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Lien could almost feel the invisible cord pulling them both together. It was like a constant tug. If she ignored the little voices telling her that, socially, they were a million miles apart, she could easily let that tug take over.
Joe had started to look at her oddly at times. Almost as if he wanted to ask a question but was stopping himself from doing so.
She felt the same. How did you ask someone these days if they wanted to date? Was it even called that any more? Was she crazy to think about something like that?
They settled on the sand, her wine glass beside her and his beer bottle in one hand. For a while they just sat in comfortable silence. The bay was still dotted with little boats, and the green water gleamed in a variety of colours from the lights within some of the caves where people were still diving. It looked like something that should be on a postcard. After a few minutes of companionable silence Joe cleared his throat. ‘Can I ask you something?’
Her stomach flip-flopped, wondering what came next. ‘Of course you can,’ she said as casually as she could.
‘What do you want out of life?’ The question was like a bit of a bolt from the blue. It wasn’t exactly where she’d thought their conversation would go.
She pulled her knees up to her chest and stared out at the lapping water. ‘I want to be happy. I want to be a good doctor.’
‘Is that all?’
The words kind of stung. ‘What do you mean, is that all?’ Her brow furrowed. ‘Is there a wrong answer to that kind of question?’
He closed his eyes for a second, and when he opened them again he looked at her in a way that sent tingles down her spine. ‘What I meant was, is that enough?’ There was almost an ache in his eyes.
‘Why wouldn’t it be?’ Her voice was a little shaky now. She was treading so carefully. Fearful of taking a misstep. She hadn’t been on the same journey that Joe had been on.
His fingers trailed along in the sand. ‘I just wondered...’
‘Wondered what?’
He didn’t answer. He left those words hanging in the air between them.
The setting was beautiful. The sun was dipping in the sky, sending streaks of silver and lavender across the glittering ocean.
She couldn’t help the pang in her heart right now. She’d never been this attracted to a colleague before. Something between them felt like it had just clicked. Her heart was currently ignoring the fact he was a mass of complications. He was a widower, who said he was trying to move on, but she wasn’t entirely convinced. From what she could gather, his wealth was at the other end of the spectrum from her own family’s. He was only here for a short time, and he’d already mentioned his intention to go back to Scotland. He was a single parent to a little boy. They seemed a perfectly contained little unit. There was no future here for either of them.
She and Joe seemed like they were a million miles apart in lots of ways. But she couldn’t ignore the little stars that in her head were currently sparkling all around them—even if it was just her crazy imagination. Because that was how it felt, deep inside, like something bright and sparkly.
She actually wanted to laugh out loud. Her brain was obviously having a throwback to teenage hormones. This wasn’t normal for her. Not at all. She’d guarded her heart very fiercely since the last time. She had no intention of letting herself be hurt again.
But as her brain filled with crazy thoughts, something else happened.
‘I just wondered—’ his voice was husky ‘—if it was enough. If you wanted more.’ He put his hand up to his chest. ‘From me, I meant. I wondered if your heart skipped beats the same way mine does whenever we’re together, and if sometimes you think about me, the way I think about you?’
She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t even gulp.
His green gaze met hers. Both of them were bathed in the dimming light. This could be a scene from a movie, and before she could think any further, Joe reached over and swept a bit of hair back from her face. The lightest touch of his fingertips made her lick her lips.
That was it. That was all it took. It was like a current flowing between them both and binding them together. She could see the same hunger in his eyes that was currently sweeping her body. In an instant, his head bent and his lips met hers. Her hand reached up automatically, her fingers threading through his thick hair. It made it real. This wasn’t her imagination. This was really happening.
He wasn’t gentle. There was a craving to his kiss. It felt like a test. One that she was determined to ace.
Her other hand reached up around his neck and he pulled her towards him. All of a sudden they weren’t side by side on the beach any more. Her leg moved automatically so she was sitting astride him, letting her chest press against his.
His unshaven face scraped against her jaw, but it didn’t make her pull back. Instead, it just seemed to light up her senses even more. His hands slid to her waist, one finger resting at the tiny break between her shirt and trousers, contacting her bare skin. It made her catch her breath.
She should stop now. She knew she should.
But she didn’t want to.
She didn’t want to be sensible. She didn’t want to think about the trouble with mixing work and pleasure. All she wanted to think about was the here and now.
She’d thought about this. She’d imagined it. But her imagination hadn’t even got close to how good the reality was. She could feel all her senses ignite. She pressed closer to him, wishing they were skin against skin. Her hands had gone from his hair and were now tracing down the broad muscles across his back. Her fingers itched to pull the shirt over his head.
As his hands slid up the bare skin at her back she let out a little gasp and tipped her head back. His lips went to her neck. To that tiny spot just below her ear where even the barest whisper of contact made her crazy. For a moment she was lost in the sensation. Lost in what might happen next.
‘Whoa.’ She put both hands on his chest and pushed back.
He stopped immediately. ‘Lien?’
She let herself catch her breath. Her heart was thudding unevenly in her chest. His hands left her skin and went back to the sand. The first thing that struck her was how much she’d wanted them to stay where they were.
She gave a slow nod. ‘I just need a moment,’ she said huskily, gulping to try and let some more air in, to still her speeding heart.
‘Sure.’ He leaned back a little, giving her more space. She left her hands on his chest, letting the heat from his body permeate through her palms. She liked it. She could feel the energy, feel the buzz. This could be addictive. He could be addictive. Her own heart was racing in her chest and she could feel his doing exactly the same beneath her palms.
Her brain was trying to tell her to slow down and think. But she was tired of the voices in her head constantly reminding her how far apart she and Joe really were. She didn’t care they were from different continents. She didn’t care about their pasts. She didn’t care how both families were at opposite ends of the financial spectrum. All she cared about was this buzz between them—this feeling.
She t
ook a moment, breathing slowly, relishing what came next.
She let her fingers tap his chest before she lifted her head and gave him a smile. At any moment she knew she could stand up and walk away, but she didn’t want to.
‘Okay,’ she murmured, tracing a line down his forehead and nose, pausing at his lips.
His face was serious. ‘Okay...what?’
He was a workmate. She’d never mixed business with pleasure before. Every rational part of her brain told her to stop this now and walk away. But her thighs were practically clamped around his hips right now. It didn’t matter what her brain said, her body had different ideas.
‘It’s fine,’ he said softly, his accent broad. ‘We can forget this ever happened. Write it off to two grown-ups getting carried away with the setting and the moment.’ The hoarseness of that voice was setting pings off all over her body.
She shook her head firmly and twisted one finger through his hair. ‘What if I don’t want to forget it?’ she said. She couldn’t hide her teasing tone.
He straightened again, his hands leaving the sand and resting on her hips. ‘You don’t?’
Their gazes meshed. She could almost swear she could hear her heartbeat above the crashing waves behind them. ‘What if my heartbeat races just as much as yours, and I think about you until I drive myself a crazy?’
A smile danced across his lips. ‘You’re sure?’ he reiterated.
She said the words with complete conviction, ‘I’m sure,’ before leaning forward and pressing her lips to his.
CHAPTER TEN
‘DR LIEN, THERE’S an emergency!’ The banging at her door woke her out of the perfect dream she’d been having of wearing red sparkly shoes and dancing down the yellow brick road. Joe had been there too, laughing and waving. Where on earth had that come from?
She rubbed her eyes as she strode over to the door and yanked it open. Her eyes caught the clock. Six a.m.
