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Ann, the nurse, walked in. ‘Tea and time for your medicine Mrs Zarcourt.’
Josie took the cup of tea, and drank it down thirstily. Then, out of the blue, she was struck by a fierce wave of protective emotion for her child. ‘The medication won’t harm my baby?’ she asked quickly. She could put up with a headache but nothing must harm her child.
‘No. Packed with vitamins with a mild sedative effect, it will do both of you the world of good.’
‘Josie.’ The deep male voice woke her from a light sleep. Cautiously she opened her eyes, and levered herself up into a sitting position, folding the bedclothes over her stomach.
‘Ah, Josie. You’re finally with us again. You can’t imagine how good that makes me feel,’ the man said softly, and in a few lithe strides he crossed the room and seated himself on the side of the bed.
Josie’s eyes widened in surprise. The dishevelled stranger of when she’d first woken up had been replaced by a tall broad-shouldered, clean-shaven, attractive man, immaculately dressed in a grey suit and white shirt. Warily she studied him. ‘Who are you?’ she asked inanely, a jumble of emotions churning inside her. If he was her husband she did not even remember his name...
‘Conan. My name is Conan. The doctor told me you’d lost your memory but...’ He hesitated, a flicker of some emotion she did not recognise illuminating his hard features. ‘You really don’t remember anything?’ he demanded, watching her with dark, assessing eyes.
‘No. No. I’m sorry...Conan.’ She tried his name. ‘Conan,’ she repeated softly, the word sliding easily from her tongue. ‘Are we really married?’ she asked, searching his face, hoping to find some memory, anything that would help her from the fog she was living in. As she watched, his dark glance slid from her face and down over her shoulders to linger for a long moment on her full breasts and the soft swell of her stomach. She had the oddest notion he was undecided as to how to respond.
Then suddenly his head lifted and his glittering eyes clashed with hers. ‘Absolutely, Josie,’ he declared, and, catching her small hands in his, he squeezed them gently. ‘I am your husband, all legal and above board, I can assure you.’
She trembled slightly, suddenly aware of the warmth of his hands enfolding hers and resting on her stomach. ‘And we’re having a baby,’ she murmured.
‘That, too,’ he confirmed as he slowly bent his dark head towards her, and she could do nothing but stare, mesmerised, as his mouth gently closed over hers. The touch of his lips, the scent of him were somehow familiar. A tingle of excitement fluttered down her spine. Her husband, she told herself. She felt something for this big dark man; the reaction of her body told her as much. His tongue slid between her parted lips and he kissed her with an achingly tender passion.
‘Convinced?’ He broke the kiss and let go of her hands and pulled her into his arms.
Josie tentatively rested her hands on his chest, and studied his tanned, rugged features. His kiss had aroused a host of emotions inside her. Her response had been involuntary, but still there was a lingering fear she could not dispel. She wanted so much to believe she remembered him, but deep down she was forced to admit that, apart from the brief flicker of recognition she’d felt as she’d first looked into his eyes, he was still a stranger. A handsome one, but a stranger. A shiver of apprehension slithered down her spine as she gazed up at him. There was a hardness about him, a look that almost dared her to deny him... No, she was imagining things. He was here for her, wasn’t he...?
‘I think so,’ she finally answered him. She might be injured, but she would have had to be brain-dead not to realise he was a devastatingly attractive man. Her senses were captivated by his touch, the musky male scent of him, and the warmth of his powerful body was the stuff of fantasy. On impulse Josie added mischievously, ‘But you could try again just to make sure!’
It was his turn to look surprised; his dark eyes flared briefly, and his arms tightened around her. She could feel the heavy beating of his heart against her own, then once again his mouth sought hers. The kiss seemed to go on for ever and lit an answering response in Josie. She wrapped her slender arms around his neck. Yes, yes this was real. Josie groaned, and when he ended it she was trembling.
‘Josie,’ he breathed unsteadily. ‘We’d better stop.’ Holding her close, with one hand he gently stroked the back of her head as she buried her face in his broad chest.
It was so good to feel the solid warmth of his body, and for long moments she was content to wallow in the protection and comfort he offered her. The sense of loneliness, desolation she had felt after talking to the doctor miraculously disappeared to be replaced with a growing sense of security in Conan’s arms. ‘I am convinced,’ she murmured. ‘But I still have no memory.’
‘Trust me, Josie.’ He gently nuzzled her hair. ‘The doctor has explained everything to me, and it will all come back eventually.’ Easing her gently back against the pillows, he held her hands loosely in his. ‘But in the meantime you must not try to force your memory. I’ll answer any questions that are really bothering you. Okay?’ He smiled.
‘Okay.’ She grinned back at him. ‘But I have a million questions; I hardly know where to start. First—how did the accident happen? Was I driving? Who else—?’
‘Wait. Wait,’ he cut in. ‘Perhaps it would be better if you listen and I’ll tell you what the doctor thinks you need to know.’ And he proceeded to do so. ‘The accident was unavoidable, and there was no one else involved. You were driving back from the antenatal clinic. There was ice on the road and the car skidded into the ditch. But I blame myself because I allowed you to drive yourself.’
‘No, you mustn’t blame yourself; it was obviously simply an act of God...or my bad driving.’
‘You’re very generous, Josie,’ his hands tightened around hers. ‘But it was my fault I should never have let you go alone, and I’ll never let you go alone again,’ he declared fiercely.
‘And am I alone? I mean, do I have any family apart from you?’ She had to ask because it had occurred to Josie that there had been no mention of any visitors other than Conan.
‘Ah, Josie, you cut me to the quick!’ He sighed dramatically, placing a hand over his heart, but his dark eyes sparkled with amusement. ‘I thought I was enough for you,’ he said teasingly, before going on to explain that she had a father, who was currently on a world cruise. He had contacted the ship—it was somewhere in the Indian Ocean, and her father had intended leaving at the next port of call to come back to see her. ‘I hope you don’t mind, but I called the ship again this afternoon and told him there was no need for him to cancel his cruise—you were recovering fine.’
‘Cruising on his own? That sounds lonely,’ she murmured.
‘Not alone. My father is with him.’
‘So our families are friends? That’s nice.’ She grinned. The information reassured her. Conan was definitely her husband and they were happily married. ‘But what about brothers or sisters? Do I have any?’
‘No, and your mother died when you were young.’
‘Oh. So do you have any siblings I should know?’
He glanced down at their entwined hands. ‘No; like you I only have a father.’
