How was it that he was so controlled?
How was he able to resist what she needed so badly?
And then she felt the brush of his arousal through the thin fabric of her scrub suit and realized that he was struggling as much as she was.
The knowledge gave her satisfaction.
‘You want marriage, Tom.’ Her voice was smoky soft and all temptress. ‘And I’m prepared to have an affair. Are you going to refuse that?’
She ran the tip of her tongue over her lower lip and heard his sharp intake of breath, saw his eyes fix hungrily on her mouth.
The atmosphere froze.
And then his mouth claimed hers with a violence that drew a sob of relief from her.
One hand held her head still for his kiss and the other curved over her bottom, drawing her against him, letting her feel what she did to him.
‘Tom …’ Frantic with haste, forgetting where they were, she pulled her mouth away from his just enough to gasp his name and then yanked his shirt out of his trousers. Breathing rapidly, she let her fingers slide over the sleek muscle of his back, loving the feel of his body. ‘Please, I—’
He brought his mouth back down on hers and she felt his hand slide inside the loose bottoms of her scrub suit, felt the sure, knowing touch of his fingers driving her mindless while his mouth teased and tormented.
She wriggled and arched, the intimacy of his skilled caress releasing an almost intolerable excitement deep within her.
‘No …’ He groaned the word against her mouth and suddenly she was deprived of both his touch and his kiss.
She leaned towards him, desperate for him to finish what he’d started. Her whole body was throbbing. ‘If this is your idea of a joke …’
‘Do I look as though I’m laughing?’ His breathing was unsteady and all traces of humour had gone from his tone. ‘I don’t want an affair with you, Sally. It isn’t enough. I want everything.’
She stared at him in disbelief, wondering how he could manage conversation when she could barely stand upright. But then she looked closer and saw the lines of tension and the storm in his blue eyes.
He was struggling, too.
‘Tom—’
‘Marry me.’ His voice was hoarse. ‘Marry me and I’m going to take you to bed and make love to you until neither of us has the energy to move.’
‘I can’t marry you.’ Her reply was little more than a whisper and she saw his hard jaw tighten.
‘I can’t do this any more.’ His eyes blazed into hers. ‘I don’t trust myself around you. When you change your mind, come to me. Until then, I’m keeping my distance.’
* * *
The day before the wedding the mountain rescue team was called out.
Since their encounter in the storeroom, Sally had spent more sleepless nights and was feeling tense and on edge.
When you change your mind, come to me.
Well, she wasn’t going to change her mind.
And sh
e wasn’t going to go to him.
She gritted her teeth as she pulled on her warm clothes and prepared for the rescue, facing the fact that she was going to be working shoulder to shoulder with Tom.
She considered asking if she could be partnered with someone else and then decided that a request like that would attract too much unwanted attention from the rest of the team and they were already the subject of considerable speculation.