Ryan lay beside her, shielding her from the sparkling sun shining in her eyes as he held her prisoner, arms above her head. “Wanna make love?” he asked cheekily, his eyes smiling into hers.
"Oh sure, surrounded with hundreds of holiday makers. Besides, I think it might be a little cold even for a superman like you,” she teased.
He laughed as he dusted some snow from her cheek. “Wait until tonight and I'll show you what superman can do,” he whispered with an exaggerated leer.
"I don't think I can wait that long,” Tara replied and watched the amusement fade from Ryan's eyes to be replaced by a look of passionate longing.
"You're one sexy woman, do you know that?” Ryan covered her mouth with his, their breath mingling in the cold air as she responded, wrapping her arms around him.
"How about we give the skiing lesson a miss?” He gave a wicked grin and Tara couldn't resist touching his sensual lips with a gloved hand.
She wiggled from beneath him and scrambled up, brushing the powdered snow from her clothes. “Uh—uh. You promised you'd teach me. Other things will have to wait,” she said, wagging a finger at him where he still lay in the snow.
"Can we play angels then?” he asked with a plaintive expression as he moved his arms and legs on the snow creating a pattern of wings.
Tara gazed down at him, her eyes full of love. This was the man who had let her heart soar as they had made love last night not once, but many times. He had been tender, yet passionate, gentle yet exciting. It had given her the confidence she had lost and he had asked for nothing in return. Her tender heart had opened to him and she'd blossomed under his silken caresses. Ryan had made her feel beautiful and needed and in return, she had given him her trust and if he did but know it, her love.
Looking at him now laughing up at her, all of his troubles wiped away for a brief while, she could see the relaxed, fun-loving person he must have been before Carol so cruelly left him. Now she was seeking to destroy him by taking Emma and Ben. What if he lost the children? How would he cope? He had a dark, dangerous side to him and she didn't think his future life without the children would include a new wife.
"What are you thinking?” Ryan stood up, shaking the snow from his clothes. “You have a far away look in your eyes."
She basked in the warmth of his brown eyes and spontaneously reached to kiss him. “I was thinking you look like a weird sort of snowman,” she smiled, her eyes shining with mischief.
"Right, for that you will be punished! We're going to the beginners’ slopes and I'll count how many times you fall on your bum."
Ryan had arranged that morning to hire ski gear for Tara. They made their way to the beginners’ slopes where she rather apprehensively allowed Ryan to fasten her skis. She felt better when she saw how many learners there were, most of them struggling with this new skill.
Ryan couldn't help laughing when Tara valiantly tried to stay upright and instead clung to him for dear life. He realised that he wanted to use every opportunity to touch and hold her. For almost the first time since she had arrived at Glenroy Crossing, Tara was totally relaxed, enjoying the atmosphere and giggling at the most ridiculous things.
He thought of how passionate she had been in his arms last night. After she had conquered her nervousness, she had burned with a hunger for him that was insatiable. He frowned. Or would she have been like that with any man? Had she been like that with this man who had hurt her and destroyed her confidence? Jealousy bit deeply into him at the thought of another man touching her breasts, kissing her thighs, making her beg for her ultimate sexual release.
He wisely hadn't asked about her past relationships again. Sure, he'd tried to prize some information from her at dinner but she'd clammed up. Still, there would be time enough, he thought smiling as Tara and an older woman clung to each other, both shrieking as they lost control of their wayward skis. Tara was his wife and she had welcomed him into her arms. That's what mattered. Now, with her help, he would line up for the battle of his life and that was to keep his kids.
* * * *
"I'm aching all over,” Tara sighed ruefully as they sat in the restaurant for dinner that evening.
"You should have let me take you to bed this afternoon and given you a massage.” Ryan's eyes glinted with humour before he turned to order champagne from the waiter.
Tara made a funny grimace. “Yes, well I didn't realise we were going to get caught up. But those people were nice."
Ryan nodded his agreement. They had made friends with the older woman and her husband from the beginners’ session and had ended up having lunch and spending the afternoon with them.
"Good things are worth waiting for.” Ryan lifted his glass in a salute to her and Tara laughed as she clinked her glass against his.
"Tell me what you're going to do to me?” she asked, lowering her voice conspiratorially.
"Well, I'll fill the spa bath."
"Yes."
"Then I'll undress you very slowly, kissing and touching every part of you.
"Go on."
"Then I'll lift you into the spa and soap every inch of you. Afterwards, I'll dry you with warm, fluffy towels and lay you on the bed."
Tara took a swallow of champagne. She could feel herself growing hot as Ryan's soft, deep voice continued to woo her.
"I'll massage you with a special cream, making sure I get to all those aching, beautiful muscles. When you're nice and relaxed, I'll lick my way through the cream to paradise."
"Ryan!” Tara looked shocked. “What sort of cream are you talking about?"
He grinned. “I thought one of those really high in fat frothy creams that you have with strawberries,” he teased, ducking as Tara threw her serviette at him.
* * * *
Later that evening, Ryan came close to following his sensual scenario except they were both so aroused that Ryan had barely closed the bedroom door before they began to tear off their clothes and tumbled onto the bed.
"Do you know how much I wanted you out there in the snow this morning, Tara Wade?” Ryan lay with Tara on top of him, both of them recovering from their frenzied lovemaking.
"And do you know how much I wanted you this afternoon when that waitress kept flirting with you, Ryan Wade?” Tara replied, kissing and stroking his chest.
"And do you know I nearly lost it and lunged for you across the dinner table, particularly at the look on your face when I mentioned strawberries and cream?"
Tara laughed, leaning over him so that her long hair created a silken cocoon around his head. Ryan threaded his hands through it, his eyes studying her face feature by feature as if he was transferring them to memory. Tara blushed with embarrassment at such close scrutiny and her lashes lowered.
"Look at me, Tara.” Ryan's voice was soft but demanding.
Tara forced herself to meet Ryan's eyes.
"Are you still shy with me?"
"Only when you look at me like that. I know I'm not as lovely as Carol or indeed, lots of the women you must know, and it makes me self-conscious."
Ryan made a strange sound in his throat and then kissed her with great tenderness. “I don't care about other women. I don't care about looks. You are perfect just the way you are."
"I'm too thin."
"Tara, stop demeaning yourself. In fact, I've noticed you seem to have put on a couple of kilos.” Ryan smiled as he kissed her again.
"You know how to make a woman feel special, don't you? Did they teach you that at Med School?"
"No. But they did teach me that one must always follow up on diagnosis and treatment so—I think it is time to have that spa."
* * * *
It was late morning the next day before they got to the ski slopes. They had slept in and decided, upon waking, to have brunch in their room. Tara's aches and pains had eased after Ryan's avid attention to detail on the previous night, although he had refrained from using cream but rather massaged her with perfumed oil which Tara had found extraordinarily sensual.
>
Her spirits rose when Ryan suggested she could go on the pill rather than him using protection. “Do you mind?” he had asked.
"No. I've been on the pill before.” She could have bitten out her tongue when Ryan levelled a strange look at her. Still, she had been engaged to be married. Surely Ryan would understand that? But it gave her hope that perhaps he saw their relationship as longer term.
She wondered how long the custody case would take and was torn with the agony of knowing that their marriage would then be over. Ryan had kept his promise and the day prior to the wedding had handed her a legal document stating that the marriage could be terminated by either party on the outcome of the custody case.
"Do you mind if I have a couple of hours skiing on the other slopes?” Ryan asked. They stood outside of the resort on another glorious gold and blue morning, the sun reflecting blindingly on the crisp snow.
"Absolutely not,” Tara replied, resisting the urge to lean into his arms. She wanted him every moment of the day and night. She was obsessed with him. “Ruth has asked me to have a coffee with her in the Balcony Café."
Ryan glanced along the outside café area where Ruth was comfortably seated and gave her a wave. “Okay, but make sure you've got sun cream on. You'll get easily burnt in this weather."
"Yes, Doctor.” Tara gave him a playful punch on the arm and Ryan grabbed her, pulling her close to him.
"I'll miss you,” he murmured, pressing a kiss on her soft mouth.
"Me too. Be careful,” Tara replied, her heart pounding at his nearness.
Ruth and she spent a pleasant hour drinking coffee and chatting idly. Ruth's husband had walked down to the village in the valley to “buy me a surprise for our wedding anniversary,” Ruth declared gleefully.
Tara closed her eyes and was almost dozing in the sun, lulled by its warmth, when she was jolted from her relaxed state by raised voices from the foyer area. Then one of the receptionists was running towards her.
"Mrs. Wade, do you know where your husband is? There's been an accident on the mountain and they need medical help."
Tara shot upright in her chair, the blood draining from her face. “What sort of accident?” she breathed, feeling strangely calm although her stomach had clenched into a tight knot. “My ... my husband is already up there skiing."
"One of the cables holding the chair lifts has snapped and two chairs have fallen. Others are hanging, just stuck in mid-air."
Both Tara and Ruth had risen to their feet horror written across their faces. “Are people hurt?” Tara almost shook her as the girl's eyes filled with tears.
"Yes, we think so. The ski patrols are on their way and the emergency services have been called."
"Let them take me up there,” Tara demanded. “I'm a nurse and I'll bring my husband's medical kit."
The next few minutes passed in a frenzy of activity as Tara raced to their room and grabbed Ryan's medical bag, plus a couple of blankets. The receptionist must have told one of the ski patrols what was happening because a man was waiting for her, revving up his snow mobile at the ready.
Clutching the kit, Tara held on for dear life as they took off in the powerful vehicle, making good progress across the snowy terrain heading towards the upper slopes of the resort.
Please, oh please, don't let Ryan be hurt, she prayed. Ahead, she could see four other ski patrols racing across the snow.
Tara gaped at the sight that met her eyes as they drew close. The chair lift, which normally carried the skiers to the summit, stood eerily silent as chairs hung languidly in the still air. One of the huge cables dangled to the ground where a chair had crashed, lying in a tangled mess. Another chair was balanced at a precarious angle about a hundred feet about the ground with two skiers clinging desperately to their seats. She could hear the cries and calls from the other skiers trapped in mid-air, afraid that they might also tumble to the earth.
"Let Ryan be safe,” she muttered aloud as she and her driver ran towards the chair on the ground. It was surrounded by the ski patrol officers in their bright red and black uniforms with large white crosses on their backs.
As they parted to allow her in, she nearly collapsed with relief as she saw Ryan kneeling beside one of the injured people. He looked up as she flung herself beside him already undoing the medical bag.
"Are you all right, Ryan?” she gasped, all fingers and thumbs in her haste as she studied the extent of the man's injuries.
"Yep. I was skiing nearby and saw the accident,” he replied, giving her a brief, tight smile.
"Can we help you, Doctor?” one of the ski patrol officers asked. “I'm Jack and we're all trained in advanced emergency care,” he said, nodding to his colleagues.
Ryan was still examining the unconscious man but began to issue orders as he continued to work. “Right. There are three people on the ground. I've already examined the woman over there and she's dead. This man is suffering a serious head wound, which is my priority. Don't move the child there. I think she has a broken back. Just get her warm for now."
"Yes, Doc. We have emergency rescue on the way to try and get those people down.” He nodded to the two clinging to the chair which was hanging by what appeared to be a strand of steel cable.
"You need to shout up and reassure everyone that they're going to be okay,” Ryan urged.
Turning, he glanced at Tara. “Work with me, sweetheart. His airway is clear but his pulse is erratic. I need a compression bandage for this head wound."
Tara didn't speak but quietly followed Ryan's directions, placing a wad and bandage in his outstretched hand.
"Check his blood pressure.” Ryan pressed the pad against the gaping wound and bandaged over it, holding it tightly in place as Tara managed to check.
"One hundred over sixty."
"Okay. Let's get a line in."
Tara shivered with the cold as the sun went behind a cloud. She handed Ryan a cannula, and he placed it in the top of his patient's hand and attached a saline bag.
"Good. Jack, can you wrap this guy in thermal blankets? He's lucky; I can't locate any other injuries except where he's hit his head. The snow cushioned his fall."
Ryan and Tara gathered the medical equipment to move over to a small girl lying a few feet away. She looked about twelve years old.
"Did the woman hit those rocks?” Tara whispered, glancing at the layered ridge of jagged rocks behind them.
"Yes. She didn't stand a chance. But that bloke and, hopefully, this little one are going to make it.” Ryan knelt by the child who was already covered in thermal blankets. She moaned softly.
"Hello, sweetie. I'm Ryan. What's your name?"
"Erin. Are my Mum and Dad all right?” the girl asked anxiously.
"We're looking after them, Erin.” Tara broke in, blinking back the tears as she realised the dead woman must be Erin's mother.
"I want to examine you, Erin, and then we'll get you to hospital. You're going to be fine,” Ryan added, as his hands gently ran over the child's body and limbs.
Ryan and Tara worked side by side, Tara checking Erin's blood pressure and setting up a drip.
"Have you got a board and a collar, Jack?” Ryan shouted and Jack quickly produced them from his emergency snow mobile.
"Three rescue helicopters are on the way. ETA five minutes,” he reported.
Ryan nodded as he carefully fastened the collar around Erin's neck. “These two patients need to be air lifted as soon as we can,” he said, swearing softly as they levered the back board under Erin's slight body causing her to scream in pain.
"Can you prep a low level morphine shot, Tara? This kid is really going to feel it when we have to winch her to the helicopter,” he said in Tara's ear.
As he spoke, there was an ominous creaking sound above them. Tara looked up, along with everyone else, as the chair suddenly fell another fifty or so feet, jerking to a halt with the two desperate skiers still clinging for their lives.
"Doctor! Miss! Get back! That thing
is going to fall directly on you,” Jack shouted, panic in his voice.
"Get out of the way, Tara,” Ryan yelled.
"No! We can move the child,” Tara cried, rapidly pulling the straps across Erin's body, fastening her securely to the board.
"Move it, Tara!” Ryan lunged across the distance between them and threw Tara backwards in the snow. He then grabbed the stretcher and lifted it away. He was just in time as the chair lift crashed down on the spot where they had been kneeling seconds ago.
"God Almighty!” Ryan turned and saw that Tara was unharmed as she got up shakily from where Ryan had thrown her.
Everyone rushed to the two skiers, both of whom had jumped clear as the chair had plummeted the last few feet.
Ryan stopped to check Erin as Tara crawled over beside him. “Give her the morphine, Tara,” he said with a quick, reassuring smile at her. “I'll check the two guys who have just landed in our laps."
Tara soothed Erin, who was now crying softly. “This will make you feel nice and sleepy and when you wake up you'll be safe and warm in hospital,” she said, smiling at the young girl as she injected the pain killing drug.
It was only a couple of minutes later and Ryan was back at her side.
"How are they?” she asked, screwing up her face as she prepared for the worst.
"Both fine, believe it or not. They are two athletic young men who, by some sort of miracle, landed safely in the soft snow. One has a sprained ankle, which I've strapped. The other is okay except for a few soft tissues injuries. Both are in shock."
"Thank God they survived.” Tara looked up as the sound of helicopters filled the air.
"You stay with Erin and I'll supervise her Dad's retrieval. And her Mum's,” Ryan added, his expression grim.
It was three hours later and beginning to get dark before Ryan and Tara returned to the resort. They had seen their patients carefully winched up to the retrieval helicopters to be flown to hospital and had then watched anxiously as rescue teams in helicopters plucked scared and cold skiers from their perilous positions on the crippled chair lifts. Ryan and Tara, along with the emergency crews, had treated many of the skiers for shock and some for mild hypothermia. By the time the last person was seen the area had become a circus with the arrival of media units, mixing with police, ambulance and other emergency personnel.
Wade's Woman Page 9