by Amy Andrews
She felt her breath seize in her lungs. But, as his fingers started to smooth the fabric of her jeans in light patterns, she didn’t remove it.
‘Well, at least you had better luck than Finn,’ Carl commented, dragging Mia’s attention back to the conversation. He inclined his head to indicate the man in question, who was sitting at the bar by himself, staring into his Scotch.
‘He worked like a demon, trying to save the other soldier. It was like he was possessed or something.’
Even knowing how much Carl liked to embellish things, Mia was startled by the anaesthetist’s description of the frantic efforts in Finn’s theatre that afternoon—no wonder Evie needed to debrief.
‘Evie’s pretty wrecked,’ Mia commented when Carl finished.
‘She’s in the wrong specialty. She’d make a great surgeon,’ Carl mused. ‘Kept her head no matter how testy Finn got.’
Mia glanced at Finn again just as Suzy plonked herself down in the chair next to him. The theatre nurse was a regular at Pete’s and Mia had seen her flirting with Finn here before, but a blind fool could see that Finn was not in the mood for company.
He gave her one of those polite frozen smiles she’d seen Finn give once too often to hapless medical students or to Eric Frobisher in particular, but Suzy seemed as oblivious or impervious to Finn’s signals as Eric did.
Luca’s signals, however, as his fingers continued to brush against her thigh, were loud and clear. Mia fought the urge to turn her body towards him, raise her mouth to his.
Carl looked over his shoulder again. ‘Well, well, well. Looks like Finn’s found a little distraction for the night.’
Mia just stopped the eye-roll. Carl was a top-class anaesthetist and still fancied himself as a bit of a ladies’ man but he obviously wasn’t a student of body language—he was way off the mark.
Luca winked at her. ‘Oh, you think so?’ he asked, watching an obviously distant Finn.
Carl took a swallow of his beer. ‘Oh, yes.’ He tapped his nose three times with his index finger. ‘I’ve been around long enough to tell when there’s hanky-panky going on between the staff.’
Luca felt Mia’s thigh tense beneath his palm and he grinned. ‘Really?’ he murmured as he resisted Mia’s sudden attempt to remove his hand from her thigh.
He easily won the necessarily subdued struggle.
Carl nodded. ‘Of course. I picked Luke and Lily long before anyone else did. And this bloke …’ he jerked his thumb towards Charlie. ‘… is virtually an open book.’
Charlie looked affronted. ‘Me? What about him?’ Charlie pointed to Luca. ‘His reputation preceded him.’
‘Ah, well.’ Carl laughed. ‘That’s true.’
Luca laughed good-naturedly. ‘And what about Mia?’ he enquired innocently, daring to stroke his fingers closer to the apex of her thighs. He didn’t even wince when his ankle suffered a short, sharp jab from a hard pointy toe. ‘Any gossip on her?’
Carl shook his head with a faux crestfallen look. ‘Oh, no. Mia informed me a long time ago that fooling around with someone from work was a recipe for disaster. I think they were the words, right, Mia?’
Mia nodded her head graciously. She’d told Carl that most emphatically one day just after he’d tried to come on to her. And she meant it as much now as she had then.
So why the hell was she sitting at a booth with an Italian devil who was practically bringing her to orgasm in front of two oblivious colleagues?
Surely Carl could see the pheromones wafting off her body?
‘What?’ Luca feigned shock, looking down into Mia’s face, gratified to see heat shimmering in her eyes like a mirage as his finger found her inner seam. He noticed her knuckles whiten as her grip on the edge of the table tightened. ‘There’s been no work flirtations?’
‘Oh, no,’ Carl answered for her. ‘As far as I can tell, there’s been no one. And I have a pretty good radar,’ he added, tapping his nose again and smiling at Mia.
Luca flicked a finger across the seam that ran down from the bottom of her zip where it joined the two inner thigh seams. He felt her resistance melt to nothing as her legs eased apart a little and he thought, Carl, you are a fool!
Mia knew she shouldn’t. They were in a public place, for crying out loud. A place that was crawling with staff from The Harbour. But his fingers were creating such delicious havoc … and no one could see …
She spread her legs a little further and smiled at Charlie as she changed the subject.
Evie was late to Pete’s but that was the nature of the job. A last-minute patient had kept her involved for a while, which had been fine by her. Becoming absorbed in her work had helped keep her mind off Finn and what had happened between them today.
Because, whether he liked it or not—whether she liked it or not—something had happened. She’d had a glimpse of his humanity and no matter how many patients she’d seen since, she just couldn’t banish that from her head.
And that brief moment when he’d leaned into her … It had felt like some kind of … surrender.
She’d never seen Finn emotionally vulnerable but today had been different. Today he’d leaned on her. Actually let himself go for once and trusted her enough to drop the cantankerous-but-brilliant-surgeon facade and just be a doctor who’d lost a patient. Be human. Be a man.
She could still feel the imprint of him against her. The flat of his shoulder blade against her cheek, the warm, solid roundness of his shoulder beneath her palm, the press of his broad back against her chest, their hearts beating almost as one.
She wasn’t stupid enough to read anything into it. But she was intrigued. She wanted to know more. She wanted to know what had happened in his past to make Damien’s case so personal to Finn. So personal that he’d let his guard down to her, of all people. Let her touch him. Let himself touch her back.
You were brilliant today, Evie.
Those words had meant more to her than any compliment she’d ever received-professional or personal. She hugged them to herself as she crossed the road to Pete’s.
If Finn was at Pete’s, she was going to repay the compliment. She was going to buy him a drink, tell him he was brilliant and badger him until he talked.
Staff at The Harbour always talked about what a maverick he was, what a legend. They held him in awe, hoisted him on high like some kind of trophy, made him untouchable. Like he was a machine, a robot. But they seemed to forget, underneath it all he was also a man.
But she hadn’t. She’d seen the man today.
And men needed to be touched too.
Finn probably most of all.
Finn wasn’t really listening to Suzy as she prattled on about some movie she’d just seen. He didn’t want her there, he didn’t want to talk or make light conversation.
He didn’t want to hook up. Even if Suzy was extremely attractive and obviously up for it.
He came to Pete’s for one reason only. To drink.
Sure, he could drink at home. And he’d do that too. But drinking a little in public tempered the urge to drink a lot when he got back to his apartment.
The Scotch helped with the pain from his injuries and it helped obliterate the events that had caused them.
Suzy couldn’t do that. No woman could. Not even Lydia.
And then Evie’s lovely face entered his vision and for one crazy moment panic rose in him as he thought he’d conjured her up. But then she pushed the heavy door open wider and their gazes met.
For a moment there was a shimmer of recognition between them, a whisper of what they’d both endured together, and then she smiled at him, a smile that seemed to see right inside him. A smile that said, I know you’re hurting; let me help you.
And for one mad instant he wanted that. He wanted to feel again what he’d felt that afternoon in the change room cocooned against her. That strange kind of peace—like nothing he’d ever known.
The panic intensified.
The sheer power of these strange, unwanted fe
elings Evie evoked overwhelmed him. He dragged his gaze away, his heart beating like that of a wild animal suddenly caged and fighting for his life. She didn’t know him. She didn’t know anything about him. How could she? Princess Evie couldn’t even begin to comprehend where he’d come from, the things he’d seen, the promises he’d broken.
He turned to Suzy and dazzled her with a smile. ‘Whaddya say we get out of here?’
Evie, her heart light as she spotted Finn, made a direct line for him. She stopped three paces later when she realised he wasn’t alone. The smile he gave the blonde, one she’d seen him with here before, took her breath away and she struggled with the sudden urge to turn on her heel and run.
Or slap someone. Back off!
But he wasn’t hers to make such an order. The realisation brought with it a sudden crushing sense of despair. Just because they’d shared a moment, that didn’t make him hers.
Finn smiled down at Suzy as she leaned forward and whispered in his ear. Her cleavage was exposed to his view and he looked his fill.
It was an impressive cleavage and he was a man, damn it.
A man who appreciated a woman’s body but did not get emotionally involved with them. And the sooner Evie got that through her head, the better.
He wasn’t some wounded hero that needed saving. He was a cantankerous bastard beyond redemption.
‘C’mon,’ he said, sliding off the stool, putting his hand out to help Suzy off hers but looking directly over her head, meeting Evie’s shocked look with practised indifference. ‘Let’s go back to my place.’
Evie couldn’t move for a moment, the cold of Finn’s piercing gaze freezing her to the spot. He seemed totally unreachable as his eyes told her things he couldn’t say in a crowded bar.
Like, what happened this afternoon meant nothing.
You mean nothing.
Suzy smiled up at Finn, disconcerted to find he wasn’t looking at her. ‘I thought you’d never ask.’
Finn dragged his gaze away from the emotions in Evie’s hazel eyes. There was hurt and disgust and even a touch of scorn.
And he deserved every one of them.
He threw another dazzler Suzy’s way before tucking her hand in his, straightening his back and making a beeline for the door.
Evie watched him go, a veritable storm of emotions raging inside. Anger, repulsion, despair.
Where was the Finn from earlier? The one who had leaned into her and told her she was brilliant?
She looked back to find Pete watching her. He was holding up a cold beer and a shot glass and his gaze radiated warmth and sympathy.
Thank God for Pete.
CHAPTER SEVEN
TWENTY minutes later Charlie drained his glass and stood. ‘I’m going to go and check on my patient.’
‘That’s very dedicated of you,’ Mia teased, wishing both he and Carl would leave so she could drag Luca into the nearest dark corner and have him finish what he started, instead of taunting her in secret with those very clever fingers.
But she’d soon learned that two could play at his game and Luca was looking decidedly uncomfortable himself.
‘Of course the delectable Nurse Barry has nothing to do with it,’ Carl added.
Charlie grinned. ‘I’m affronted, Carl.’ And grinned again.
Carl tossed back his beer. ‘Hang on, then, I’ll walk you out.’
They said their goodbyes and Luca and Mia were finally left alone. Luca dropped his mouth to her ear. ‘You’re going to pay for that. Let’s go. Now.’
Mia smiled as his voice, thick with lust, emphasised his accent. A surge of anticipation tightened her pelvic floor. ‘If you can’t take it,’ she murmured, sliding slowly out of the booth, ‘you shouldn’t be dishing it out.’
‘Here you are, Mia. Sorry I’m late,’ Evie said, plonking herself down on the opposite seat, pushing a tray of orange juice, beer and shot glasses onto the table. ‘I’m warning you now, I plan on getting very, very drunk.’
Mia shut her eyes briefly. Damn. Evie.
Luca’s caress had managed to erase all trace of the reason she’d come to Pete’s tonight in the first place. She glanced at Luca, saw lust rippling through the dark chocolate pools of his eyes and felt everything clench. She forced herself to look away.
‘I can see that,’ Mia murmured, as Evie raised the shot glass to her lips.
‘Oh, hello, Luca,’ Evie said as she slammed down the first shot and lined up her second. ‘So glad you’re here. Maybe you can explain to me how the male mind works?’
Luca looked from Mia to Evie and back to Mia again. He’d had a vision of how the evening was going to pan out and this had not been part of it. He watched as Evie threw back her second shot and knew enough about women to know that he had one too many y chromosomes to be a part of this conversation.
He glanced at Mia, who shrugged an apology at him, a small smile playing on her lips. He stroked up the centre seam of her jeans and was gratified to see the smile disappear.
He patted her leg twice. ‘I think I’ll go and leave you lovely ladies to it.’
Mia scooted out and Luca followed her, her rear end at an enticing level before he stood and towered over her.
He nodded at Evie. ‘Goodnight.’
Evie grunted something as she contemplated her third shot and he turned to Mia. ‘I’ll see you …’ he quirked an eyebrow at her ‘… soon?’
Mia watched as Evie downed another tequila. ‘Later.’ She grimaced.
Luca dropped his gaze to her mouth then sighed. ‘Later.’
It was low and raw and whispered along her nerve endings and Mia felt decidedly wobbly as she slid back into the booth, her insides melting.
‘Are you okay?’ she asked Evie, refusing to turn and watch Luca walk out of the bar. Pete had already given her a speculative look as she’d sat—she didn’t want anyone else in the bar wising up.
Evie shook her head. ‘Nope. But I will be.’ She slammed another shot back. ‘Real soon.’
Mia sipped her orange juice. ‘You won’t be in the morning.’
‘Well, I have two days until I’m back on shift to recover.’
Mia pushed the beer towards her friend and dragged the tray with three more shots on it out of reach. ‘You may well need them.’
Evie didn’t protest, just sipped at her beer.
‘Carl was telling me you had a pretty harrowing time in Theatre with Finn. Tell me about it.’
Evie raised her eyes to her best friend. ‘Oh, Mia, it was the most incredible thing I’ve ever witnessed. Finn was … he was … magnificent.’ She sipped her beer again. ‘And then he went and acted like a total jerk.’
Mia nodded. ‘Okay, start at the beginning.’
Three hours later Evie had unburdened and Mia had managed to stagger home with her and put her to bed. She left a jug of water, a glass and two tablets by Evie’s bed for when she woke up feeling like someone was drilling for oil in her brain, her mouth as dry and putrid as the newspaper that lined a budgie cage.
She watched her friend sleep for a moment. Evie really had it bad. She didn’t know it yet, of course, but a man who drove a girl that crazy was more than some nutty crush.
Which was why her way was much better. Give them your body but keep your heart and mind out of contention. Use them for sex then walk away.
Like her and Luca.
Except she hadn’t walked away, had she?
She looked at Evie’s face, troubled even in an alcohol-induced slumber. If this was what pining after a man got you then she wanted no part of it.
She had to end it with Luca.
After tonight.
Mia glanced at Evie’s bedside clock—it was nearly one in the morning. Would Luca be awake?
She remembered how hard he’d been beneath his jeans as she’d fondled him under the table.
He’d be awake.
Her own body was still humming like an electrical substation generating enough heat to power the entire eastern seaboar
d.
She smiled to herself as she hurried to her bedroom, stripping off her clothes, pulling her hair out of its ponytail, opening her wardrobe, yanking her long winter coat off its hanger and stepping into its folds, the lining cool against her bare, heated flesh. She overlapped the edges and tied the cord securely around her waist—there were buttons but they were going to take too long to undo for her purposes.
Mia inspected herself in the mirror. She looked very modest in the calf-length coat and heels. Should she, on the slim off chance at after one in the morning, happen to bump into someone in the lift, they couldn’t possibly be aware she didn’t have a stitch on under the coat.
Neither would Luca.
Mia smiled at her reflection. All she needed was a little eye make-up and some lippy and she’d be perfect for an early-morning booty call.
Hell, if this was going to be their last time, she might as well blow his mind.
Luca was brooding in front of his magnificent bay window when he heard the knock. He allowed himself a smile for the first time since arriving home alone with a raging hard-on over three hours ago.
Anticipation tightened his groin as he stalked to the door and yanked it open to find a rugged up Mia leaning casually against the jamb.
‘Oh, good.’ She smiled. ‘You’re awake.’
Luca sucked in a breath. Her hair was loose and her eyes were heavily kohled in shades of grey and black, emphasising their blueness. Her mouth was painted fire-engine red. He moved in close until their bodies were almost touching. ‘It’s hard to sleep in my condition,’ he murmured.
Mia pouted. ‘Poor darling. Can I come in? I could help you with that.’
Luca’s gaze drifted to her mouth. ‘Are you sure? I wouldn’t want you entering into a recipe for disaster.’
Mia laughed as devilish memories from Pete’s surfaced. Luca touching her under the table, stroking between her legs. She lifted a finger and traced his bottom lip, almost moaning out loud when he sucked it into his mouth. ‘Carl’s a sore loser,’ she whispered.
Luca, his body taut with longing, swirled his tongue around her finger and gently released it. ‘Come in, take your clothes off. You are way overdressed.’