And he saw.
His blue gaze locked on hers and held her captive while he read everything that was in her thoughts.
And then he smiled and nodded. A confident, satisfied smile.
The smile of a male who knew he had the upper hand.
Bother.
She handed him another suture, her body humming with a sexual anticipation so powerful that she was amazed the other people in the theatre couldn’t feel it.
The tension between them was electric, intensified by the drama of the life-threatening situation they’d just been involved in.
Why shouldn’t she relieve that tension?
Why shouldn’t she enjoy a physical relationship with the man?
Breathlessly conscious of every masculine inch of him, her eyes clung to his forearms and worked upwards over the smooth swell of his biceps.
Clashing with the heat in his blue gaze, she dragged her eyes back to the wound, watching while he worked.
Finally the wound was closed and Lynne was transferred to the recovery room.
Emma went with her and the p
aediatrician followed with the baby, who was pronounced totally fit and well.
Hideously conscious of Tom watching her, Sally ripped off her gloves and her mask and started to clear up.
‘My office.’ His voice came from immediately behind her and the raw need in his tone made her gasp. ‘Five minutes.’
She opened her mouth to refuse but no sound came out. And he didn’t hang around to give her time to protest.
Instead, he strode out of Theatre without a backward glance, leaving every bone in her body aching with longing.
She gave a start as Emma came back into the room. ‘Alice is with Lynne. She’s doing well. Isn’t Tom brilliant? He tries so hard not to section women that you wonder whether he even knows how to do it, and then there’s an emergency like that and—bam!’ She slammed her hand into her fist and grinned. ‘He’s so confident and competent that it makes you drool, doesn’t it?’
Sally stood still, struggling to control her own reaction to Tom. She was trying very hard not to drool. ‘He’s very good.’
‘Good? The man’s a genius.’ Emma gave a wistful sigh. ‘Can you imagine what the man must be like in bed?’
Sally closed her eyes briefly.
She knew exactly what he was like in bed.
‘He wants to see me in his office, Emma,’ she said, wondering if Emma would detect the slightly husky note in her voice. But the other woman just looked surprised.
‘I wonder why? Probably to tell you that you did a good job in a crisis. He’s very good at praising people. And you were brilliant, Sally. You just got stuck in without asking any questions.’
Sally smiled and moved towards the door. ‘I think you were the one who was stuck in.’
‘Don’t!’ Emma laughed. ‘I’m going to have a cramp in my right hand for the rest of the day. Go on. If he wants to see you, you’d better shift.’
* * *
Tom stood in his office, staring out of the window, wondering how long he’d have to wait.
His body hummed with a sexual tension so powerful that it was almost painful, and when he heard the soft tap on the door he felt a rush of anticipation.