EXTRACT FROM A
DOCTOR WORTH WAITING FOR
Conor Anderson paused at the doorway, his appreciative gaze
locked on the sole occupant of the room. The woman
was stunning. He had been intrigued to meet Kate Fisher
but had never imagined that his first sight of her would
send his senses whirling and set his heart thudding. Tense,
she stood by the window, her arms folded across her chest,
even white teeth worrying the sensuous curve of her lower
lip. His breath caught. Glossy brown hair, the
colour of polished walnut, fell to her shoulders in a satiny
curtain. Her face was captivating, her smooth complexion
olive-toned, the bare minimum of make up enhancing her natural
beauty. She had perfect cheekbones, slightly slanting
eyes, straight nose and that sensual, irresistible mouth
with luscious, dusky-rose lips he found himself longing to
taste.
She looked younger than her thirty-two years. Above
average height, she was dressed in a charcoal-grey trouser suit that hinted at
the deliciously curvy figure beneath. Red-hot desire slammed inside him. He
shook his head to clear the fog that hazed his brain, shocked by his instinctive
response to this woman.
Walking towards her, he saw
a pallor underlying her skin, making him wonder if she had
been ill, and then he met her gaze and all other thoughts
faded. She had the saddest eyes he had ever seen. Dark
brown, fringed with long lashes, they were soulful, full
of hurt and loss. There
was pain here. Some terrible inner torment she was
struggling to conceal or avoid, and in that moment, he determined
he was going to discover what was troubling her and do something
about it. The urge to hold her, comfort
her, protect her, was as overwhelming as the fresh wave of
desire that coursed through him, more intense than anything
he had ever experienced.
*
Kate stared in shock at the man who entered the room, taken
aback by his striking good looks, the dark blond hair, short
at the back and sides but thick and wayward on top, falling
in unruly fashion across his forehead. In his mid-thirties,
around six feet tall, his athletic frame was dressed in the
kind of leg-hugging jeans that ought to be illegal and a
long-sleeved white T-shirt that suggested at the leanly-muscled
definition of his chest, arms and shoulders. Smooth-shaven,
his jaw was masculine without being heavy, his cheeks lean,
his nose in perfect proportion to his other features, and
his mouth, curved now in a small but sinful smile, was temptingly
kissable. He was the most gorgeous, intensely sexy
man she had ever seen. Startled, her gaze clashed
with his, the warmth and obvious interest in his riveting
green eyes enough to suck every scrap of air from her lungs.
'Hello,
Kate.' The husky, gently-accented voice
was impossibly intimate, wrapping around her, ensnaring her. She
battled the instinctive urge to back away as he breached
the gap between them, his body close enough that she could
scent his earthy male aroma. 'I'm Conor Anderson.'
'You are?'
Unable to mask her surprise,
cursing her inane reply, Kate could do nothing but stare,
swallowing against the lump lodging in her throat as she
assessed his casual clothes, his heart-stopping appeal. He
didn't look like any doctor she had ever seen. Oh,
hell! Coming
here was meant to be safe. But there was nothing safe
about this man, or the way her blood was singing in her veins
as an unwanted curl of desire knotted her insides. No! She
didn't want this. She had come here to sort
out her professional life, not complicate things further. She
didn't need the warning bells clanging in her brain to know
that Conor Anderson was someone to steer clear of. The
comments of the staff the previous afternoon had alerted
her ... Conor was a womaniser and a serial heartbreaker.
'Conor has quite a reputation across the county.'
'You
won't have worked with anyone like our Conor before!'
'You're going to love him,
Kate. Everyone
loves Conor.'
'Especially the women!'
'And he loves them – providing
they don't expect too much or try to hold him.'
'The
trail of disappointed women left in his wake will testify
he's a perpetual bachelor.'
'It doesn't stop them
making a play for him, though. Men
like Conor don't come along very often. He's
enough to make many a woman think it worth the risk
of breaking her heart.'
The laughing remarks flashed
through her mind and she recalled the brief asides Fred Murdoch
had made during their telephone conversations before she
had accepted the locum position. Fred
had joked about Conor not yet settling down and always finding
himself the centre of attention. Female
attention. She should have given more credence to her
uneasiness at those words at the time but she had been too
nervous about the job to pay proper attention to her early-warning
system. Ignoring that flicker of unease had been a
mistake. Now, as she assessed Conor, she was paying
the price for her lapse. He
looked more like someone from a bad girl's erotic dream than
a professional doctor, she decided with unease and disapproval. Focusing
back on his face, she discovered him studying her, amusement
shining in those green eyes.
'Welcome
to Glentown-on-Firth.'
'Thank you.'
He held out his hand but the last thing she
wanted was to touch him, scared what might happen if she
did. Had
James Fielding-Smythe had done this on purpose? He
had been evasive about Conor Anderson when persuading her
to take this post, focusing on the older, unthreatening Fred
Murdoch and sidestepping her queries about the younger partner. But
the Prof would know how this full-of-himself doctor with
a womanising reputation would affect her and she had made
another miscalculation by allowing James to distract her
attention. Conor made her think of Darren, pain and
humiliation. Things
that were two years in the past, pushed to the back of her
mind by the far worse events that had happened since then
to challenge her. But she remembered. And
it was not a place she planned to revisit, no matter how
outwardly appealing the man and how strong the temptation.
The
unwanted frisson of awareness that rippled through her when
she forced herself to complete the handshake, as politeness
dictated, was worse than she'd anticipated. His
fingers curled around hers, firm and warm, holding her longer
than convention demanded, his touch sending a lightning bolt
of sensation shooting up her arm and searing along her nerve
endings with the force of a million watts. She knew
Conor felt it too because his eyes darkened and his lips
parted, mirroring her own involuntary response. Alarmed,
she snatched her hand free, unable to meet that intense green
gaze, stepping back, desperate to put space between them. But
the distance did nothing to lessen his impact. She
could feel his touch, scent his earthy fragrance, an inappropriate
flare of arousal burning inside her. The knowledge
she would have to spend time with him while she learned her
way around the area, filled her with dismay. She needed
to keep as far from him as possible. Conor
Anderson was dangerous.
'We're pleased you chose to join
us, Kate.' The
warm intimacy of his voice sent a fresh shiver down her spine. 'What
made you decide to come to Scotland?'
'The job was highly
recommended,' she explained, tensing as she worried what
other questions he might have.
'Your qualifications are impressive – we're
lucky to have you.'
She didn't know about that. At
the professor's instigation, she had reworked her CV, hoping
neither GP partner would notice that the information was
not one hundred per cent comprehensive. She
had tried to disguise any gaps but had deliberately omitted
mention of her additional surgical skills and the advanced
trauma life support course. Nor had she
mentioned the work she had done this past year. The
last thing she wanted was to explain where she had been and
why she had given it up. It was in
the past and she planned it would stay that way. There
was no need for anyone to know. It had no bearing
on the now – except
in her own head, feeding her doubts and bringing her nightmares.
'There
won't be much call for your expertise in tropical medicine
here.' Kate smothered a groan at Conor's remark,
realising she had concentrated on searching for surgical
references and had forgotten to remove the tropical diseases
and hygiene diploma. 'An interesting
line of study.'
'The opportunity was there and it was another
string to my bow.'
Kate's heart sank. Conor had
obviously considered her CV with more care than Fred had. Hoping
Conor would be satisfied, having no wish to impart further
information, she flicked him a glance, her tension increasing
as he watched her with silent interest.
'I expect
the situation in London is very different,' he allowed after
a long pause, his smile implying he knew there was more behind
her answer but deciding, much to her relief, to let her off
the hook. For
now.
'I've seen several malaria cases in practice there,
plus a couple of more unusual diseases.'
Leaning against
the sofa, Conor regarded her, his green eyes steady. 'I
know you talked with Fred yesterday and I believe he explained
our routines and back-up staff. Aside
from general surgeries and home visits, I'm responsible for
the diabetic clinic and the diet and fitness group, while
Fred holds the ante- and postnatal clinics. The mother
and baby group is covered by us both. We share other
things like stopping smoking, well woman, male health and
so on. And minor surgery.' His gaze turned
speculative. 'I understand the latter doesn't interest
you.'
'No.' Kate fought the sickness in her stomach. The
Prof might think she was capable but she had lost her nerve
for surgery. What
scared her was whether she had lost her nerve to be any kind
of doctor. 'I
don't do surgery.'
Her response had been stiff and she could
feel Conor looking at her, knew he had questions. She
held her breath, releasing it when he finally moved on. 'We
only handle minor procedures – Fred
and I will cover those. Dorothy Scott, our nurse practitioner,
deals with any small injuries, so you won't be faced with
anything but the odd bit of stitching in an emergency. Would
that be all right?'
'Yes, of course.'
'Ease yourself in at your own pace, Kate,
and always ask if there is anything you want to know.' That
unsettling gaze focused on her again. 'We want your
stay to be a happy one.'
All she wanted was to keep
her head down but she nodded all the same.
'Have
you settled in upstairs?'
She swallowed
as Conor squeezed his hands into the pockets of his jeans,
tightening the fabric across his hips, drawing her attention
back to his body. 'The flat is very comfortable, thank
you.'
'I hope you won't find Glentown too quiet after the
city life you are used to.'
The doubt in his voice made her
wonder if Conor had less confidence in her position here
than Fred did. 'I'm
sure I won't.'
Far from it, if only he knew. The quiet
life, rural location and the solitude of being able to walk
in the hills, were major draws of this job. Peace and
space were what she needed to regroup, restore her shattered
spirit and think about the rest of her life.
'Let us
know if there is anything you need or anything we can do
to for you while you are here.'
'I will.' He meant the
flat, the job, she reminded herself, trying not to react
to the husky suggestiveness of his voice. 'Everything
is fine.'
Everything except Conor
himself – and the fact
that she was scared witless about her adequacy as a doctor. Why
had she let her father and the professor talk her into taking
this post? It
was easy for them to tell her it was time to move on but
she felt she had failed, was unsure she had anything left
to give.
A fresh wave of panic welled inside her and
she curled her hands into fists, battling the overwhelming
urge to run – to
run from facing a challenge that felt too big, too soon,
too scary. Helplessly,
she looked at Conor. His clear eyes watched her and
she could see curiosity mix with a warm compassion that caused
an uncharacteristic threat of tears. Blinking
them away, she started as he reached out and took her hand,
his fingers giving hers a reassuring squeeze.
'First days
are always difficult.'
Kate shrugged, not trusting herself
to speak, frightened she would do the unthinkable and blurt
everything out, confide in him, explain this wasn't first
day nerves. What was it about this
man that got inside her skin? But she couldn't forget
his reputation, how very wrong he would be for her, or why
she was here and what she had to do to get her life back
on track and try to mend her battered soul.
*
Conor wasn't sure what had happened but he was positive
Kate had been on the verge of confiding something before
there had been an emotional withdrawal and a shoring up of
her defences. He sensed that whatever had caused that
sudden welling of panic and anxiety was about more than new
job unease. Now
barriers were being placed between them, Kate's inner disquiet
and wariness obvious. Something
much deeper was going on here but it would take time and
patience to gain her trust and break through her reserve – if
he wanted to take things further. Which
he did. More than anything. His innate concern
for anyone or anything in pain meant he couldn't leave her
hurting, but getting past her defences and persuading her
there was something special here worth exploring wouldn't
be easy.
Aware of her tension, he brushed the pad of
his thumb across the back of her hand before he let her go
and forced himself to give her space. He missed the
contact, missed being close enough that the citrusy fragrance
of her toyed with his senses, but he needed to keep things
business-like ... for now.
'We have a busy morning
and plenty of patients waiting. Do
you feel ready to make a start?'
'OK.' Her eyes closed
for a moment and when she opened them again he was struck
by the thread of fear in the dark brown depths.
Concerned
for her, he tried to ease the tension with humour. 'Don't
worry, Kate, I don't bite. Not
like that, anyway!'
His teasing comment back-fired. All
he could think about were the many parts of Kate he desperately
yearned to taste and to nibble, the fire of desire re-igniting
inside him. Hell! Sighing,
he led the way back to his consulting room, unable to get
the sight, sound and scent of Kate Fisher out of his mind.
Instead
of finding answers, meeting this woman had raised more questions. Everything
about Kate intrigued him ... and made him more certain than
ever that she was hiding something, that there were secrets
waiting to be unravelled.
Doctor Worth Waiting For
Margaret McDonagh
Mills & Boon Medical Romance
UK Paperback – March 2007
ISBN: 9780263852288
Copyright © 2007
Margaret McDonagh
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher.
Cover copyright © 2007 by Harlequin Enterprises
Limited
The edition published by arrangement with Harlequin
Books S.A.
For more romance information surf to: http://www.eHarlequin.com
Artwork by Jim
Wylie |
