‘Light beer would be perfect,’ he said, pulling out one of the kitchen stools. ‘I’m off duty now but I don’t like to indulge too much in case there’s an emergency.’
Fran handed him a bottle of beer before pouring herself a glass of white wine from the bottle that had been open for a couple of days. ‘How did Mr Smith’s family take the news
of his accident?’ she asked as she began cracking eggs for an omelette.
‘He doesn’t have any family down here,’ he said. ‘He has a brother somewhere, in Wagga, I think.’
She looked up from cracking the third egg. ‘So you know him?’
Something shifted in his gaze. ‘Not personally.’
She broke another egg and picked up the whisk, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip for a moment. ‘I’ve been thinking about his injuries…’
‘Oh?’
She met his gaze across the counter. ‘The trauma to his throat was pretty unusual for a hit and run. The broken leg is standard, but the neck…’ She lowered her eyes and began to whisk the eggs. ‘I don’t know…’
‘You don’t think it was a hit and run?’ he asked.
She glanced back at him. ‘What do you think?’
He held her look for a beat or two. ‘There were no skid marks to indicate a car trying to avoid a collision,’ he said. ‘There were tyre marks, though, where a car had appeared to stop and taken off again at speed.’
Fran gnawed at her lip again. ‘So you think there’s a possibility he had been injured somewhere else and dumped there to make it look like a hit and run?’
He ran the pad of his thumb over the lip of his beer bottle, the set to his mouth grim. ‘Looks like it.’
She let out a breath without realising she had been holding it. ‘Do you have any idea of what sort of motive someone would have for doing such a thing?’ she asked. ‘Does Mr Smith have enemies down here?’
His expression turned cynical. ‘People like Wade Smith have enemies everywhere—they’d follow him like a bad smell.’
‘Who reported the accident?’ she asked as she put the omelette on the cooktop.
‘It was an anonymous call from a mobile phone. We should have the information on who it was by tomorrow.’
‘Do you think it was the same person responsible for the accident?’ she asked with a frown.
‘Not likely,’ he said. ‘Why would someone who wanted him dead call for help? It’s more likely a local found him and didn’t want to get involved, called it in once they’d left the scene. There were other tyre tracks—it’s a matter of working out which ones belong to which vehicles.’
Fran picked up her wine, unable to suppress a faint shiver. ‘It creeps me out to think of someone wandering around town who would think nothing of maiming someone so severely.’
‘Do you think he will survive?’
‘I think so, his body anyway,’ she said, turning to check on the omelette. ‘But the brain injury…that could be severe or maybe he’ll just wake up with a headache and amnesia for the whole episode. We’ll know after he comes off the ventilator.’
Jacob drummed two of his fingers on the side of his beer bottle. ‘You did a fantastic job out there, Dr Nin. That was a tough call but you handled it brilliantly. I have to confess I had my doubts about you before, but you took control as if on autopilot or something.’
She met his eyes again, twisting her mouth ruefully. ‘Can we quit the Doctor and Sergeant routine?’
‘Sure,’ he said, smiling that half-smile. ‘Fran, then.’
‘Thanks,’ she said. ‘But I have to tell you I was terrified out there.’
‘You didn’t show it.’
She bit her lip. ‘I can see how this place really needs a full-time doctor.’
‘Are you reconsidering taking it on?’ he asked. ‘Linda told me she has a clinic already fully booked for Friday.’
Fran picked up her wine again, twirling the glass rather than drinking from it. ‘I know,’ she said. ‘I got her message on my voicemail. But I’m an emergency medicine physician. I spent years training to be the best I could be, but…’ Her teeth savaged her lip again. ‘I’m not a GP.’
‘It seems to me cops are a little like doctors,’ he said. ‘We have to keep fairly general in our knowledge and experience. I’ve worked in traffic and the drug squad and even a stint in covert operations, but a cop is a cop, much the same as a doctor is a doctor. The training is almost hardwired into us. It seemed like that out there today when you took charge as if you’d been doing it every day of your life.’
Fran’s hand trembled as she put down her wineglass. She frowned as she dished up the omelette, wondering where to begin, wondering why she wanted to tell him when she had refused to talk about it with anyone else. Maybe it was because she felt he would understand. After all, he had suffered because of what a criminal had done to his father. He carried that pain; she saw it in him, the way he held part of himself back, the way he rationed his smiles.
She handed him a plate with a large serving of salad and fluffy cheese omelette on it before she sat on the stool opposite, with some food for herself. ‘Jacob, there’s something you should know about me…’
His eyes centred on hers, not a muscle on his face moving as he silently watched her.
Fran moistened her lips and began again, ‘I know you think I’m a city chick with an attitude problem, and to some degree I’ve encouraged that view. It was easier than offering an explanation for my behaviour just about every time we’ve met up.’
Still he remained silent.
Fran looked down at her plate, shifting her food for a moment before returning her gaze to his unwavering one. ‘It was a busy Friday night,’ she said. ‘I’ve had hundreds of them during my career. There were patients lined up on trolleys and chairs, waiting for beds on the wards. I guess you know how rundown the public health-care system is. Security had been called to deal with a drunk who was shouting abuse at the staff. I was called to deal with a new admission, another young man who had come in with lacerations to both his arms…’ She stopped and swallowed.
‘Go on,’ Jacob said in a low deep tone.
She looked at him, her voice sounding hollow as she continued. ’It was like someone had turned a switch on him somewhere. He was agitated when he came in certainly, but I thought that was because of his injury. But suddenly he became uncontrollably violent. He threw me up against the wall. I screamed for help but he slammed his fist into my face. I think I might have lost consciousness briefly but I came to and found him stomping on my leg. The pain…’ She grimaced and went on, ‘I tried to get away but he hauled me up again and the last thing I remember is his fist coming towards me again…’
Jacob felt his insides churn. For all his years as a police officer he still couldn’t stomach violence, particularly violence against women and children. He had attended briefings on dealing with drug-fuelled assailants and he had experienced it firsthand in Sydney too many times to count. The level of violence was astonishing. People affected by crystal meth—ice, as it was known on the street—developed bursts of superhuman strength. Once the effects of the drug wore off, most were not even aware of what they had done or the havoc
they had caused. Even excess alcohol had a similar effect on some people, and that was a problem that was worsening with binge drinking.
It was no wonder Fran was questioning her career choice. Who wouldn’t think twice about returning to the fray to perhaps face the same again? He had seen plenty of cops give the job away for less. Little Frances Nin was a very courageous young woman for stepping into the breach as she had so far while she had been in the Bay. How she had done it, given what she had been through, amazed him.
‘I was in a coma for three weeks,’ she said into the silence. ‘No one was sure whether I was going to be the same person when or if I woke up.’ She gave him a rueful look. ‘And I guess I’m not the same person.’
Jacob cleared his throat. ‘No one could be the same after such an experience,’ he said, his voice coming out sounding rusty. ‘You’ve done well to get this far.’
She gave him another rueful grimace. ‘Apart from my leg.’
‘I could help you with that,’ he said. ‘I meant what I said earlier today. You can use my gym any time.’
She toyed with the stem of her glass, her mouth pulled down at the corners. ‘He left me because of it,’ she said after a moment. ‘The guy I was seeing. Not that it was serious or anything—we were just going on the casual date when work allowed—but it became pretty obvious he couldn’t handle a damaged partner. He traded me in for a newer, updated model. One who can wear sky-high heels and run like a gazelle.’
Jacob shook his head in disbelief.
She picked up her wineglass and gave it another twirl, tilting her head to one side as she searched his features. ‘Maybe I will try out that gym of yours,’ she said. ‘Maybe it’s time I stopped feeling sorry for myself too.’
Jacob put his barely touched meal aside and came around to her side of the counter.
‘What are you doing?’ she asked, her eyes flaring slightly.
‘What I wanted to do earlier this afternoon,’ he said, placing his hands on each side of her narrow waist as he drew her to her feet.
She quivered at his touch, her tongue darting out to moisten her lips. ‘Oh…’
He hooked one brow upwards. ‘Oh?’
She gave him a nervous flicker of a smile. ‘I mean
Oh.
’
His gaze dropped to her mouth, her beautiful soft mouth that he had dreamt of kissing for days. His groin tightened, his spine tingled, and, taking a breath that snagged on something deep inside his chest, he lowered his mouth to hers.
F
RAN
had dreamt of his mouth for days. She had watched him speak with it, she had watched him do that half-smile with it and she had seen him twist it in concentration and even flatten it in anger. But none of that prepared her for how it would feel against hers.
At the very first contact of his lips on hers she felt a rush of sensation go through her that was completely spellbinding. His mouth was firm but there was softness in it too, surprising gentleness that stirred her deeply. Her mouth buzzed beneath the pressure of his, every nerve swelling beneath the surface of her lips to take more of him in.
She felt the slow brush of his tongue against the seam of her mouth, her legs almost collapsing as he gently pushed through to claim her totally. The sexy rasp of his tongue against hers sent her into a sensual vortex. Her spine tingled as he explored the moist cave of her mouth, stroking her tongue, teasing it, cajoling it to join his in a dance that left her breathless with a longing she had never felt to that extent before.
She felt his hands leave her waist to bury themselves in her hair, his fingers splaying against her scalp as he angled her
head to deepen the kiss even further. Her heart raced as his tongue stabbed teasingly at hers, mimicking the physical intimacy his body craved. She could feel the swollen length of him against her, his arousal making her feel womanly and attractive, and powerfully feminine in a way she had never felt with anyone else.
She had been kissed many times before; she had even made love many times—well, maybe not
that
many times, she thought a little ruefully. Her first lover had been early in medical school and sex had always been a bit of a rushed affair, always leaving her feeling a bit up in the air, uncompleted, unsatisfied, and nearly always blaming herself.
But somehow this one kiss with Jacob put her senses in a place they had never been previously. It was as if her whole body had come alive for the first time ever. It was throbbing inside and out, aching, pulsing, excited, exhilarated with feelings foreign to her. Her breasts prickled and ached with tension, the tightening of her flesh making her hungry for his touch.
She could almost imagine how his calloused hands would feel on her tender flesh—abrasive, masculine, possessive and totally mind-blowing. Then she thought of his mouth on her, hot, wet, his tongue laving her, his mouth sucking on her until her nipples were engorged and swollen. Her mind hurtled out of control with the erotic images.
‘God, I should stop right now,’ he groaned just above her lips, his fingers burying deeper into her hair as if anchoring himself. ‘For pity’s sake, tell me to stop.’
Fran shivered in delight as the breath of his statement danced over the surface of her kiss-swollen lips. Every hair on her head felt sensitised. Her scalp prickled and warmed with excitement, and her breathing became hectic and uneven
as she sent her tongue out, tasting him, taking that arrant male taste into her mouth and swallowing it, relishing in it.
‘Oh…’ was all she could manage.
He gave her a crooked smile. ‘Oh?’
She smiled back, but shyly. ‘Oh as in oh-h-h.’ She let her voice go down in disappointment.
His eyes glittered with desire as he looked back down at her mouth. ‘You know, this could become a bit of habit,’ he said in a gravel-rough tone that curled her toes. ‘Kissing you, I mean.’
Fran shivered again as his hands left her hair and went to the small of her back, bringing her hard up against him. Her stomach quivered at the contact, hard to soft, male to female. ‘Oh?’ Again it was all she could get past her trembling lips.
‘Yes.’ His mouth slanted sexily as he brought it back down to hers.
Fran breathed in the scent of him, her eyes closing as he took her on another sensual journey, each thrilling step of the way a total enlightenment to her. How could one pair of lips evoke so much feeling? How could one tongue communicate desire in so many ways? That sexy sweeping action, that gentle stroking and the delicious little thrusts that spilled a fountain of need inside her. She could feel the walls of her inner body melting, the hot liquid of desire pooling between her thighs.
Her arms somehow ended up around his neck, her fingers threading through his thick dark hair, his groan of response delighting her as she kissed him back. Her lips played with his, nibbling at his bottom lip, soft little nips that tugged and tethered simultaneously.
Jacob dragged his mouth off hers. ‘O-K,’ he said, his breathing more than a little ragged, ‘definitely time to stop.’
She gazed up at him, her arms still around his neck, her fingers making tiny caressing circles in his hair. It made the hairs on the back of his neck quiver as they stood upright, and a warm, lava-like feeling pooled at the base of his spine.
God, he wanted her. When was the last time he had felt this level of arousal? He’d had his fair share of sexual partners. Not as many as some of his mates, but he had never been interested in one-night stands. His work had shown him the dangers of casual sex, not just disease and infections but how things could be misinterpreted, how without the context of a relationship the lines could so easily become blurred.
And yet sex had still been a purely physical thing for him. A mutually enjoyable partnership, but somehow this was different. Way different.
He didn’t want to stop.
He didn’t know how he
had
stopped.
He just knew he didn’t want to end this spell that had whipped him into thinking things he was not used to thinking.
‘I guess you’re right,’ she said, dropping her arms from around his neck and taking a small step backwards. Her cheeks were flushed like a pale pink rose, her grey-blue eyes all dark inkspot pupils, her mouth soft and swollen, as if it had been stung.
Jacob brushed his fingertip against the curve of her chin where his skin had grazed her. Seeing the red patch on her creamy skin made something inside his chest give slightly.
‘Sorry,’ he said heavily. ‘I should have shaved before I came around.’
She put a hand to her face, her slim fingers tracing over the spot. ‘It’s fine…’ Her voice was soft, whisper-soft. ‘I can’t even feel it.’
He drew in a hitching breath and before he could stop himself he leaned down to press a feather-light kiss to the graze.
He lifted his head, but not far enough.
Time stood still for an infinitesimal moment.
He watched as the point of her tongue came out, shyly, tentatively, and deposited a fine sheen of moisture over her blood-red lips. His groin tightened further, his heart rate escalating as he leaned down again. He felt her quickly expelled breath against his lips, a little gasp of surprise and excitement that fuelled his desire like a freshly struck match to bone-dry tinder. He watched as her eyelashes fluttered and slowly closed, and then his mouth came back down and sealed hers.
Fran sighed with pleasure as his lips worked their magic all over again. His hands were on her hips, his fingers splayed against her, holding her to his throbbing heat. She put her arms around his waist, her hands exploring the well-formed muscles of his back, before dipping lower to his taut buttocks. He planted his legs either side of hers, bracketing her body with his. It made her aware of every hard ridge of him, the latent power of him making her heart race as his body pulsed with longing against hers.
He made a sound deep in his throat, a very male, very aroused sound that made her stomach go into freefall. And then his hands moved up from her hips, slowly, tantalisingly slowly, stalling just below the curve of her breasts. She shifted against him, offering herself to him, aching to feel his palms on her, touching her, shaping her, possessing her.
His hands cupped her through her lightweight robe, the flimsy satin not enough to withstand the warmth of his palms. ‘Nice,’ he rumbled against her lips.
‘Mmm…’ she breathed back dreamily.
‘Should stop now,’ he added, trailing one finger down the shadow of her cleavage.
‘I guess…’ She shivered as his fingertip brushed the inner side of her breast, the sensitive skin bursting with sensation.
‘You know…before I do something totally inappropriate,’ he went on, parting her robe just a little, his mouth branding the upper curve of her right breast in a scorch of male lips against bare feminine flesh.
‘Mmm,’ she said, arching her spine.
‘You’re not helping me here, Fran,’ he said in mock reproach as he gave her other breast the same searing kiss.
‘I kn-know…’ She shivered against him again. ‘Crazy, isn’t it?’
He peeled the robe back a little further, his thumb rolling over the tight bud of her nipple, making her gasp out loud. ‘The trouble is, of course, that practically every time I see you, you’re half dressed,’ he growled playfully.
Fran gave him a coy smile. ‘So you noticed that first day, huh?’
His eyes darkened as they held hers. ‘Damn right I did, and that other day on the beach.’
She arched her brows and angled her head as she looked up at him pointedly. ‘Which other day?’
His thumb was still caressing her nipple, his eyes locked on hers. ‘Every day since you’ve been in town.’
Her eyes widened. ‘You saw me sunbathing?’
He tapped her on the end of her nose. ‘I hope you were wearing sunscreen, Dr Nin.’
‘Always,’ she said, blushing again. ‘I just wanted to live a little dangerously for once. My sister sort of egged me on. She said no one would see me.’
He smiled that sexy smile once more. ‘Don’t worry, I didn’t see too much. I was too far away.’
‘I hope you’re not obliquely inferring I am too small in that department,’ Fran said with a little frown of insecurity pulling at her brow.
‘Of course not,’ he said, frowning back. ‘You’re beautiful. Perfect, in fact.’
She bit her lower lip. ‘Sorry for being so sensitive…it’s just it was a bit of an issue with one of my ex-boyfriends. He seemed to think I would benefit from some enhancement. He even offered to refer me to a colleague of his.’
‘What a jerk,’ Jacob muttered darkly.
Fran felt her smile come from inside her chest; it bloomed and bloomed until it burst out on her lips. ‘You know something, Sergeant Hawke? You’re a really nice man.’
He gave her a rueful look and pulled the edges of her robe together. ‘Thanks for reminding me.’
Her shoulders went down. ‘Oh…’
He pressed a brief, hard kiss to her mouth. ‘Come to my place on Friday late afternoon,’ he said. ‘I’ll show you how to use my equipment in the gym.’
‘I don’t want to impose…’
He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, the gentle touch of his fingers sending another river of sensation cascading down her spine. ‘Afterwards I’ll make us some dinner,’ he said. ‘Nothing special, so don’t get your hopes up.’
Fran gave him a smile. ‘I’m sure it will be lovely. Would you like me to bring something?’
‘No, just come about five-thirty or so,’ he said. ‘Or would you like me to pick you up?’
Fran suddenly frowned. ‘I’m not sure what to do about the clinic…’
‘The clinic Linda rescheduled for tomorrow?’
She nodded and lowered her eyes. ‘I didn’t have a headache today, which I think you already know…’
He tipped up her chin with his finger. ‘Want to tell me what happened?’
She chewed at her lip. ‘I was all set to go in…well I was parked out in front at least…’
‘And?’
She swallowed tightly. ‘I started to walk up the path when I heard the sirens—I guess it was you on your way to the fire. The fire engine was on your tail and all the noise…it just got to me. I panicked,
really
panicked. I thought I was going to pass out.’
‘You poor kid,’ he said gently.
‘Linda came out and found me looking like a total zombie,’ she said. ‘How could I explain it all to her? I felt such a fool. All I could think was I had to get out of there, and fast. I told her the first thing that came to mind, which was sort of true as by the time I got back to Caro’s place my head was pounding.’
Jacob put his hands on her shoulders. ‘Have you had panic attacks before?’
‘Yes…’ Her cheeks went bright red. ‘I haven’t told anyone but you, not even my sister. Everyone expects doctors to be able to cope with anything. We see blood and death and serious injury all the time, but I just can’t seem to walk into a hospital without breaking out in a cold sweat.’ She looked up at him. ‘You should have seen me trying to get through the doors of Wollongong Hospital to visit Caro and the babies. It took me twenty attempts before I could summon up the courage.’
Jacob cupped the nape of her neck as he held her gaze. ‘I’m
sorry for bullying you practically non-stop about taking up the position at the clinic. I wish I had known. I wish your sister or Nick had mentioned something to me. Why didn’t they?’
‘Because I swore them to secrecy,’ she confessed with a sheepish look. ‘I know it probably sounds silly but I want to deal with it in my own time. People treat me differently when they find out what happened. I hate being pitied. I just want to find my own way through this, however long it takes.’
‘Fran, I’ve had colleagues lose it completely over things they’ve seen or been through,’ he said. ‘Some make it back, others don’t. But the one thing you must focus on is trying to get your life back. You are a talented doctor. It would be a shame to see that talent go to waste.’
Fran stepped out of his hold. ‘Ever since I was eight I have wanted to be an A and E specialist. I fell off my bike and broke my arm and the experience of the caring doctors left a huge impression on me. I have never thought of being anything but an emergency specialist. I just don’t see myself as a country GP.’
‘Did I say you had to commit to being a GP?’ he asked. ‘I’m just suggesting it might be a way to ease yourself back into things, to rebuild your confidence.’
Fran let out a breath. ‘I’m not making any promises, Jacob. I can’t, can’t you see that?’
He stepped back and took her by the shoulders again. ‘What if I come with you the first couple of times? Would that help?’
She looked up at him in wonder. ‘You would do that?’