was suddenly taken ill or, even worse, died without being reunited with their family. He couldn’t bear to think of Molly having to live the rest of her life estranged from either one of her parents because of her involvement with him.
Her loyalty to him astounded him. And yet he couldn’t quite shake the feeling that he didn’t deserve it. He kept telling himself she would be better off with someone who didn’t have a road train of baggage dragging behind, but every time he thought of her with someone else he felt like a lead boot was stomping on his chest.
Only that day one of the senior surgeons had playfully elbowed him in the ribs and told him to put a ring on Molly’s finger before someone else did. Lucas had shrugged it off with an indifferent smile, but inside he’d been so knotted up he had scarcely been able to breathe.
How would he bear it? He’d already started to torture himself with how it might play out. He imagined how he would hear from one of his brothers that Molly had met some other guy’maybe another doctor’and was setting up a home and family with him. Maybe they would even send him photos of her wedding.
Dear God, how was he supposed to cope with that? His life had been pretty bleak before, but that would be taking it to a whole new level of misery.
He imagined the years passing... Molly would have a couple of kids, a little scrubby-kneed boy just
like Matt and a gorgeous little sunny-faced princess like herself.
The children he wanted to have with her.
He swallowed against the prickly tide of despair that filled his throat. Why did life have to be so hard, so cruel? Hadn’t he suffered enough, without life dumping more misery on his shoulders? He wanted to be normal again. How long ago that seemed! He had once been a normal kid with the same dreams and aspirations others had. Then fate had cut him from the herd and set him aside, marking him as different.
There was no chance of a normal life now. It would never be normal. He had to make the most of what he had and be grateful he had it, because so many’just like Matt’didn’t even get the chance.
* * *
By the time Lucas came home from the hospital Molly was about to head upstairs to shower and dress for the dinner. He wished he could have spent the evening on his own with her rather than share her with a hundred or so people, but she was terribly excited about the money she and Emma were raising. He was proud of her. She had such a heart for people and the way she had mentored and supported Emma was a credit to her generous and giving nature.
‘Sorry I’m so late,’ Lucas said as he bent down to brush her lips with a kiss. ‘I would’ve been back ages ago but I had trouble putting in a central line on my last patient. Anything I can do to help?’
She gave him a smile but he noticed it was a little shaky around the edges. ‘No, it’s all under control.’ She crossed her fingers. ‘I think.’
He suddenly realised she was nervous about this evening. ‘Hey,’ he said, tipping up her face. ‘You’ve done a wonderful job. The house looks amazing. Tonight will be fabulous. Everyone is going to be super-impressed with your ability to put on a party to remember.’
Her grey-blue eyes looked misty all of a sudden. ‘Lucas...’ She blinked a couple of times and bit her lip and began to turn away. ‘Never mind...’
He stalled her with a hand on her arm. ‘No, tell me, what’s worrying you?’ he asked.
She looked up at him with a little frown pleating her forehead. ‘I want this to be a wonderful night for you too,’ she said. ‘I want you to enjoy it, not just to endure it for my sake.’
Lucas cupped her face and looked deep into her gaze. ‘If I can have the first and last dance and all the other ones in between with you then I will enjoy every single minute,’ he said. ‘Is it a deal?’
She smiled a smile that was like a blast of sunshine with just a few clouds floating around the edges. ‘It’s a deal.’
* * *
‘Great party, Lucas,’ Jacqui Hunter said as she scooped up a glass of fizzing champagne from a passing waiter. ‘Your house is amazing. You really are a dark horse, aren’t you? I didn’t know you were such a DIY expert.’
Lucas gave a loose shrug as he took a sip of his soda water. ‘It fills in the time.’
She waggled her brows at him. ‘Seems to me you might need to find yourself another big old run-down mansion to spruce up in a few weeks,’ she said. ‘You could end up with a lot of time on your hands.’
He tried to ignore the jab of pain around his heart. ‘Yeah, well, I’ve been looking around,’ he said.
‘Find anything?’
‘Not much.’
‘Didn’t think so,’ Jacqui said, glancing to where Molly was smiling up at one of the single anaesthetists. ‘A house like this is a once-in-a-lifetime sort of find, don’t you think?’
Lucas put his glass down on a side table. ‘Excuse me,’ he said. ‘I think someone’s cutting in on my next dance.’
Molly smiled at him he approached. ‘I thought you were going to stand me up,’ she said. ‘Tristan was going to fill in for you.’
Lucas gathered her up close and spun her away from the clot of other dancers. ‘Yes, well, he can get to the back of the queue,’ he said.
She gave him a teasing look. ‘Are you jealous?’
He pretended to glower at her. ‘When is this party going to be over?’ he asked.
She gave him a crestfallen look. ‘You’re not enjoying it, are you?’
He tapped her on the end of the nose with his finger. ‘I’m enjoying seeing you enjoy yourself,’ he said. ‘It’s a great party, not that I’m any judge. I can’t remember the last time I went to one.’
She touched his face with the velvet soft caress of her palm. ‘Maybe when it’s over we can have a party of our own,’ she said.
Lucas turned her out of the way of a rather enthusiastic couple who hadn’t quite figured out the timing on the waltz they were doing. ‘Sounds like a good plan,’ he said. ‘Do I need to bring anything?’
She stepped up on tiptoe and brushed his ear with the soft vibration of her lips. ‘Just you.’
* * *
Molly got the phone call just before coffee was served. She wouldn’t have heard her phone at all if it hadn’t been for Emma needing a sticky plaster for a blister she’d got while dancing with one of the handsome young residents from the hospital. She took Emma upstairs to the main bathroom and she heard her phone ringing in Lucas’s room on her way back.
She told Emma to go on without her, and quickly picked up the phone, with the intention of ignoring the call if it wasn’t the hospital or anyone important, but then she saw it was her mother. ‘Mum? You’re calling at an odd hour,’ she said. ‘Is everything all right?’
‘Oh, darling,’ her mother said. ‘I have some terrible news.’
Molly felt an icy hand grasp at her heart. ‘What’s happened?’
‘It’s your father,’ Margaret Drummond said. ‘He and Crystal have been in an accident. He’s OK apart from a broken ankle but Crystal has a ruptured placenta and’’
‘Oh, God,’ Molly gasped. ‘What about the baby?’
Her mother was trying to talk through sobs. ‘They had to do an emergency Caesarean. The baby’s in the neonatal unit. They’re not sure if he’s going to make it. The priest has been in to christen him. Poor Crystal...it’s just so awful. I don’t know what to do.’
‘Is she all right?’ Molly asked. ‘I mean physically?’
‘They had to do a transfusion but, yes, she’s out of danger now,’ Margaret said. ‘Your father is beside himself. Can you come home? I know I shouldn’t ask you but I can’t bear for you to be away at a time like this. Your father needs you right now. We all need you.’
‘Of course I’ll come,’ Molly said, already rushing to her previous room where her suitcase was stored in one of the built-in wardrobes. ‘I’ll book a flight tonight. Try not to panic. I’ll be there as soon as I can.’
Lucas appeared in the doorway a few minutes later just as Molly had turned on her laptop. ‘What are you doing, checking emails now?’ he said. ‘I thought you promised me the last dance and then a private party?’
She clutched at her face with both hands. ‘Oh, Lucas, I have to go home. I have to go right now.’
His brows came together. ‘Whatever for?’
‘My father and his wife were in an accident,’ she said. ‘Their baby had to be born via Caesarean, but he’s so premature he might not make it. I have to go to help them. I can’t be away from them at a time like this.’
‘Of course you must go,’ he said. ‘Here, let me make the flight booking for you. You start packing. Just take the minimum. I’ll send the rest of your stuff on later.’
Molly moved away from the computer and quickly changed into a travelling outfit. She started to pack, but she had barely tossed a change of clothes in the bag when she turned and looked at him. ‘Please come with me,’ she said. ‘Take some leave from the hospital and come with me.’
Another frown’deeper this time’appeared between his brows. ‘I can’t leave.’
‘Yes, you can,’ Molly said. ‘What if you were ill or something? They’d find someone else. I want you to
come with me. I need you to come with me.’
He got up from the computer. ‘I can’t come with you, Molly,’ he said.
Tears blurred her vision. ‘That’s because you don’t want to come with me,’ she said. ‘You don’t want to be with me’period. That’s why you jumped at the chance to book my flight. You can’t wait until I walk out that door for the very last time, can you?’
He went white with tension. ‘That’s not true,’ he said. ‘I’m merely trying to keep calm here. You’re upset and not thinking straight.’
‘Of course I’m upset!’ Molly said. ‘My father could’ve died tonight or tomorrow or whatever time it is there. Oh, God. I’ll never forgive myself. I should’ve called him back. I shouldn’t have been so stubborn. Now I might never get to meet my little brother.’
‘Darling,’ he said, and reached for her but she backed away.
‘How can you call me that?’ she asked. ‘I’m not your darling. I’m just a fill-in, just like I was with Simon.’
‘Now you really are talking rubbish,’ he said in a steely tone.
‘Am I?’ she asked, challenging him with her gaze. ‘Then come with me. Drop everything and come with me.’
A muscle beat like a maniacal hammer in his jaw. ‘I will not be issued with ultimatums,’ he said. ‘That is no way to conduct a relationship.’
‘Is that what we have’a relationship?’ she asked. ‘What we have is an arrangement. A housemates-with-benefits arrangement.’
‘You know it’s much more than that,’ he said with a brooding look.
Molly gave a scornful snort as she flung another couple of things in her bag. ‘Sure it is,’ she said. ‘That’s why my stuff is still in this room instead of in your room with yours. And that’s why you’re not packing a bag right this minute and coming with me.’
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