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‘Yes, Callum Ferguson said that about you.’ It would be so easy to cross the small space between them and put his arms around her. But he wouldn’t do it. Not again.
Not unless she asked him to.
He had to keep this on a professional footing. For both their sakes.
He put his hand on the doorhandle. Even with Grace lit up he still didn’t like this small space. At this rate he would spend the night sleeping with the doors in his room open to the beach.
‘Why do you think I picked you for the team, Grace? Do you think for a single second it had anything to do with us ending up in the shower together?’
Her eyes widened slightly, probably in shock at the directness of his question.
She didn’t answer straight away. Did that mean she was even considering it? Or that she was trying to conjure up another answer?’
Finally, she shook her head. ‘I hope not.’ Her voice was quiet, almost whispered. Her chin tilted upwards as she adjusted her towel again, drawing his gaze. ‘I hope you picked me because I impressed you with my knowledge of the disease and not with my breast size.’
Her cheeks were flushed, as if she was embarrassed by the very thought of that.
He looked her straight in the eye. ‘I’d already pulled your file, Grace, along with ten other candidates who would be suitable replacements for Mhairi Spencer on the team. You had glowing references from several of your previous placements in the DPA. Being exposed to the powder just brought us together a little quicker. We would have crossed paths soon.’
He folded his arms across his chest.
She stayed silent for a few seconds then sat on edge of the thin mattress on her bed. ‘Thank you, Donovan. That means a lot. When I saw what had been written about me...it just made me doubt the reasons I was here.’ She gave a rueful kind of smile. ‘But I should have known better. After all, let’s face it, I’m not exactly your type, am I?’
Her tone had changed. They were back to the informal, almost playful mood that bounced between them.
He tilted his head to the side. ‘My type? What is that?’
He was amused.
She looked down at her body covered in the thin towel. ‘I’m hardly your usual. Don’t you usually date tall, blonde, willowy types?’
‘Do I?’
‘Apparently.’
‘And are they my type?’ He was still amused. He wasn’t aware that he only dated one kind of woman.
She shrugged. ‘So I’ve heard.’
‘I had no idea my love life was of interest to my colleagues at the DPA. That’s why I never date at work. Too many complications. I don’t like anything interfering with the job.’
Her brow furrowed. ‘Why is that?’ Straight to the point. He was getting to learn that this was a trait of Grace’s. And, to be honest, it was part of her appeal. He’d never liked tiptoeing around people before. It was much better to be up front. Yeah, well. About most things.
‘I like my work to be about work. I don’t like distractions at work. I had a colleague who once got distracted when his wife was taken ill. It played havoc with our work.’
It was almost like a cold chill passed over her body, even though she knew the air temperature hadn’t changed. ‘You’re talking about Matt Sawyer’s first wife, aren’t you? She died on a mission a few years ago.’
His feet shifted uncomfortably and his tanned face had a pale look. Everyone knew about the mission. Everyone knew that Matt had disappeared off the grid for a number of years after that. No one had known if he was dead or alive. Not until he’d turned up two years ago in Chicago with a suspected smallpox outbreak. After a rocky start he’d hit it off with Callie Turner, the doctor who’d led the investigation team. They were married now, with a toddler son, and Sawyer was working with the DPA again on the lecturing circuit.
Donovan looked uncomfortable. ‘That was my first fieldwork assignment.’
‘You were there when she died?’
He took a hesitant breath. ‘Yes...it was awful. He held her in his arms for hours. There was absolutely nothing we could do. Nothing at all. I watched him fall to pieces. All because his wife had been on that fieldwork assignment with him.’
She lifted her hands, conscious that her thin towel was edging downwards. ‘But that was a one-off. Nothing like that has happened since. Matt’s moved on now. He’s married with a kid. So are his sister Violet and Evan Hunter. They met at work too. Why do you think it’s such an issue?’
‘Because I was there, Grace. I saw someone who was one of the best doctors I’d ever worked with unravel at the seams. And look at your examples. Callie doesn’t work for the DPA any more and neither does Violet. They all realised that having an emotional attachment at work means you can’t always do the job you should.’
She took a few steps towards him. She was feeling more and more at ease in his company. It wasn’t that any other guy had ever threatened her. But since the attack, being alone in one place with a guy was a big deal for her. Particularly in the fast-fading light.
Being around Donovan wasn’t uncomfortable. Maybe she was still aware of the touch of his skin, the feel of his lips. Maybe it was the satisfaction of the electricity that seemed to sizzle in the air between them. Whatever it was, it was the first time in a long time she’d been totally at ease—even in her current state of undress.
‘I don’t agree, Donovan.’ She laid her hand on his forearm. ‘I only know what I’ve heard through the grapevine. I heard that Callie Turner hadn’t really wanted to work in this line anyway. And Violet? She’s moved to specialise in foetal alcohol syndrome. I’m not sure the change of jobs was anything to do with working with their husbands.’
He frowned. ‘Do you think you could have a relationship at work and be impartial to the job? Do you really think you could be unemotionally attached if something happened to someone you loved?’
She shrugged her shoulders. ‘I don’t know. I’ve never thought about it.’ She met his gaze. ‘I’ve never had reason to.’ She paused for a second, not believing she’d just said that out loud.
‘That’s why you don’t date anyone from work? Really?’ She shook her head and leaned against the wall. ‘I love my job, Donovan. I do. I’ve no idea which part of the DPA I’ll end up in. But I do know that I would love my partner to share my enthusiasm and commitment to the job. It’s hard to explain to someone else that you have to fly away at a moment’s notice and you can’t give any indication of when you’ll be back. How do you get someone—who doesn’t understand our work—to understand that?’
He was watching her closely and as his face softened she wondered if it sounded as if she was trying to persuade him he should be dating her. Her words might have implied that and the thought made her cringe. She didn’t want to have to persuade someone to be interested in her. That was embarrassing.
There was
the tiniest shake of his head. The muscles in his body tensed. But his voice was quiet. Resolute. ‘I don’t date colleagues, Grace.’
There was no doubt where that was aimed. But instead of hurting her, it only made her indignant.
This time she didn’t reach out gently and touch his forearm. This time she stepped right up to his chest, her head directly underneath his. ‘So you just kiss them, then?’
It was the fewest of words. With everything implied.
She had no idea what was going on his head or hers. She’d been swept away when he’d kissed her. They couldn’t deny the attraction between them any more—not when they’d both acted on it.
Kissing the boss was never an ideal situation. And she didn’t want people to second-guess why she’d got the job.
But part of her was curious about her feelings towards Donovan. She’d never felt a buzz like this before. But in the last few months she’d never met anyone she felt safe around either. Donovan was both.
The dim light cast a shadow over his face. For a few seconds she didn’t know whether he was angry or sad. She could almost read his scrambled thoughts as he tried to make sense of her reasoning.
His fingers clenched around the door handle behind him. He was going to leave. He was going to walk away.
But he didn’t. He dropped his lips to hers as her towel slipped to the floor and all rational thought left the building.
* * *
Her lips tasted even sweeter than before, the feel of her naked body next to his igniting all his senses. One hand circled his back, her palm stroking up and down the length of his spine. The other lifted to the side of his cheek and her fingers scraped against the feel of his stubble.
Remember why you’re here. The words echoed in his brain as his scrambled senses tried to make order of what he was doing. Grace was beautiful. Utterly delectable.
