Wild and Willing! (2 page)

Anna wasn’t about to disintegrate into coy confusion at this point, despite her accelerated heart rate and the quiet but growing conviction she was making a fool of herself.

‘When the music was in keeping with your dignity I thought you might work yourself up to it.’

‘You think I have dignity?’ His mouth lifted in a satirical curve as his eyes smiled, almost reluctantly, back at her.

‘God, does he always ask this many questions?’ Anna demanded of her silent sister. ‘I think your dignity is awesome,’ she told him gravely. ‘I’m sure you have the nurses fluttering around you to obey your every whim.’

‘You have a very old-fashioned idea of the doctor-nurse relationship,’ he observed with a sardonic twist to his lips.

‘That’s me—an old-fashioned girl.’

‘How appropriate—a waltz for an old-fashioned girl.’

Rosalind watched them move away with a sharp frown of concern. She hadn’t failed to notice the inexplicable electricity that had flared between her sister and Adam Deacon. She’d been breathless just listening to the lightning exchanges. But it was the silent communication of their bodies and eyes that worried her most. How could she warn Anna without playing the interfering sister? There was a delicate balance between sisterly concern and interference.

He really could dance, which was the first pleasant surprise for Anna. The second was the effect that being held in close proximity to him had on her nervous system. The quivers of sensation that rippled through her entire body made her forget the tiresome ache in her knee. All the couples on the darkened floor were entwined to some extent, so she could legitimately appreciate the hardness of her partner’s lean, muscled frame.

‘You dance very well, Adam.’ She raised her head to look up at him. She was intrigued by the angles and planes of his face and puzzled by his sardonic expression which bordered on disapproval.

‘Are you always so…
friendly
, Miss Lacey?’ He gave the word an unpleasant connotation. Dancing might be an innocent enough pursuit, but he had discovered that it was less so when partnering this disturbing young
woman. What the hell am I doing? he asked himself angrily.

‘You’re here to meet the locals,’ Anna pointed out, unwittingly answering his silent question.

Recognising the sudden quality of harsh hostility that had been in his voice made her smile falter, and the feeling of heady expectation dissipated. There was no redeeming humour behind his abrupt shift in mood. She had been experiencing the strangest feeling that she was embarking on one of the great adventures in her life, and she was a great one for following gut instinct on such matters. It seemed she’d been wrong.

‘I’m a local. But, if you danced with me out of politeness, don’t worry, I’ll let you go now. I thought you wanted to dance.’ She began to detach her hands, which had lain against his chest, but he moved one of his own hands from around her waist and restrained them.

‘I did want to. I’m just not used to women who take the lead. I like to do the asking.’

His voice was like rich, bitter chocolate and it made her give a tiny sigh of appreciation. Stuffed shirt with a macho inclination, she thought sadly; what a waste!

‘I think it’s a very good thing you’re not my sister’s boyfriend.’

‘You draw the line at seducing your siblings’ lovers? I think I should make it clear so you don’t waste any more of your time— I’m not interested in one-night stands.’

Seduce! His condescending arrogance made her chin jut aggressively and brought a fresh tide of colour to her smooth cheeks. If he couldn’t handle candour and honesty that was his problem. She found him attractive, and didn’t see why she should hide the fact. She had imagined it might be interesting to get to know him. But that hadn’t meant she intended jumping into bed with him.

‘As a matter of fact I think Lindy needs someone to bring out her more relaxed, less proper side. You’re far
too repressed and grim for her…possibly for anyone,’ she mused silkily, staring pointedly at the long, strong fingers wrapped around her wrists.

Adam Deacon looked startled and then angry as the purring kitten in his arms turned into an angry cat. He’d intended to subdue the waves of sultry invitation she was emanating—as much for his sake as her own—not anger her.

‘A little repression, not to mention discrimination, might do
you
some good. Your sister is a fine doctor with an excellent future. Perhaps you should try and emulate her decorum.’

The pompous… She inhaled angrily and gritted her teeth. ‘Decorum!’ she hooted. ‘I like Miss Austen as much as the next person, but I prefer living in this century when women’s lives aren’t dependent on men! First impressions are a constant source of disappointment to me,’ she bemoaned.

His first impression of
her
was obviously that she was some sort of promiscuous slut, and his anxiety not to be contaminated by her was embarrassingly obvious.

‘Tell me, Doctor, was your personality bypass a surgical procedure, or is it congenital? Don’t you find it a tad hypocritical to come down with a dose of moral superiority when you’ve been privately lusting after me since you walked into the room?’

‘I think you’re the sort of female who is only happy when every male within shouting distance is lusting after you,’ he returned scornfully. ‘Everything you do screams sex!’

That scalding accusation really threw her. ‘That’s ridiculous!’ She’d always worked on the premise that what people saw was what they got where she was concerned. It had never occurred to her that anyone would see
that
!

‘The dress.’ His eyes regarded one shoestring strap that had slipped over her shoulder. ‘The way you
move… It’s all a come-on, and not a very subtle one at that.’

‘This is a party; I came prepared to enjoy myself.’ He lifted his fingers from her bare skin as if he’d been stung, and she wondered if he’d felt the same electrical prickle she had.

‘I’d noticed,’ he bit back, his lip curling with distaste.

‘The music’s stopped; you hadn’t noticed
that
,’ she said, smiling with sweet insincerity into his grim face.

She saw him realise that they’d been standing immobile in the middle of the floor, which was now clearing, making them even more conspicuous. He cast her a look of disgust and mumbled something rude under his breath.

When she turned to go he was at her side. ‘Feeling the magnetic draw of my personality?’ She headed for the terrace door.

She needed fresh air! God, what a let-down this man had been, she thought, furious that she’d let her imagination endow the perfect frame with an equally ideal personality.

‘Stalking off in the opposite direction would make us look even more conspicuous.’

‘But I thrive on notoriety,’ she drawled sarcastically.

‘Notorious doctors rarely advance professionally.’

‘You didn’t look interesting enough to be classed as notorious, just silly.’

‘I’m repressed
and
silly, am I?’ he said grimly. When she shrugged he spun her round to face him, placing one hand in the small of her back.

‘You’re probably too old to change now,’ she observed sympathetically. ‘Some woman like boringly predictable men.’

‘You really are…!’ With a sound of anger rumbling in his throat he took her face in his hands and plunged into the sweet moistness of her mouth. Later, he’d have
the leisure to regret his action, but at the moment all he was aware of was an intense hunger.

Shock at this reprisal of her antagonistic jibe held Anna completely immobile for a frozen moment. Slowly it filtered through to her that the instinctive rejection she’d been relying on wasn’t going to materialise. He was demanding a response from her and, whilst she ought to have been repelled by this ruthless onslaught, she only experienced an urgent, compelling desire to give him everything he was asking for.

Senses awake like never before, she was bombarded with a myriad of impressions—the taste of his mouth, warm and fragrant, the heavy thud of his heartbeat and the impression of one hard thigh thrust between her own legs. She clutched at him because her knees showed a tendency to shake. And it wasn’t just her knees; her entire body was vibrating as a tide of heat raised her temperature several degrees. Standing on tiptoes, her slender body stretched in an arc, she could just place her hands around his neck.

With a husky groan he placed both hands on her waist and physically put her from him. She took several gulps of air and tried to steady her laboured breathing. Adam was staring at her as if she had two heads. His narrowed eyes gleamed with a very uncomplimentary mixture of horror and disgust.

‘You accused
me
of being unsubtle,’ Anna said huskily. Her flippancy was a cover for her confusion. The kiss, delivered solely in a spirit of frustrated retribution, had shaken her to the core.

She smoothed her sleek, short hair back into shape, recalling the way his fingertips had moved through it to cradle her skull. Her eyes went on their own volition to his hands—strong, shapely hands. Knuckles white, they lay clenched at his sides. God, can it be
that
bad kissing me? she wondered.

‘You’re fairly casual about where you give your
kisses. I’d have thought you could take another more or less in your stride.’

‘I like to decide where I bestow them.’ She was glad to see the rush of warm colour that suffused the sharp angle of his cheekbones.

‘It was a mistake.’ How had he done anything so stupid? he wondered angrily. ‘I didn’t notice you fighting me off,’ he added in a goaded voice. ‘Quite the contrary,’ he couldn’t prevent himself from concluding.

‘How like a man to try and offload the blame,’ Anna sneered, ignoring the accuracy of his statement. ‘And I don’t like being looked at like that. I’m sure you’ve spent years perfecting that sneer, and I can appreciate how beautifully your lip curls, but it takes more than that to impress me. As for not fighting you off, I didn’t want to inflame you. Some men are turned on by that sort of thing.’

‘I hope we’re not going to delve into the sordid depths of your carnal knowledge. Cheap, tacky reminiscences are not really to my taste.’

Cheap…tacky! Her bosom swelled with indignation. ‘At least I’m not a pretentious, self-righteous, sanctimonious bore!’ she countered loudly.

‘Anna!’

The sound of her name made Anna turn around to see her two sisters standing only a few feet away.

‘Adam, I’m…’ Rosalind came hurrying forward, closely followed by Hope.

‘Don’t you
dare
apologize for me,’ Anna said grimly, her teeth clenched.

‘Adam is our guest.’

‘He’s not
my
guest. I only invited people I like,’ she responded childishly.

‘Aunt Edie…?’ Hope reminded her.

‘Relations don’t count. They have to come; it’s Mum and Dad’s ruby wedding.’

‘Adam, this is Hope.’ Rosalind interrupted this petty exchange with a reproving look at her sisters.

Anna watched with cynical interest as he recognised her famous sister. Hope, known as ‘Lacey’ professionally, had achieved fame and fortune as a supermodel. She topped Rosalind’s five feet nine by two inches and was long-limbed and athletically built rather than waiflike.

Hope had the same basic ingredients as any other good-looking female, with some indefinable extra thrown in. Her mouse-brown hair had been lightened to sun-streaked glory and her lashes were dyed, but the features were the same perfect ones she’d been born with.

Men might like to drool over her on the TV screen or on glossy covers, but Anna had seen that many were intimidated when they came face to face with the real thing.

‘This is a real pleasure.’

Adam Deacon wasn’t one of that number, Anna noticed, seeing the look of interest in her sister’s eyes as Adam clasped her outstretched hand and raised it to his lips. Anna rolled her eyes; how corny! The fact that Hope could look up into his face was in his favour: Hope was still slightly self-conscious about her height.

‘Lindy tells me you’re a doctor too.’ The smile that launched a thousand products blazed forth. ‘What have you been doing to Anna to make her lose it?’ she was unable to resist asking. An impish grin replaced the sophisticated smile.

‘He kissed me.’

‘That was pretty daring of him.’ The look Lindy exchanged with Adam was not as light-hearted as her voice; it carried a degree of censure and dismay.

‘No one’s told him about the left hook,’ Hope added with a chuckle.

‘So much for sisterly solidarity,’ Anna muttered. ‘As
for you, Hope, I thought you were going to spend the
entire
evening on the phone to New York.’

‘Are you trying to change the subject by any chance, Anna?’ Hope enquired.

‘I’ve got things to do,’ Anna said airily. She turned and walked briskly away. Her sisters were welcome to Adam Deacon.

Organising a surprise party for their parents had been a mammoth task. At least, the secret part had been in the close-knit community where everyone knew her parents. Anna had been amply rewarded for her efforts by the expression on her parents’ faces when they arrived expecting a candlelit table for two and had found the whole hotel taken over for the occasion.

Anna didn’t mind that they were so ecstatic to see her sisters. She was always around, but it was a treat for them to see Lindy, who was a senior house officer in a busy London hospital, and Hope, who thought nothing of visiting several countries in one week. Her visits home had been infrequent since she’d based herself in New York.

Now Anna managed to make sure everyone had a full glass to toast the couple before she joined her sisters on the podium to say a few simple words.

Charlie Lacey responded in his gruff manner, tears of emotion in his eyes and his arm around his wife.

‘What can I say? Anna has kept a secret for the first time in her life!’ He held his hand up and the laughter died away. ‘I’m a lucky man,’ he said simply, his eyes on the four women in his life.

Anna smiled insincerely as later in the evening her mother introduced her to this
nice
doctor friend of Lindy’s who was going to be living locally.