Resisting Her Army Doc Rival

‘Maybe you should,’ Sam whispered to her fleeing back. The muscles in his legs corded, his knuckles on the hand holding his drumstick whitened as he struggled to remain on his stool. He had to let her walk away, drop whatever was upsetting her, because she’d asked him to. Because he wasn’t the right person to share her pain.

Clink. The water bottle banged his bottom teeth as he took a swig. The cool liquid wetted his parched tongue and slowly the tension eased. I’ve missed something important. It was staring him in the face and yet he could not grasp it.

Madison didn’t laugh freely often, and when she had moments ago that sound had been full of everything but happiness and amusement. She didn’t rush to get onside with everyone around her. That lack of trust had a lot to answer for, but what had brought it on? What had gone down to make her so wary? There was a broken marriage in her background. Was that the root of her problems? But the way she subconsciously touched her midriff when upset suggested the question might be what had hurt her, not who.

Smoke. Fire. That touching movement she made. She’d been in a fire. Was that the complete answer? No way of knowing, but there had to be more. Sam stared sightlessly in front of him as the questions nagged. This guessing game was a waste of time with no substantive answers available.

CHAPTER SEVEN

‘HOW’RE YOU FEELING this morning, Reece?’ Madison read the chart from overnight. ‘Everything’s looking good.’

‘Fighting fit, Captain.’ It was said with a chuckle. ‘Captain Lowe says I can go on patrol this morning.’

Sam was here already? And she’d thought she was early, skipping breakfast in the hope of avoiding him for a little longer. Last night’s revelations on her part had been a little too close for comfort and she wasn’t ready to see that understanding in his eyes again. ‘Is that so?’

‘Just kidding, Captain.’

‘I believe Captain Lowe is taking a patrol out to that old police building again. I’ll see that you’re fixed to join them.’

The private’s face dropped. ‘If you say so, Captain.’

Madison laughed. ‘Just kidding, Private. Have you had breakfast?’

‘Yes. Though not enough. Could do with some more bacon and eggs.’

‘I bet you could.’ She headed for the door, calling over her shoulder, ‘That’s a no from me.’

‘What are you saying no to?’ Sam stood in front of her, hands in pockets, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

‘Reece wants a second breakfast.’ The way the top of Sam’s fatigues moulded to his chest, defining that amazing shape, had her nipples in tingling peaks. He looked good enough to eat. She was hungry after all. But suddenly not for toast.

‘You look like you could eat two as well.’

Rolling her head from side to side, she tried to negate the cravings swamping her. ‘I’m fine,’ she muttered.

Let me out of here before I touch him, run my hands over that divine body.

‘You haven’t eaten.’

Didn’t say I had, but I want to.

Sam hadn’t finished. ‘You finished your run at six hundred hours, less than thirty minutes ago. Time only for a shower and to tidy your room, wouldn’t you agree, Captain?’

More than enough time to try out that body, Captain. Voices came from behind her, snapping her out of her wishful thinking. ‘You had nothing better to do than see who was out on the track this morning?’

‘I was finishing my run as you began yours.’

Which meant he’d been outside some time around four a.m. ‘Trouble sleeping, Sam?’

‘About as much as you. If I’m not mistaken, your lights were on at that hour.’

He wasn’t mistaken. But he might not know they’d been on for hours before that. ‘I was messaging home.’ And beating up the pillow, guzzling water, pacing the ten strides from wall to wall over and over. And thinking about Sam. Mostly thinking about him. She might’ve left him in the mess last night but his questions had followed her into her room and right into the short sleep she’d managed before waking up completely around two. Those blasted questions had still been there, coated in the husky tones of Sam’s voice. Rough, sexy, annoying, caring. Yeah, that about summed him up.

‘Go to breakfast, Madison. You’re not putting in a full day without eating properly. The heat is debilitating without starving yourself.’

She huffed at him. ‘You’re not my keeper. If I’m not hungry then I’m not hungry.’ Even to her that sounded petulant. But the thought of food had nausea rising up to the back of her throat, while the lack of sleep made her feel like something the dog had chewed and left on the side of the road. ‘I don’t always have breakfast, okay?’ she added for good measure, because she knew she was wrong to go without food.

It didn’t work. ‘Out here you do. We never know what’s going down from one hour to the next and we have to be prepared. That means having regular meals.’ His hands were on his hips now, his fingers pressing deep as he leaned towards her. ‘Comprendo?’

Very nice hips. Shaped the perfect body outline. His torso was all muscle. Basically he was a lean machine. The youthful softness she vaguely remembered had gone from his face, replaced with lines and knowledge. A fighting man, prepared for battle, as all the soldiers on base were. As she was. And if she had to go into battle—please make that a skirmish—she needed to be fully ready. Which meant breakfast. ‘You win.’ She turned away, intent on getting back here as quickly as possible.

‘Madison,’ Sam called after her.

Ignore him. She paused, faced him. ‘Sam.’ Her heart went wild, beating a rhythm all of its own, not one she recognised. But, then, she wasn’t at all familiar with the reactions that pelted her body whenever Sam was around. Phew, but it was hot in here.

He stood in the doorway, his hands back in his pockets in that, oh, so nonchalant manner of his. Which meant he was about to say something she mightn’t like. ‘I wasn’t trying to score points off you, merely looking out for you.’

Knock me over. Did I hear that right? Did she like that? Oh, yeah. She did. Lots. She melted, a slow sensation of warmth trickling through her belly, over her skin, encompassing her heart. With this man at her back she didn’t have to worry about a thing. But the days were running out and soon she’d be back to looking out for herself. Dipping her chin, she acknowledged, ‘See you in a bit.’ He didn’t need to know how his statement made her feel, but she could enjoy the warmth that molten sensation brought.

‘Don’t take too long. I hear there’s already a queue forming to see the new doctor.’ He flicked her a grin before heading away. He’d got the last word in. Again.

She didn’t care. Especially when he grinned in a sexy way that stirred up all sorts of sensations in places she really should keep under lock and key. The man was almost too good to be true. But she was never going to find out how good he was. Hot as—Yeah, so was the air around here. And her blood. Phew. The back of her hand slid across her forehead. How had she not noticed all this before?

There was only one way to control herself. Remember Jason and how he’d switched off from her the moment he’d seen her scars. Sure, he’d hung around for six months before asking for a divorce, but during that time he’d slept in the spare room—so as not to disturb her sleep apparently—and he’d never held her close or kissed her, or said he loved her. It had taken one look at her body for him to leave her mentally.

Madison chewed toast thoughtfully. She could not afford to forget that lesson. Not even for an hour of bliss.

‘Eggs sunny side up.’ The cook slid a plate in front of her.

‘Ta muchly,’ she said. Her stomach was in turmoil now. Could it handle eggs on top of that little shock she’d given it? But she did need to eat. Sam had been right about that.

Sam. Sam this, Sam that. Her second ful

l day here had barely started and already he was taking over every thought process.

Hurrying through her eggs and coffee—which did stay in place—she returned to the medical block. A few hours working alongside the man would soon have her brain back in sync. He’d annoy her to bits and she’d be thinking what a pain in the butt he was. Not what a gorgeous sexy man he was, one she’d like to take to her bed and learn more about?

Shut up, brain.

Wasn’t your brain talking, it was your hormones.

* * *

Thank goodness for long queues of bored soldiers needing vaccination updates. The hours flew past without Sam getting under Madison’s feet too often. ‘What’s on after lunch?’ she asked him as they wrapped up the morning.

‘The commander’s letting some of the locals in for us to treat. They’ll be brought across in batches of four or five, depending on who the patient is and who’s with them.’

‘As in children and their parents?’ Woo-hoo, she was going to see people who needed more from her than all the morning’s soldiers put together had. ‘What can we expect?’

‘I’ll tell you after you’ve eaten lunch.’ She couldn’t tell from his poker face if he was joking or warning that the afternoon wasn’t going to be pleasant.

She’d go for the joke, and hope she was right. ‘That good, huh?’