But it was impossible now. She couldn’t even hear the music because her senses were overloaded with the effort it was taking to distance herself from how it felt to be held in a man’s arms.
She could do this. Shehaddone it, time and again. There was a place in her head she could go where she became kind of an observer of what was happening to her body. Good grief, she was capable of having sex with a man from the perspective of that place and she was quite confident her partner had not been aware of her emotional isolation.
So why couldn’t she get into it right now?
Her senses were overloaded. The warmth of Connor’s body. The way her clothing was offering no kind of protection and making it feel as if his hands were burning imprints into bare skin. The musky male smell of him. The easy, confident flow to the way he moved.
When Connor pulled her even closer, Kate shut her eyes and tried harder but, oddly, what happened was that she could hear the music now. Something about the way he was moving to it maybe. He had more than simply natural rhythm. There was a sensitivity to the way he moved that made it feel like he was channelling the music.
Something melted inside Kate that she hadn’t even known was frozen. Instead of the hold of those arms feeling like prison bars, it became a kind of force field. Something safe that begged her to relax into it. A combination of beautiful music and human touch that was pure pleasure.
And it was irresistible.
* * *
Connor felt the moment that Kate relaxed in his arms.
She could reallydance. He went from feeling he was hauling a concrete block around the dance floor to having something weightless in his arms. He could lose himself in the music and have every move followed as though he was dancing with his own shadow, and it was… amazing.
The track didn’t last nearly long enough. Connor didn’t want another dance partner tonight. He wanted to dance with Kate again. And again. He’d never felt that kind of connection with a woman before, on or off a dance floor.
Wow… If she was like this to dance with, he couldn’t begin to imagine what she might be like in bed.
But whatever the astonishing connection had been, it ended when the music faded, and the ending was harsh. As abrupt as a light switch being flicked off.
For a split second, Kate had stayed as close to his body as it was possible to be in public, as though she hadn’t realised that the track had finished. But then she jerked back. She met his gaze for only a heartbeat but it was long enough for Connor to see the way she refocused and actually sawhim.
The way her eyes darkened with unmistakeable fear.
Terror, even?
‘I… have to go.’ The words came out in a whisper.
And then she turned and all but fled from his side. She disappeared amongst the crowd of people and Connor was far too slow in trying to follow.
By the time he made it off the dance floor and went looking for her, Kate had apparently left the building.
4
This wasnothis problem.
Okay. Someone had obviously done a number on Kate Graham and made her afraid of men.
But it wasn’thim, dammit, so it had been totally undeserved to have her look at him like that. As if he was some kind of monster, for God’s sake, like a murderer or rapist.
Well, he wasn’t going to let it happen again. It had been easy enough to avoid her at work in the last few days since that fundraising fancy-dress ball. She didn’t have to work most weekends and he’d kept strictly to his expected areas of the hospital since then. His path had crossed with Bella’s up in the theatre suite but that hadn’t been a problem. He’d simply avoided talking to Kate’s niece as well. Apart from that he’d attended an outpatient clinic or two and spent the rest of his time in the wards.
He was heading for one of those wards right now to see thirteen-year-old Estelle Montgomery, who’d been admitted after breaking her leg very early that morning.
Tall for her age, Estelle had the tanned skin and bleached blonde hair of someone who spent more time on a beach than anywhere else. Her mother was also in the room and they were both flicking through a magazine. The pages seemed to be a feature on bikinis.
Nice. Connor stopped himself from making any appreciative sounds, however. Instead he smiled.
‘Hi. I’m Connor Matthews.’
‘Oh…’ The magazine slid from her hands and Estelle’s mother swallowed visibly. ‘You’re the orthopaedic surgeon Stella’s been admitted under.’
Connor nodded. ‘I’m sorry I haven’t had a chance to say hello before this but I hope my registrar and the rest of the staff have been looking after you well?’
