Читать книгу The Doctor's Valentine Dare - Cindy Kirk - Страница 9

Chapter Two

Josie hadn’t attained the age of twenty-nine without being kissed. In fact her first kiss had come at the tender age of fourteen by the fifteen-year-old neighbor boy. But never had she been kissed like this.

It started slowly, a gentle melding of lips. Noah’s mouth was warm and inviting. Before Josie realized what she was doing, she’d stepped into him, winding her arms around his neck.

The instant his tongue pressed for entry, she opened her mouth. Fireworks exploded and her blood turned to fire. Suddenly, close wasn’t close enough. She wanted, no, needed, more, needed to be under his skin.

As she pressed against his body, hers soft where his was rock-hard, she heard him mutter a curse. She’d just slid her fingers into his hair when he took a step back.

“Too many people.” His gravelly voice seemed to come from far away. “We’ve got to slow this down.”

Get yourself under control.

Though he didn’t speak the words, she’d heard them all her life.

Even as Josie’s heart continued to slam against her ribs, she managed a careless shrug, grateful for the mask concealing her heated cheeks.

“I’ve always enjoyed mistletoe.” She gave a carefree laugh. “Perhaps a little too much.”

The flicker in Noah’s eyes told Josie he’d caught her meaning. She was saying she’d have enjoyed any kiss under a sprig of berries and leaves.

As if to illustrate, Josie grabbed the hand of a man who was strolling past. Thick chestnut hair tumbled above a half mask of red and gold. When he inclined his head questioningly, she pointed upward.

Something about the quick flash of his grin was vaguely familiar. The stranger didn’t hesitate. He leaned close and placed his mouth against hers. Unlike her experience with the sharp-eyed doctor who stood watching, this lip-lock didn’t ignite even the tiniest of sparks. Of course, that could simply be because all the fireworks had been used up moments before.

Josie stepped back and offered the stranger a smile. “Have a nice evening. Happy New Year.”

“I’ll definitely be seeing you around.” Though his voice was slightly familiar, Josie didn’t care enough to try to place him. She’d made her point.

“You don’t have a clue who he is.” Noah’s voice sounded in her ear. Though he’d kept his distance while the kiss was in progress, he stepped forward the instant the other guy walked off.

Josie lifted one shoulder in a noncommittal shrug. “Does it matter?”

“He could have been your brother.” Noah took her arm and steered her out of range of the mistletoe.

Josie stiffened, then chided herself for being so gullible. “Benedict is a good three inches taller.”

“You weren’t thinking about that when you jumped the guy,” Noah pointed out.

“I didn’t jump—” she began, then stopped when she saw the twinkle in the neurosurgeon’s eyes. “Har. Har.”

“I’d have laughed if it had been Benedict.” Noah adroitly snagged two glasses of champagne from a passing waiter. “Even better...your father.”

Josie’s gagging noise made him chuckle.

She took a sip of champagne and gazed at him through lowered lashes. With broad shoulders, long legs and a lean athletic build, the man was made for black tie. The shiny dark strands of his hair, cut a bit too short for her taste, glistened like burnished walnut in the light of the chandelier.

The fingers wrapped around his own glass of champagne were long and elegant, much like an artist’s. Then again, she supposed Noah was an artist of sorts. Instead of a garret, his studio was a brilliantly lit operating room and his brush, a scalpel.

The reminder that she’d kissed a doctor with such unrestrained passion had her wrinkling her nose.

“Is something wrong with your champagne?” He glanced around as if searching for a waiter.

“It’s not the drink, it’s you,” she blurted then waited for the disapproving look.

Instead, Noah contemplated her as if she was a puzzle he was having difficulty solving.

“You’re a doctor,” she added for clarification, then flushed. Perhaps her father had been on to something with all his “think first” admonishments.

“Not for tonight,” he said smoothly, taking her arm and moving them in the direction of the back of the house. “Tonight let me be simply the man in the black mask, who you enjoy kissing.”

“I do not, ah, did not—”

One look from those brilliant blue eyes stopped the protest. She couldn’t deny the explosive chemistry between them, any more than she could control the shivers his touch elicited.

“Are you suggesting we pretend to be someone we’re not for the evening?” Though she found the thought intriguing, Josie knew she must have misunderstood. There was no way this straitlaced, serious doctor would suggest something so daring.

An emotion she couldn’t quite decipher flickered in the depths of those amazing blue eyes. “Interested?”

Josie sipped her champagne and tried to figure out what was really going on here...

“Are you here with someone?” His tone turned brusque. “Is that the reason you’re hesitating?”

“Actually.” Josie placed a finger against lips that still tingled from his kiss. “I’m trying to decide who—or what—I want to pretend to be.”

The fingers wrapped around her arm relaxed. He lifted the champagne flute with his other hand and took a sip. “You have any thoughts?”

“Let’s play pirates,” she suggested with a cheeky smile.

He choked on his champagne.

She merely smiled and waited for him to quit sputtering.

“Are you serious?”

“Totally.”

He rubbed his chin. While he pondered the suggestion—likely creating a pro-con spreadsheet in his head—she glanced around the room.

Josie assumed most of those in attendance knew the person behind each mask. It wasn’t that easy for her. She’d been away too long.

Until she’d run across Noah, she might as well have been playing blind man’s bluff. She still didn’t understand why her employer insisted they go solo. Unless...

Could her running into Noah have been part of a plan? Pauline had certainly made it clear she’d like it if Josie helped him. “Did your grandmother know you were coming tonight?”

His brows pulled together in puzzlement. “I don’t think so. Maybe. Why?”

“No reason.” She relaxed and waved a hand. “Back to the original question. Do you want to play pirates?”

“There are so many ways to answer your question. Are we talking pillaging and plundering or do you expect me to talk like a pirate? Say things like ahoy and matey?”

The look of horror on his face made her grin. “Yer correct.”

Okay, so maybe her own pirate accent was even worse than his, but Josie was already having fun.

Noah’s obvious reticence made the playacting even more enticing. The remainder of the evening suddenly took on a glossy sheen, like the pages of a magazine she couldn’t wait to devour.

Still, Noah resisted giving his agreement.

Shoving aside the thought that this man was just like her father and therefore someone to be given a wide berth, Josie extended her hand. “Don’t be an ol’ chumbucket, Cap’n. Put yer hand here and shake on the deal.”

* * *

Noah stared at the dainty hand with the pink nails. Just when he thought the evening couldn’t get any stranger, it did.

He took her hand. The feel of her skin against his put all sorts of thoughts in his head. Actually, the thoughts had been there since he’d first seen her tonight.

The vivid blue cocktail dress had drawn his gaze to her breasts and the legs that appeared to go on forever. Certain parts of his anatomy had immediately sprung to life.

When his lips joined hers under the mistletoe and she’d let out a breathy moan, he’d nearly lost it. Stepping back before he did something crazy like slinging her over his shoulder and going belowdecks to find a free bunk, had been the sanest thing he’d done all evening.

Why was he even considering going along with such a ridiculous suggestion? Pretending to be a pirate at a formal New Year’s Eve masquerade ball fell into the realm of a Saturday Night Live skit. “I’ve been thinking about your pirate suggestion.”

Her smile disappeared and wariness returned to her eyes.

The solid ground beneath his feet began to shift and crumble. Noah knew, just as surely as he knew that the body contained 100-160 ml of cerebral spinal fluid, that if he backed out now, she would walk away.

He shoved aside his reservation and his good sense. “Yer suggestion, it be a fine one.”

Noah wasn’t sure which one of them was more surprised by the sentiment. He liked games well enough as long as they had well-defined parameters and clear, concise rules. Rules and standard procedures gave life order. Noah concluded his agreement to Josie’s odd request illustrated that, contrary to what his family thought, he was very capable of being spontaneous. He could live on the edge. At least for one evening.

“I became a pirate because I love adventure,” Josie confided in a hushed whisper, as if imparting a great secret.

They reached the edge of the dance floor and he took her into his arms. They began to move in time to the music.

“There’s so much to see, to experience,” she continued in an earnest voice.

Maybe it was having her in his arms or the fact that they were wearing masks. Perhaps it was being surrounded by music and the enticing scent of flowers that made it remarkably easy to play along.

They spent several dances discussing various places, er, ports, they’d visited. She seemed surprised he knew so much about Portland.

“Edward Jamison, a friend from my fellowship days, grew up there.” Noah gave a nod of acknowledgment to a hospital trustee and his wife as he and Josie danced past them. “He’s now practicing in Chicago.”

“Great. Another doctor.”

Though her tone was light, he noticed how the mere mention of the practice of medicine had her stiffening. There was only one thing he could think to do to dispel the sudden tension.

He whirled about in an intricate spin until she was breathless.

“There’s a touch of pirate under that starched shirt.” She grinned in approval.

While Noah knew that wasn’t at all an accurate statement, he smiled and changed the subject.

“Your travels as a pirate have taken you far and near.” He spoke softly, making sure no one dancing nearby overheard him saying the word pirate. “I’m curious how you found your way back to Jackson Hole.”

Instead of tossing off some quick or clever response, she caught her lower lip between her teeth and appeared to carefully consider the question.

“Last year, a close friend—er, shipmate—was diagnosed with cancer. Not long after, I found a lump in my own breast.”

Fear, hot and swift, struck him. He controlled his emotions and forced a casual tone. “Was it—”

“Benign.”

With that one word, the knot that had formed in the pit of his stomach dissolved.

“My friend has a lot of stress in her life, some of it from unresolved family issues.”

The sadness in her eyes had him pulling her a little closer. He resisted—barely—the urge to remind her that cancer had many causes. As a doctor’s daughter and someone in the healing arts herself, that was something she doubtless knew already.

“Sasha’s diagnosis and then my own breast lump, well, it was a wake-up call,” Josie murmured, almost to herself.

He waited for almost a minute for her to continue before he prompted. “Because of your own family situation?”

“Yes.”

Behind the mask, her eyes were hooded.

“Is the pirate queen home to stay?” He kept his tone deliberately light.

“Perhaps.” The smile that lifted her lips didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Tell me, Cap’n, how did ye end up in this landlocked port?”

“Moving here gave me the opportunity to work with your father and, more importantly, my family was here.”

“You arrived what, about a year ago?”

He nodded.

“Do you plan to stay?”

It was a simple question. Undoubtedly she expected him to answer in the affirmative. Jackson Hole was a great place to live. Noah hesitated, thinking of the offer he had pending: the opportunity to go into partnership with his friend in Chicago.

Recently, he’d concluded if things remained at a standstill with Daffodil, it might be easier on both of them if he left town. But the decision to stay or go didn’t have to be made now. He had until March to give Edward his answer.

Although his friend was in a well-regarded practice in Northwestern, the group had recently voted to tie themselves to one of the large health systems. Edward wasn’t happy with the change. He wanted to go out on his own but needed a partner to share call. Noah was his first choice.

The deadline to accept or decline the offer was March 1. That was why Noah had decided to give reconciling with Daff one final, full-court press. If his efforts continued to be met with a brick wall, he could leave with the knowledge he’d done everything possible to bridge the gap between them.

“Noah?” Josie prompted. “It’s not a difficult question. Are you planning to stay?”

“Who knows what the future holds?” It was the type of ambiguous answer he detested, but an honest one.

Noah was spared from saying more when the man Josie had kissed earlier—psychologist Liam Gallagher—tapped him on the shoulder and cut in. Though it was a reprieve of sorts, as he left the dance floor, Noah realized he’d prefer to be subjected to Josie’s interrogation than turn her over to Liam.

“Looks like something is going on between you and my little sister.”

Noah didn’t bother to turn his head. The deep voice of Josie’s brother, Benedict, was as familiar as a member of his own family. Since Noah had arrived in Jackson Hole last year they’d worked closely on many cases requiring the talents of both a skilled neurosurgeon and Ben’s orthopedic surgery specialty.

When Noah had contemplated a move to the area, he’d been pleased to join a practice with surgeons of the caliber of Ben, Ben’s father and Dr. Mitzi McGregor, their associate.

Tension filled the lengthening silence, leading Noah to deduce the comment hadn’t been rhetorical. “Josie is a nice person.”

Ben’s gaze remained focused on his sister. “She’s a bit of a flake. I can’t see her being your type.”

The dismissive tone coupled with the sentiment shouldn’t have bothered Noah. Then why did he, a civilized man who’d never struck anyone in his life, feel like ramming his fist into Benedict’s face?

“That comment shows how little you know your sister.”

“You think you know her?” Ben gave a harsh-sounding laugh. “She disappeared right after her junior year in college. Sent this vague message that she had to find herself. It was almost a year before we heard from her again.”

Noah opened his mouth but Ben continued without giving him a chance to speak.

“We didn’t know whether she was dead or alive. My mother—” Ben took a deep breath and let it out slowly “—well, the worry nearly broke her.”

The strain in his voice told Noah that Dori Campbell wasn’t the only family member who’d worried.

He couldn’t imagine what had possessed Josie to hurt her loved ones in such a way. He was certain her parents and brother only wanted the best for her. Just as he wanted the best for Daffodil.

If his sister had listened to reason, listened to him, she would have walked away from that loser Cruz Newton. She wouldn’t be divorced and paying off his debts.

“I can sympathize with your frustration. My sister never listened to me.” Noah clenched his jaw when Liam whispered something in Josie’s ear, making her laugh.

“Their lives would be so much better if they did.”

Noah nodded in agreement.

“You two look as if you’re plotting to take over the world.” Poppy Campbell slipped her arm through her husband’s.

“Not a bad idea. The world would be running smoothly if I was in charge.”

Ben’s comment made his wife laugh.

Dressed in a loose black sheath, Poppy was an attractive woman with sleek dark bob and green eyes. Her black-and-gold half mask suited her elegant style.

From the time Noah had joined the practice, Ben’s wife had been pleasant, if a bit distant. Ben had mentioned once that Poppy’s first husband had been a neurosurgeon and Noah had the impression he was paying for the other guy’s mistakes.

Poppy inclined her head. “Who’s the guy in the joker mask dancing with Josie?”

“Liam Gallagher,” Ben answered. “The poor sap can’t take his eyes off her.”

“She does look especially lovely this evening.” Poppy’s tone reflected affection for her sister-in-law. “Blue is a great color on her.”

Benedict simply shrugged.

The band launched into another slow number and Liam gave no indication of releasing his partner. That added to Noah’s mounting irritation, as well as the fact that the psychologist continued to hold the pirate queen a little too close for Noah’s liking.

“Excuse me.” Without waiting for a response, Noah strode to where Josie and Liam danced. He tapped the man on the shoulder. “I’m cutting in.”

The psychologist, who’d been smiling down at Josie, turned. His gaze shifted from Noah to Josie then back again. “Too bad. I’m not ready to give her up.”

“You don’t have a choice.” Noah lifted Liam’s hand from Josie’s shoulder and pulled her into his arms.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she asked in a throaty whisper as he whirled her far, far away from the astonished psychologist.

“Being a pirate.” Noah flashed a sardonic smile. “We see what we want and we take it.”