The Doctor's Forbidden Fling (7 page)

‘I don't know but sometimes I wish I could go back.'

With Violet standing here in his dining room wearing nothing more than his shirt and a smile, this was as far from those innocent days as they got. ‘I can't say I'd rather be anywhere else.'

He leaned in to kiss her, reasoning twice in twelve years wasn't going to wreak too much havoc. He simply wanted to find out if her lips were as soft and sweet as he remembered. They were.

He should've left it at one gentle peck on the lips, enough to reconnect and erase the bad feeling left with her departure. When he opened his eyes and saw her lips parted for more, felt her hands slide around his neck in submission, he couldn't recall any reason to hold back. They both wanted this. In some ways they needed it to enable them to finally move on.

He slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to deepen the kiss he'd waited too long to repeat. As Violet pressed her body against his it soon became clear this was more than one innocent smooch. His erection grew ever stronger with every flick of her tongue against his, every breathy moan of acceptance.

With his hands at her waist he lifted her off the floor and set her on the edge of the table. Violet gave a yelp against his mouth in surprise but wrapped her legs around him to keep him in place. With one sweep of his arm he cleared the papers from the table to the floor so he could lay her down. He went with her, kissing the exposed skin at the open V of his shirt. She was a feast he intended to enjoy guilt-free.

Violet's limbs had turned to jelly with that first brush of his lips on hers and made her forget they were in the middle of an argument. Her thoughts were hazy with desire but she'd known he'd only been trying to help as always. She'd been the one to let emotions get in the way by almost letting slip the extent of her feelings for him in the past and lighting the touch paper for this chemistry that had been bubbling between them since she'd come home. If she was honest it had always been there and it had been a long, hard fight to keep it at bay, and not always a successful one.

That second kiss had nothing to do with the past. This time around they were acting on pure carnal instinct. Having sex on a dining table was as animalistic and far from emotional entanglement as she could hope for.

As if to illustrate her point, Nate was reaching beneath her shirt to remove her panties and making her wet with want for him. Her skin was so sensitive every brush of his fingers sent a shudder rippling through her in anticipation. She couldn't distinguish her scald marks from the rest of her skin burning up with his every touch.

He stepped back and tossed her underwear over his shoulder with a grin, leaving Violet squirming on the hard wood surface. She didn't care how uncomfortable this was, all that mattered was the ache he'd created inside her and how soon he was going to cure it.

Not any time soon, it seemed, as he began a torturously slow ascent along her thigh using his mouth and tongue. Her body was on high alert—her nipples hardening, her arousal heading to meet him—as he teased her with a sample of everything he could do for her. To her.

Violet braced her hands on the table, fighting off the too early waves of ecstasy trying to drag her into oblivion. She wanted this to last as long as humanly possible because in all likelihood it could be their first and last surrender to temptation.

Somewhere in the distance she heard a faint buzzing sound. She hadn't figured Nate to be into anything kinky but, spread-eagled before him, it wouldn't be right to start getting prudish now. She heard Nate groan and bit back one of her own. He was certainly taking his time. If he was into that tantric nonsense she was going to have to take matters into her own hands pretty soon.

‘I'm really sorry, Violet.' The sound of his voice and the cold air hitting her where his hot lips had once been pulled her sharply back from the brink.

‘Hmm?' She was struggling to sit up, her body limp with desire and Nate-tending.

‘I have to go. I'm needed at the hospital.' He waved a battery-powered device at her, which was unfortunately ending their evening, not getting it off to an exciting start.

‘You've been paged?' She came close to banging her head on the table in frustration.

‘'Fraid so.' The bulge in his trousers and his sad eyes said he was as disappointed as she was that this was over before it had begun.

Violet scrabbled to sit up, her hands sliding on the remnants of the bills scattered around. Her guilt receptors kicked in immediately. Putting her own needs first had saved her sanity in the past, but in this case she'd lost sight of what was most important. They were supposed to be working on helping her father, taking steps to make sure she could escape at the end of all of this. Getting jiggy with Nate certainly wasn't doing anything to fast-track those plans.

He was integral to all aspects of her life here and she didn't want to jeopardise any of that. She should be doing everything she could to try and get her father back in his rightful place instead of finding reasons to keep her around.

‘It's probably for the best. You're my dad's cardiologist...you're helping me with Strachmore...that has to be more important than this...us.'

Nate was left breathless with the full impact of Violet's comment. It was bad enough that he'd been physically pained at having to call a halt to this moment of madness but Violet's reaction had body-slammed him and stolen what was left of those feel-good endorphins.

He was acceptable in his professional capacity treating her father, helpful in his role as financial advisor, but, when she'd stopped to think about it, not good enough even as a temporary bed partner.

Of course, hooking up with Violet hadn't been a good idea; he'd known that from the first time they'd almost done this. He'd simply got carried away with the revelation she might've loved him at some point. If he'd been thinking with his head he might've realised that had made her even more callous for leaving him.

‘I have to go straight into surgery so I'm afraid I won't have time to take you home. I'll leave money for a taxi. Make sure you lock the door on your way out.' This time he wasn't going to sit around brooding about why she didn't want him. He had a job and a life outside Lady Dempsey's whim.

CHAPTER FIVE

V
IOLET
HAD
KEPT
herself as busy as possible in the days following Lasagne-Gate. She'd managed to sell her mother's diamond necklace back to the jewellers her father had originally bought it from, for probably a fraction of what he'd paid for it, but it had eased some of the financial burden heaped on her shoulders. For the best part of forty-eight hours she'd had the phone attached to her ear, fending off the bailiffs before they descended on the castle to seize the family silver. It had taken a lot of time, talking and money but she'd managed to pacify most of the creditors chasing her father. For now. Unfortunately none of it had managed to keep Nate from her thoughts for long.

If the hospital hadn't paged him she had no doubt they would've rocked that dining table all night long. That call had given her the clarity to remember how much sleeping together could complicate things. Even he seemed to have had a change of heart since then, reverting to that aloof Nate she'd encountered on that first night. There'd been no mention of the fact they'd almost done the deed at his house, neither had there been an invitation to finish what they'd started. It was a shame her body wouldn't let her forget the sizzling after-dinner entertainment.

She and Nate had kept interaction about Strachmore matters in strictly public areas since that night but it didn't prevent her from thinking about what they'd done in private. His talk of fire-risk assessments could have well been about the physical effect he had on her. A five-minute chat these days was enough to leave her hot and bothered when she could still feel his lips inching along her inner thigh. It wasn't fair only one of them appeared to be suffering, and it was confidence-crushing to find he had no lingering desire to see that night to a conclusion. Even if her conscience had played a part in bringing matters to an end.

Unresolved sexual tension aside, this past couple of nights had been tough. It didn't cost her a second thought to come home every night to her London flat but Strachmore seemed to amplify her loneliness. The chimes of antique clocks echoing through the empty house taunted her, reminded her of the time that had passed between her and everyone here. She couldn't get it back and some day her lone occupancy of the castle would be permanent.

When she was with Nate there wasn't a moment to dwell on the past, or the future. With him, it was all about the present. She missed his company at night, especially when she had absolutely nothing to come home to. He was part of the reason she was spending longer at the hospital. It certainly wasn't all about being in her father's presence. She was as sympathetic as anyone could be for everything he'd gone through but his self-pity was exhausting.

He was still in some pain and Violet knew a lot of his bad temper was down to fear and frustration. It didn't make it any easier for her to come here two or three times a day and bear the brunt of his complaints. Especially when she was working so hard behind the scenes to make his life as uncomplicated as possible when he got home. That revelation was another headache waiting to happen. She knew he would explode when he found out and she would have to justify the fact she'd cared enough to try and alleviate some of his stress. Samuel Dempsey never asked for help and he certainly wouldn't appreciate it.

Even now Violet could see a commotion around him at the nurses' station. Over the past couple of days he'd progressed to bathing on his own and taking short walks around the room. She suspected they'd come to rue their encouragement of his mobility. Now they'd all be in the line of fire.

‘Dad? Is everything okay?'

She fought the urge to turn on her heel and let someone else deal with him. That selfish attitude was probably part of the reason Strachmore was in the mess it was. She'd had to put herself first at eighteen but that meant the Earl and his bloody-mindedness had been left unchecked for too long. He hadn't been accountable to anyone in her absence and it was a big ask to expect him to take on any advice now. They were both going to have to shoulder some responsibility for the current state of affairs and take steps to rectify the damage. As much as she longed to have this all neatly wrapped up so she could get back to her own life, Violet wasn't convinced she was strong enough to make a difference.

‘I'm fed up with being poked and prodded every day in this...this torture chamber. How am I supposed to rest when I'm woken every five minutes for scans and tests? There's absolutely no respect for me here and I've had enough. I want to go home.' He slammed his fist down on the desk and Violet jumped, along with several of the nurses.

If her prayers were answered she'd disappear into the bowels of the earth any second now and not have to face these people as her father spat abuse at them. It was different when she was the one subjected to his tirades—she was family, had grown up listening to them—but these people should be exempt.

‘The doctors and nurses have worked tirelessly to get you well again. You've got to understand these tests are necessary—they're not done out of spite.' Sometimes it was like talking to a petulant child when she tried to reason with him. When he was in one of his rages there was no logic involved, only emotion. The overriding one usually being anger. In these circumstances it was liable to kill him.

‘I was explaining to your father that we want to move him onto a main ward to continue his recovery. We would prefer to continue the ECG monitoring for a few more days there before he goes home.'

She hadn't seen Nate standing in the melee until her father had turned to glare at her impudence. But there he was, standing toe to toe with him and trying to run interference for her. Even when he seemed to be avoiding her his chivalry still shone through.

‘Do you know who I am?'

Violet cringed as he played the nobility card. The one that had done nothing but bring her embarrassment over the years.

‘Yes, Lord Dempsey, and I assure you you'll receive the same standard of treatment as all of our patients.' Social status had never held any sway with Nate either. It wouldn't need to, given his professional approach to his work. Violet was certain every one of his patients was treated with the utmost respect no matter what their background, perhaps even despite it in cases such as this.

‘That's what I'm afraid of. Thanks but no, thanks. I want to go home to a clean bed where the staff are paid more than the minimum wage to take care of me.'

‘Dad! That's completely out of order.' Not to mention factually incorrect. It showed how delusional her father was when he was under the impression his staff were being paid more than a qualified cardiologist.

‘I appreciate this is a difficult time for you but we need to take precautions for the good of your own health. Your physical activity needs to be increased gradually and we would like to make sure you attend cardiac rehabilitation.'

It could've been another run-in between the pair when Nate was nothing more than a schoolboy, given the manner in which her father continued to speak to him. Not once had Nate been forced to raise his voice to make his point even though he was surely wounded by the insults flying around. Violet had never seen anyone stand their ground with the Earl in full flow. Even when she'd mounted her great rebellion she'd done it over the telephone rather than face to face.

‘I'm sure those are matters which my own doctor can facilitate. He's a man with over forty years of experience. I trust
him
.' Another dig at Nate, both personally and professionally.

Not that her father would've taken any more notice of a different staff member, Violet was sure, but this continual slight against Nate was very hard even for her to stomach. By denying his achievements he somehow rendered her own unremarkable. The great Earl would never admit he'd been wrong in trying to force them into their society pigeonholes or congratulate them on their successes. Until now Violet hadn't realised she'd been waiting for his approval.

* * *

Nate had dealt with his fair share of obstinate patients over the years. People had different coping mechanisms when it came to facing their own mortality and sometimes that manifested itself against the very staff treating them. Usually he took it in his stride. After all, who was to say he wouldn't lash out if he were the one on the other end of the stethoscope? Today he was finding new limits to his tolerance he didn't know he was capable of.

In the space of ten minutes his integrity and his professionalism had been called into question by someone who'd known him since he'd been a child. That was the problem, he supposed. His parents' employer was still judging him on the nonconforming teen he imagined had robbed him of his daughter. It was ironic that Nate hadn't gained anything from that loss except the successful career that was now being maligned. Regardless of how hard he tried, those from Strachmore would never see him as anything but the next generation of domestic staff. The only difference was the Dempseys weren't paying him to take this abuse.

He'd even had to battle his own family to pursue his chosen career. In their eyes by going to medical school he'd thrown away the honour of working for the aristocracy. As if their allegiance meant he should've sacrificed his prospects too. They hadn't understood his resistance to doing manual labour so a privileged family could sit comfortably on their pedestals. There'd been no support, financially or otherwise, as they'd seen him as some sort of traitor.

That attitude had created a distance between Nate and his parents. He'd hated them at times for their blind devotion to the Earl when they'd effectively disowned their own son for the sin of ambition. In a roundabout way they had been part of his success when his anger had driven him to reach the pinnacle of his career. These days he accepted them for who they were in the hope they would some day do the same for him. He'd learned it wasn't healthy to hold on to grudges or look for answers where there was none, and taken back control of his life by simply accepting circumstances beyond his control. No matter how much it jarred.

‘In that case all I can do is ask you to wait until we have your discharge papers ready. We need to have it in writing that you are going against our recommendations by leaving before your treatment here is complete. There's also the matter of arranging your medication before you leave.' If it was merely a case of one stubborn patient showing he was still in control of his own fate, Nate would sign off and move on to the next patient who actually wanted his help. That was practically impossible when Violet was standing opposite worrying her bottom lip with her teeth.

‘I will not linger here a second longer than is absolutely necessary.' The Earl continued to bluster, his cheeks reddening as he pointed a knobbly finger at Nate as though he were holding him to ransom. It was the other way around. As tempted as Nate was to have Security bundle him out of the door, he couldn't bear to be responsible for anything happening to Violet's only surviving family member.

‘That's entirely your prerogative, but it would be in your best interests to wait for the reasons I've stated. I would also ask you would do so quietly to prevent any further disruption to your fellow patients on the ward.'

His thoughts were also for Violet, who was standing with her arms wrapped around her waist in a self-comforting gesture being completely blanked by her father. The more distressed he could see her becoming, the harder it was for Nate to keep his own temper in check.

‘How dare—?'

‘Dad! He said he'll sort it. Go and lie down before you do yourself any more damage.' Violet cut him off as he launched into another rant, her hands now planted on her hips.

The strength of her bravery was belied by her trembling bottom lip, which only Nate seemed to notice. The Earl, whether exhausted by his own ire or his daughter's, finally returned to his bed with a grumble.

Violet visibly relaxed when the argument was brought to a close. Nate had never been privy to the rows she must've witnessed at Strachmore and, although he'd been dismayed at times by his own parents' behaviour, he'd never been afraid in his own home. He had seen the fear in her eyes as she'd confronted her father about his attitude and Nate had just witnessed how vile this man could be. Although he'd tried to back off before he and Violet acted out any more erotic scenes on his furniture, he couldn't seem to stay away.

If he'd truly meant to keep his distance he could've transferred Samuel Dempsey's care elsewhere and reduced the chances of running into his daughter, but Nate was very much a part of this dysfunctional relationship. Despite the constant reminders he would never be a suitable match for Violet, it had been hell trying to put that night at his place out of his mind. The handprints left on his table were a frustrating reminder they were physically compatible, combustible even, if not couple material.

Now today's drama was over they were left staring at each other pretending there wasn't a conflict of interests going on. He had history with Violet, and her father, which he was doing his best not to let cloud his judgement. Unfortunately whatever happened with this patient was always going to affect his personal life too.

‘You can't let him leave.' Violet was imploring him to intervene with those big expressive eyes. He preferred the dark glittering sapphires when she was in the throes of passion to the all too familiar worried baby blues.

‘Now
you're
trying to tell
me
what's for the best?'

She'd almost bitten his head off for daring to do the same over the matter of her mother's jewellery. A matter that he still wasn't happy to lay to rest.

‘I'm serious, Nate. You said yourself he should stay here. He's not ready to go home.' Everything in her tense body language said she wasn't ready for it either. If he could've chained her father to the bed rather than subject her to any more of his outbursts, he would've found a way to do it. They both knew her father's return to Strachmore would throw everything they'd been working towards into chaos.