Reunited with His Long-Lost Nurse

And this time when she went catapulting upwards, soaring into some blissful oblivion and sobbing his name, Liam finally let himself follow her.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

IT HAD DEFINITELY been about revenge, Talia decided several days later as she ushered her patient gently out of one of the St Vic’s Hospital’s dressings rooms and began cleaning it down before she could call the next patient through.

She’d been aching for him ever since their night together. Practically climbing out of her own skin every time she replayed it, but helpless to do anything. He’d reached for her again and again during that perfect night, but when she’d finally woken the next day—sated and deliciously sore in places she’d forgotten even existed—he’d been gone. Called back to surgeries, the way he always had been.

They hadn’t talked. Or, at least, about nothing of any consequence. It had been more than apparent that it had been about a physical union, but not an emotional one. She shouldn’t have been surprised. But even so, since then she’d spent every moment snapping her head around every time someone walked around a corner, just to see if it was him.

It never was.

Now that he had what he wanted, was that supposed to be it? Hardly the Liam she’d known...but, then, they both knew where that had got them.

Talia sprayed down the plastic chair, almost angrily, and began to vigorously swipe at it. The problem wasn’t what that night was, she decided crossly, as much as what it wasn’t. She’d wanted the sex, yes, but she’d also been foolish enough to want more. Naïve enough to think that emotions might follow. Even though they never had before.

She wanted more.

Maybe she shouldn’t have given in to the temptation that was Liam Miller. That bikini might not have been her best idea, though she hardly doubted that what she wore had anything to do with how much he desired her. It was gratifying to know that he’d wanted her just as badly that first day dressed in her scrubs.

And so what if he wasn’t offering anything more than a month-long booty call? She could handle it. She wasn’t the naïve girl she’d been three years ago, and she wasn’t in a position to look for a relationship any longer.

Not that she wanted a relationship, she reminded herself hastily. There was still too much to resolve here with her brothers and her father before she could start thinking about herself.

Nonetheless, every night she played her own private home movie of their time together. If she’d thought it had been bad over the last few years, it was nothing compared to the wealth of sensation he’d unleashed in her since the day in the ocean.

The worst of it was that she could now recall every single intimate moment with Liam in brilliant, graphic detail. Every kiss, every taste and every last damn carnal sound.

So the fact that Liam had her constantly on the precipice of thrilled, nervous excitement, while he hadn’t made contact even once during the past few days, was nothing short of revenge.

Hurling the wipe in the bin with unnecessary force, Talia eyed her dressings room with satisfaction. Time to stop thinking about Liam, she concluded firmly as she headed to the main desk to collect her next patient’s notes.

‘This is looking so much better, May.’ Talia smiled approvingly as she carefully peeled back the dressing on a patient she’d been getting to know over the past few days.

‘So no more honey?’ the older lady asked.

‘You still need the honey gauze.’ Talia shook her head. ‘It acts as both a cleaner and a feeder and is great for the kind of burn you have. But I think we can leave it a little longer between changes this time. What about three days this time?’

Her patient didn’t look impressed, and Talia could understand it. The woman had to catch two buses to get the hospital every other day. It couldn’t be easy for her. But meticulous debridement of the wound would prevent any infections from taking hold, and the honey dressing with its anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, antioxidant properties seemed to be working especially well.

‘As long as we keep it clean and cleared out, it should only be for a little longer,’ Talia encouraged. ‘But if any infection got in there...’

‘I know, I know.’ The older woman waved her hands to cut her off. ‘Three days, okay?’

‘Good.’

Flashing her the kind of smile a satisfied teacher might bestow on a petulant child, Talia busied herself with cleaning the wound before cutting a small, fresh rectangle of gauze, then folding it up to place inside the wide but shallow wound.

Five minutes later and she had another satisfied—relatively—patient. Even so, as she opened the door to let the lady leave, Talia flashed her a bright, almost breezy smile.

‘Don’t worry about forgetting to go to the appointment desk. I’ll book the appointment for you from here.’

‘There’s no need for that—’ the older lady began, but Talia wasn’t fooled.

‘I know, but I’m sure you don’t want me turning up at your house again.’

The on

ly response was a grunt, and Talia smiled to herself. It was odd, the way working back here, back home, made her feel these days. So different from the way she’d felt three years ago.