Rescuing Dr. MacAllister

What had happened in his past to bring that look to his eyes?

She showered and changed quickly and then grabbed a bag and loaded it with the contents of her fridge, before adding a packet of fresh coffee.

'Come on, Max. We're going to cook breakfast. If you get really lucky, you might be able to have some.' She whistled to the dog, dragged on a fleece and left her cabin without bothering to lock it.

Outside, the rain and the snow had stopped but it was still bitterly cold and her breath clouded the icy air as she walked briskly along the path to the next-door cabin.

She lifted a hand and tapped gently on Ben's door, hoping that she wasn't going to wake him up.

The door opened and she took a step back as she stared at the man in the doorway, thinking for a moment that she was in the wrong cabin.

The long, unruly hair had been cut short and he'd shaved off the stubble,

'Oh...' Flustered by the change in his appearance, she took a step backwards. 'You look different.'

But still staggeringly sexy.

'Did you want something?'

She smiled, refusing to be deflected by his abrupt manner. 'Yes. I wanted to spoil you. I'm cooking you breakfast.'

His frown was less than encouraging. 'Ellie—'

'By my reckoning, you missed dinner last night,' she said quickly. 'Did you eat when you got in?'

'No, but—'

'And have you eaten yet this morning?'

The frown deepened. 'No, but I had—'

'Well, there you are, then!' She beamed at him and rustled the bag temptingly. 'It's the least I can do after everything you did for me yesterday. You rescued me from the storm, delivered my cousin's baby and then saved me from a fate worse than death—a lift from Will! Believe me, I owe you! Just give me ten minutes in your kitchen and you'll feel like a new person. This is Max. I hope you don't mind him joining us.'

Without giving him time to object, she slid past him into his cabin and made her way to the kitchen area. The layout of all the cabins was the same so she had no problems finding her way around.

In a matter of minutes she was clattering pans and singing to herself while she trimmed fat off bacon and whipped eggs into a creamy froth. Max settled himself by the table, his head on his paws, his eyes never leaving Ellie.

'Coffee or tea?' She glanced at Ben over her shoulder and her insides quaked slightly. He looked dark and forbidding and very, very serious. And he obviously didn't want her in his cabin, making breakfast.

Oh, help. Maybe this was a mistake.

'Coffee,' she said finally in a small voice, trying to ignore the ominous silence. 'It will wake you up.'

'Ellie, why are you doing this?'

She flushed and flipped the bacon over before it could burn, wondering what he'd say if he knew she'd been asking herself the same question. She didn't usually throw herself at men. In fact, she'd never done it in her life before. She just knew that she was desperate to be near him.

'I've told you. You looked after me yesterday so it's my turn to look after you today. I'm sorry I fell asleep in your car. I'm sorry you had to carry me. Did you slip a disc?'

'Hardly.'

Her joke barely raised a smile but his dark eyes skimmed over her figure and she felt herself grow strangely hot.

'You should have woken me up,' she said brightly, and this time the merest hint of a smile touched his firm mouth.

'How? You sleep like the dead.'

'I know.' Ellie gave him an apologetic look. 'I've always been able to sleep anywhere. Nothing disturbs me.' She divided the bacon between two plates and added scrambled eggs, tomatoes and some delicious dark gilled mushrooms. "There we are. Tuck in.'