Falling at the Surgeon's Feet

by Lucy Ryder

  Enzo snorted but Holly just felt relieved that their attention had finally shifted away from her. She exhaled with a soundless whoosh and reached for what was obviously the non-virgin jug of mojitos. She was in the process of pouring herself a hefty drink when she realized everyone had gone silent and was staring at her like she’d announced she was an alien from a distant galaxy who liked to suck guys’ hearts out with a kiss.

  “What?” She carefully replaced the jug, her gaze warily bouncing from one face to the other. “What’s wrong?”

  Behind Tessa’s curiosity was concern. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  Holly’s brows wrinkled and she looked down at herself, half expecting to see her buttons open, that she was wearing a black bra under a white shirt or that she’d spilled something unmentionable on her blouse. Seeing nothing unusual, she looked up in confusion. “What?”

  They all looked pointedly at the glass in her hand. “You’re drinking cocktails now?” Tessa demanded, and Holly flushed, cursing Tessa’s eagle eye and the realization that the encounter with their new neighbor had rattled her.

  It had been bad enough that she had to see him at work, now she was probably going to fall over him every time she left her house too.

  Instead of admitting that she was rattled, she shrugged casually, like she drank cocktails all the time, and sank back against the cushions with a sigh of relief.

  Look at her, all sophisticated and casual.

  “Well, since I’m not pregnant, I thought I’d stop being so predictable. Maybe I need to loosen up a little. Or…something. Anyway,” she added quickly, as heat rose in her face, “it’s been an exhausting day.”

  “You’re acting weird,” Tessa said, with a little frown. “What aren’t you telling us?”

  “Nothing. Really.” Holly shrugged casually then exhaled a little shakily when she realized she hadn’t sounded convincing even to her own ears. Maybe if she stuck with a half-truth they’d be satisfied and drop the subject. “Okay, it wasn’t nothing,” she confessed a little guiltily, and took a sip of mojito, grimacing at the strong taste of alcohol. Yeesh, someone here had a heavy hand. “I heard the code blue and full house call for OR three and went in to watch for a while.”

  A “full house” was the med students’ term for a full trauma team consisting of all the main disciplines. It only rarely happened that a case needed so many specialists on urgent standby.

  Suddenly ravenous, Holly snagged a large slice of pizza and between mouthfuls of crispy base, gooey cheese and spicy pepperoni she told them about the guy who’d fallen from construction scaffolding, thinking how amazingly clever she’d been to distract them.

  Besides, she thought with a quiet huff of relief, they’d knocked back a couple of mojitos before she’d arrived and were already buzzing along quite nicely. Even Tessa, despite drinking the non-alcoholic version.

  Although Holly rarely drank anything more lethal than white wine, she slugged down her first drink like it was medicine and found she kind of liked the tangy minty lime flavor and the way it made her lips tingle.

  By the time her lips turned numb, so had her brain—which was great because it meant she could stop obsessing about her humiliating behavior and forget about the new neighbor.

  So-o-o-o forgetting about the hot new neighbor.

  Especially, she mused, surreptitiously fanning her hot cheeks, those embarrassing facts about blondes. Besides, if she wasn’t his type, he most definitely wasn’t hers.

  Not by a long shot.

  She tended to go for the serious business type. He was too…um…the word laid-back came to mind and…and carelessly put together with an indolent, unconscious grace that made her feel like that clumsy awkward kid again.

  Another thing that really annoyed her was his natural self-assurance. She would like to call it arrogance but it wasn’t…not really. It was like he’d popped out of his mother’s womb knowing his place in the world and didn’t care if anyone disagreed. She had a feeling that air of casual affability hid a razor-sharp intellect. She’d seen ample evidence of a wicked sense of humor too and, jeez, she wished she didn’t find that so attractive. Especially as it had being aimed at her most of the time.

  Her cheeks grew hot when she recalled falling into his lap, only to find him huge and hard beneath her bottom.

  She wasn’t interested in him, she assured herself. He wasn’t part of her plan—especially someone used to physical perfection. She was just annoyed to discover that after all the hard work she still hadn’t outgrown the nerdy, clumsy adolescent that blushed and stuttered in the presence of a hot guy.

  But later, when she slid between crisp, clean sheets and snuggled down into her pillow, along with a gently spinning room, Holly had a sudden and vivid image of a naked surf god sprawled across a sea of white on the other side of her bedroom wall. For the first time in her life she experienced a full-body flush that she promptly blamed on all those darn mojitos!

  CHAPTER FIVE

  WHEN SHE WAS stressed Holly sometimes had nightmares about the accident that had changed her life. She didn’t often think about it but the following week she assisted a senior surgeon in repairing the face and torso of a maintenance worker who’d been caught in a gas explosion.

  It had brought back memories of waking to a world of eerie silence filled with dust; the realization that she’d been unable to move and blinding pain when she’d tried.

  She’d later learned that her face and right arm had been lacerated by flying glass as she’d been flung twenty feet from the exploding elevator car. The worst had been when she’d turned her head and seen the lifeless stare of a kid about her own age lying nearby. The sight of that empty eye socket where his merry brown eye had once been still haunted her dreams. One minute he’d been laughing and chatting with his friends, the next he’d been an unrecognizable bloodied mess.

  Other than laceration injuries, she’d broken both arms and a collar bone and the ragged edges of her tibia had torn through the flesh of her right leg.

  What she remembered most about the incident was the moaning and screaming.

  Spooked by memories she hadn’t thought of in years, Holly left the hospital and headed for the gym not far from West Manhattan.

  Where other people enjoyed sweating and grunting through their workouts, Holly preferred the cool solitude of the pool. Besides, there was plenty of scientific evidence proving that submersion in water lowered blood pressure as well as stress levels. Besides relaxation, Holly liked the full-body workout swimming gave her. After the accident, it had been one of the physical therapy sessions she’d looked forward to and she’d eventually become a good swimmer.

  And, boy, after the day she’d just had, she needed relaxation as much as she needed some alone time. Although she wouldn’t have minded a little screaming to go with it, that wasn’t on the cards. And until she landed the fellowship, the plan took precedence. Over everything.

  She needed to do research for a paper she was writing on micro-surgical techniques but she was too wired to concentrate on anything and knew sleep would remain elusive if she went home. And recalling that what little sleep she’d managed lately had been filled with dreams of sun-warmed beaches, cool seas and…and hot surfers, Holly rolled her eyes because she was thinking of a certain hot celebrity surgeon. Again.

  She dodged a couple necking on the stairs and entered the gym. Smiling a greeting at the girl manning Reception, she headed for the women’s change room.

  Within minutes she’d changed out of her street clothes and into her swimsuit. Scooping up her towel, she headed for the pool, hoping she would be alone. Alone meant she could get into her zone faster without having to dodge other swimmers. Alone meant she could get her workout done in record time and head home to food and her bed.

  Okay, so she was also a little self-conscious about her scars, which were a lot more noticeable when she wore a swimsuit. Granted, they’d mostly faded but she knew they were there and in her mind’s eye the
y were still livid and ugly.

  Her heart sank a little when she saw the pool was already occupied but after a few indecisive moments the need for the soothing feel of water closing over her head drove her onto the pool deck.

  After a quick glance around, she realized that since the lone occupant appeared oblivious that he was about to have company, she could slip unnoticed into the water and pretend she was alone.

  Dropping her towel over a nearby rail, she turned to face the clear blue water and wrestle with her hair. She twisted the heavy mass into a tight bun at the top of her head and secured it with a couple of holders as she approached the edge of the pool, taking a moment to admire the man’s efficient, deceptively lazy style. He moved with the kind of fluid effortless grace only found in professional swimmers.

  Pausing to stretch her tight muscles, she watched his long, tanned body power easily through the water toward her. Nearing the wall, he executed a languid racing turn as though it was as natural to him as walking. Fascinated, Holly followed the path his body made underwater until he surfaced some ten meters away, turning his head just enough to take advantage of his body’s streamlining to breathe.

  Darn, she thought with admiration as water glistened off his wide tanned shoulders and long powerful arms, she wished she could look half as good breathing, let alone swimming laps.

  She spent another minute practically hypnotized by the dip and rise of wide shoulders and the shifting of muscles in a long tanned back until he abruptly disappeared in yet another turn at the opposite wall. Realizing she was standing transfixed by the sight of some guy doing nothing more interesting than swim up and down, Holly blinked as heat rose into her face.

  What the heck are you doing, Holly? You came here to de-stress and get some exercise, not get all hot and bothered by some hunk out for his evening swim.

  Feeling guilty for her somewhat racy thoughts, Holly took a deep breath and dived. Her foot slipped at the exact instant she realized she’d forgotten her goggles and instead of her usual graceful dive, she belly-flopped with a strangled shriek and sank like a stone.

  The water was colder than she’d expected, closing over her head and rushing in on the heels of her startled gasp. For a few ragged heartbeats she panicked and flailed around like she’d forgotten how to swim, confused about which way was up. Just when she thought she’d run out of air, large hands clamped around her arms and hauled her upward.

  Instinctively fighting the firm grip, Holly nearly lost what was left of the breath in her lungs when she was yanked roughly against a big hard body. They broke the surface in a tangle of limbs, gasping breath and gushing water.

  “Jeez, lady,” a deep familiar voice growled near her ear, and Holly’s belly clenched before sinking as gracelessly as she had. “Are you trying to drown yourself?”

  Gabe held the woman and waited while she spluttered and coughed, wondering if she’d pretended to drown, hoping to attract his attention. He’d had women do that and more, trying to get him to notice them.

  It was only when she lifted her head and blinked huge dark blue eyes that he realized he was holding Holly Buchanan and she was staring at him like she’d suddenly found herself in the jaws of…well, Jaws.

  “You?” she gasped.

  He felt his mouth curl up at one corner and made no effort to release her. In fact, he drew her closer. “Well, well,” he drawled softly, enjoying the feel of her body, still warm and incredibly smooth and soft, against his. The skin across his belly tightened in reaction. “What a…surprise. Are you by any chance stalking me?”

  “Me?” she squeaked, her mouth round with outrage. “I was about to ask you the same thing.”

  “I was here first. Unless…” His eyes narrowed on her in mock suspicion. “Unless that was you hiding behind the pillar when I arrived earlier,” he drawled, referring to the way he’d caught her ducking around corners or through the closest doorway when she’d seen him coming at the hospital.

  Heat rushed into her face but she ignored his comment, her lips parting on a stuttered “I—I… Th-that was you? In the water, I mean?”

  A frown tugged at Gabe’s mouth at her incredulous tone. He wasn’t sure she’d meant it as a compliment, which also meant she hadn’t followed hoping to run into him. He ignored the odd feeling in his gut that couldn’t possibly be disappointment.

  “You sound surprised.”

  For a couple of beats she blinked myopically at him. It was fascinating to watch the conflicting expressions race over her features as if she couldn’t decide if she was annoyed, impressed or embarrassed. It made him wonder what the heck was going through her mind to make her frown and blush.

  “Not at all. It’s just…She suddenly blew out a breath and rolled her eyes. The idea that she’d been watching him was oddly satisfying, considering how much time he’d spent either thinking about her lately or watching her run for cover every time she saw him coming. Especially today, when evaluating her technique hadn’t been the sole purpose of his presence in observation room six.

  She licked her lips and he instantly forgot what he was thinking. “I…um… I didn’t know you swam… At this gym, I mean.”

  His gaze dropped to her mouth and his skin tightened as heat gathered low in his gut. “And a good thing too or you might have drowned yourself.”

  “Don’t be silly,” she wheezed, lifting a hand to wipe moisture off her face. “I slipped, that’s all. I’m an excellent swimmer.”

  He felt a chuckle rise in his throat. “Yeah? Then what was that incredibly graceful dive called? Because I can tell you I’ve seen preschoolers with more style than that.”

  She rolled her eyes. “The tiles are slippery,” she muttered, dropping her gaze to his mouth. She sucked in a shuddery breath that pressed her breasts against his chest and made his eyes cross. It also made her realize she was plastered up against him like wet silk—okay, and maybe she’d discovered what the feel of her smooth warm skin was doing to him. She squeaked and tried to shove away but they were both slick and her hands kept slipping until she finally growled something that sounded like “Damn it, this is a nightmare” and managed to knee him in the thigh. He wasn’t so sure that was an accident.

  He muttered, “Wet dream is more like it.”

  She gasped and gaped at him. Her furious “Ohmigod, I can’t believe you just said that” ended on a hacking cough, and Gabe shook his head as he slid his hands from her waist to lift her arms above her head even as she tried to take a swing at him.

  “Come on, who didn’t see that one coming?”

  She choked and spluttered a bit more and he got kicked in the shin this time. He chuckled. “Breathe, Doc, before you hack up another lung or maybe knee me in the nuts.”

  “You…you deserve it,” she croaked, when she could talk without spluttering.

  He pulled back and dipped his head to peer into her face. “Is that any way to talk to the guy who just saved your life? For the fourth time, I might add.”

  “What are you doing here, Dr. Alexander?” she demanded in a husky voice that heated him up on the inside and gave him a few indecent thoughts. Thoughts he shouldn’t be having about someone he was going to be working with. Thoughts about pushing her up against the side of the pool and practicing mouth-to-mouth.

  “You mean, other than saving your sexy ass?”

  Wild color rose beneath her creamy skin and Gabe was seriously tempted to lean forward and lick her pink mouth—see if she tasted as delicious as she looked.

  “I’m perfectly capable of saving myself,” she snapped, and shoved at hands that had ended up very close to her breasts—which were full and firm and incredibly enticing in that skin-tight black sheath. Did she know their hard points were practically begging for attention that he was all too willing to give? “And let me go, damn it.”

  His blood heated in his veins at the thought of getting his hands on her bounty and his grin turned mocking, as much at himself than anything. He was mostly a leg and butt man, p
robably because of all the boob jobs he’d performed. But despite the number of breasts he had his hands on, none of them had made a fraction of an impact on him compared to Holly Buchanan’s shrink-wrapped curves.

  And he’d just this instant become a breast man too.

  “Aww,” he drawled, his voice a rough rasp filling the inch separating them. “Do I have to?”

  “No…Yes… I mean… Damn it.” Confusion chased annoyance and desire across her face as Holly put a couple of inches between them. Despite the move making him chuckle, the distance gave him an even better view. She saw the direction of his gaze, looked down and with an outraged squeak slapped her arms across her chest, glaring at him like he was a pervert for enjoying the view. “They’re…they’re all me,” she snapped. “In case you were wondering.”

  He chuckled. “Yeah, I can tell.”

  His gaze drifted up her throat, past her stubborn little chin to her mouth, where he got stuck for a few heart-stopping beats. He finally locked eyes with her…and got caught up in the incredible dark blue depths surrounded by a heavy fringe of dark spiky lashes. For an instant his world tilted and then his heart rate spiked like he’d been zapped with a cattle prod.

  The hair on the back of his neck prickled and a shudder of pure panic stomped up his spine with size thirteen army boots. Blinking, he shoved shaking fingers through his hair. What the hell? Next thing he’d be spouting poetry or something equally cheesy—not to mention freaking embarrassing.

  When just the thought of it made his nuts shrink, Gabe didn’t know whether to be relieved or freaked out. Jeez. This was exactly what happened when a guy went without for more than six months, he told himself. He got caught up in sexy blue bedroom eyes and starved his brain of oxygen when his blood drained south of the border.

  “Stop…stop looking at me,” she rasped, turning away from his gaze. He blinked her face into focus, finally realizing his scrutiny was upsetting her and that she was a little hunched over as though to protect herself. From him? What the hell?