EXTRACT FROM HIS VERY SPECIAL NURSE

'I have a proposition for you, Alexandra.'

Alex Patterson swallowed. The man's voice sent shivers of awareness along her spine and the way he spoke her name raised the hairs on the back of her neck. Deeper than one would expect from looking at him, his voice had an attractive Scottish burr and sounded like honey drizzling through gravel: rough, husky and temptingly moreish. The kind of voice that should be employed on TV commercials enticing people to buy things they didn't need. Her grey gaze met a sultry, midnight-blue one and heat seared through her entire body. She could feel her pulse throbbing in her neck and was grateful to take the chair he indicated, her legs decidedly shaky. The only proposition she could imagine a man like him making was one she should definitely say no to – the kind that would lead a good girl wickedly astray and turn her thoughts to sin. Excitement rippled through her, and she fought the urge to wipe suddenly damp palms on her smart trousers. Hannah hadn't warned her that Dr Kyle Sinclair was seriously sexy.   A fantasy bad boy come to life.

'A proposition?' she managed, hoping her voice sounded considerably cooler and more composed than she felt.

As Kyle closed the door and moved round the table in the small meeting room to sit down, Alex continued her assessment of his athletic build ... six feet of lean muscle encased in a charcoal suit, the crisp whiteness of his shirt highlighting his bronzed skin. In his early thirties, she judged, his dark hair was short and thick, the couple of stray locks that flopped onto his forehead failing to soften the brooding expression on his far-too-handsome face. The Fates had been more than generous when handing out Kyle's looks. He was enough to turn any woman's head and make her forget every scrap of common sense she possessed. A faint dark shadow edged the lean masculinity of his stubborn jaw, and she heard the light rasp as he ran the palm of one hand over his stubbled chin. As for his mouth ... Unable to help it, Alex's gaze lingered there. It was a sensuous mouth, tempting, full of dark promise, the Cupid's bow that shaped his top lip matched with the fullness of his lower one, giving him a sexy pout that was sinfully distracting.

Aware she was staring, Alex shifted her focus only to find their gazes locking and holding once more. A fresh wave of heat coursed through her veins. It was hard to decipher the expression in those inscrutable cobalt eyes, impossible to read what he was thinking. She couldn't explain why but she had the impression this man was not as he seemed – smooth and efficient on the outside but full of contradictions, guarding hidden emotions inside. Troubled, hurt, alone. A shiver rippled through her, part awareness, part unease. He lowered his hand from his face and opened the file in front of him before looking up to speak.

'My understanding is that you are seeking a full-time position as a district nurse.' Alex nodded when he paused, endeavouring to concentrate on the reason for this meeting, needing to re-establish a sense of purpose and ignore the man's appeal. 'Unfortunately, we don't have such a position available.'

Disappointment clutched at her and she shifted on her chair, wondering why the information could not have been relayed over the phone, saving them both this charade. 'Then I won't take up any more of your valuable time.' Trying to hide how deflated she was, she reached for her bag and began to stand.

'However ... '

Pausing, she glanced up, her throat closing as she looked at him. 'Yes?'

'It was suggested that I talk with you first and then, if you are interested, the other partners will meet with us for a more formal discussion.'

'I see.' She didn't see at all but she was struggling to maintain her composure. Something about being in this man's presence was managing to fry her brain and disturb her usual calm. Subsiding back on the chair, she set her bag down again and drew in a shaky breath. 'What do you wish to talk about?'

Steepling his hands, he watched her, the frown making him appear even more serious and unapproachable. 'I've studied your CV, and noted you have experience not only as a district nurse but working within a practice surgery as well.'

'That is correct.' Her own hands clenched in her lap as she forced herself to meet and match his expressionless regard. When he glanced away, releasing her from that magnetic dark-blue spell, she sucked air into parched lungs.

Silence stretched, and, nervous, she was compelled to break it. 'Is there some other vacancy available here, Dr Sinclair?' she pressed, eager to bring this torturous interview to a conclusion.

'What we have are two part-time vacancies. We've been using agency nurses to cover both positions, but it is not satisfactory on a long term basis.' He paused a moment, leaning forward and pushing the file containing her CV aside before folding his arms on the table. 'It isn't something we had considered before, but with your combined experience and qualifications we thought it might work. How would you feel about taking on both roles? It would add up to the full-time hours you are seeking but would mean some days spent working here in the surgery and some days as a district nurse out in the community.'

The suggestion took her by surprise. It was an unusual arrangement, but one that had definite appeal. She desperately wanted to remain in this area of rural south-west Scotland where she had grown up, and to be able to maintain the family home her father had left to her, but to do so she needed a full-time job. Badly. Kyle's notion of her taking on the dual roles at the Glenside Surgery in Rigtownbrae could be the answer to her prayers.

'Yes,' she allowed, her decision made. 'I would be interested in doubling up – should you and your partners decide I am suitable.'

Alex suppressed a tingle as he took a moment to survey her once more, his slow inspection tightening her insides and speeding up her already racing pulse.

Alex held her tongue, glancing at Kyle from under her lashes. With no vacancies at their own practice in nearby Lochanrig, Drs Hannah Frost and Nic Di Angelis had recommended her for this job. Alex had come to know them and their team of nurses all well over the last year or more. Some of the staff she remembered from her youth, while dedicated, generous Hannah and her attractive Italian husband had become welcome friends.

Her father had lost his long battle against his illness two months ago and, having put her career and her life on hold for more than a year to care for him, Alex knew it was time to venture onward again, no matter how difficult, and how much she still felt the painful loss. Everyone had encouraged her to stay local, to follow her dream to keep the family home going, and to revive her career here. It was Hannah who had tipped her off about the possible vacancy in Rigtownbrae, who had encouraged her to send her CV, and who had arranged for her to meet Kyle Sinclair.

As Kyle flicked through the papers in the file once more, the perpetual frown knotting his brow, Alex bit back a sigh. Her palms still felt clammy, and the butterflies were still conducting acrobatic manoeuvres in her stomach. It didn't help that she was so conscious of Kyle Sinclair and his sinful attractiveness. He made her anxious, uncertain, flustered. She might be ready to get back to work, but she wasn't sure she could handle the thought of being interested in a man again. Not that she was interested in Kyle, she hastened to reassure herself, but her reaction to him had given her a jolt.

It had been a long time since she had even noticed a man. Not since Mitchell. They had been together for over two years. It had turned out she hadn't really known him at all. The sense of betrayal still hurt. And she would never forget what he had done, or the words he had spoken.

Alex dragged her gaze away from Kyle and stared out of the window. Just as he snapped the file closed and returned his attention to her, Alex's mouth opened in shock as she saw an elderly man, on the pavement across the road from the surgery stumble a moment and then crash to the ground.

'Alexandra, I – '

'Oh my goodness!'

'Excuse me?'

Unmindful of where she was and how important this appointment could be to her future, she thrust back her chair and hurried from the room, blind to the dumbstruck expression on Kyle Sinclair's face.

*

'What the hell?'

Bemused, Kyle watched the door bounce back on its hinges as the woman disappeared from view down the corridor. Her bag remained on the table, either left behind in her inexplicable urge to flee, or because she intended to return, he had no idea which. But, then, he had long ago given up trying to understand women. What had just happened to drive cool, composed Alexandra Patterson to urgent action? She'd been looking past him out of the window, he realised, turning to gaze at the rain-washed scene outside. His eyes widened as he saw her dash across the road in front of an oncoming car and fall to her knees on the opposite pavement, beside the prone figure of crusty old Joe Harmon. Swearing under his breath, Kyle sped from his own chair, grabbed some supplies from his consulting room and rushed through Reception, leaving startled staff and patients in his wake.

*

Kyle watched as Alexandra cast a rueful glance over her ruined outfit. Aside from being wet, she had grubby marks on her trousers where she had been kneeling on the pavement, her jacket was creased, dirty and bloodied and her shirt ... He swallowed, closing his eyes and focusing on toweling dry his hair. But the displacement activity did nothing to remove the image of the sheer silvery-grey fabric plastered to Alexandra's torso, revealing the outline of a lacy scrap of black bra encasing her lush breasts. His temper rising, cross with her and himself, Kyle stalked away and returned to the sanctuary of his consulting room.

At twenty nine, Alexandra was younger than he had anticipated and she was sinfully, distractingly attractive. Her hair, darkly golden like well-ripened corn, was short and thick with a natural wave, and was swept back from a face that while not classically beautiful was instantly arresting. Smoky grey, slightly slanting eyes were framed by impossibly long, sooty lashes under gently arching eyebrows. Then there was the neat nose, the golden, peachy-soft skin and a well-defined jaw that looked as if it could be stubborn if she set her mind on something. But it was her mouth that kept drawing his attention. Kyle closed his eyes at the memory of it, his body tightening in a most unwanted and worrying way. Tempting, irresistible ... Her mouth, with its full lower lip and shapely top one, that formed into a kissable pout, was enough to set a fire in his stomach and bring an ache of need he'd not felt in a long time.

*

Three hours later, his temper far from improved, Kyle let himself into his soulless house not far from the surgery, dumped his belongings and stalked through to the kitchen, smothering a groan as the telephone rang.

'Sinclair,' he barked into the receiver.

'How did it go?'

Hannah. He should have guessed.

'How did what go?' Kyle prevaricated, wedging the phone between his ear and his shoulder as he surveyed the meagre, unappetising contents of his fridge.

'The interview with Alex.'

Kyle's scowl intensified. The last thing he wanted was to think any more about Alexandra Patterson. 'It was eventful. But she got the job.'

'That's great!' Hannah's smile was evident from her voice. 'Whatever happened, though?'

He thought back to the moment when Alexandra had shot out of her chair, leaving him staring after her in shocked silence. Feeling grumpy, he related the incident to Hannah, pulling a bottle of beer out of the fridge before slamming the door shut.

'I told you Alex was a good nurse,' Hannah chuckled.

'If nothing else it demonstrated her competence,' he allowed reluctantly, unable to banish his deep-seated unease. 'Robert and Elizabeth were impressed and insisted we take her on.'

A moment of silence followed his statement. 'Didn't you want to give Alex the job?'

'I'm not sure combining both roles is a good idea.'

That wasn't the problem, but he wasn't discussing his reservations, his confused feelings, with Hannah. Alexandra unsettled his world, disturbed the very air around him, had done from the second he'd met her. He didn't like it. He didn't want it. They needed her at the surgery but he wasn't going to like working with her, and he planned to avoid her as much as possible.

'And what about you? What did you think about Alex?' Hannah pressed.

'She's well qualified and keen to take on the dual responsibilities.'

'I meant as a person!'

'I've no idea,' he lied, closing his mind to unwanted images of the wretched woman, images that lingered to torment him despite all his efforts to deny them. 'I didn't notice.'

'Oh, Kyle.'

He tensed at the sadness and exasperation in Hannah's voice, his suspicions increasing about why she had set this up and sent Alexandra to him for the job. Was she just doing a favour for a friend who needed work, or had there been some ulterior motive for pushing Alexandra under his nose? No, Hannah wouldn't do that. Would she? His friends knew how he felt, knew what he'd been through, knew he wasn't interested in any kind of relationship again.

Grateful to hang up the phone a short while later, he opened his beer and carried it through to the living room, where he sat in the dark and brooded on his thoughts. Thoughts that, to his fury, were dominated by Alexandra Patterson. Who did she think she was, coming here, invading his territory, disturbing his peace of mind? He wanted nothing to do with women. They were a menace as a species and, on a personal level, they were off limits for good. Women were trouble. They caused hurt and loss and betrayal. He was having none of it. Not any more. The last eighteen months had been the worst of his life. All due to a woman. His wife.

Ex-wife.

The bitter sting of pain and grief lanced through him. No way was he ever going there again.

Alexandra Patterson could take her smoky grey eyes, pouting lips and curvy body and get the hell out of his head.

His Very Special Nurse
Margaret McDonagh
Mills & Boon Medical Romance
UK Paperback – June 2007
ISBN:
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

Artwork by Jim Wylie