Resisting Her Army Doc Rival

Flirting with danger!

Infuriating, irresistible army doc Sam Lowe is the last person Madison Hunter wants to work with. He challenges her, and soon the only thing hotter than their rivalry is their growing chemistry!

But Maddy hides scars that tell a heartbreaking story, and Sam has his own emotional wounds. He’s determined to take his heart with him when he leaves the army base, yet as he starts to see beneath Maddy’s tough exterior, it becomes more and more clear that his heart belongs with her...

Madison wanted Sam as much as he did her. But fear had her fighting her desire all the way. Something he understood completely.

But...one kiss. What harm could that do? It wouldn’t mean there was more to come, but it would satisfy an ache.

Or create a bigger one.

There was that.

One kiss would definitely crank up the heat into an inferno.

But he had to taste her. Had to know those lips—had to satisfy a quest he’d begun unknowingly only days ago. At the same time it was as though all the barriers he’d erected were tightening, warning him, Don’t do it. But the clawing need for affection and sharing was stronger.

‘I think I’ll head inside.’ Madison stood before him, looking sad and lost.

Sam did what he shouldn’t. He ignored those damned warnings.

Dear Reader,

Almost everyone has scars—mental and/or physical. Some are minor, others serious, but all affect the person carrying them. These scars and how they’re coped with are what make people interesting.

In Resisting Her Army Doc Rival Captain Madison Hunter has had more than her share of bad luck, which has left her unable to show anyone her body and thus keeps her away from getting close to men. Captain Sam Lowe isn’t bothered by that—he’s got his own guilt to deal with, and he finds Maddy fascinating and beautiful. But she’s no longer the bright, bubbly personality he vaguely remembers from school. And the sadness lurking in her eyes and her fear of smoke has him pulling up the barriers around his soul so fast it’s bewildering. But there’s something about this woman he can’t ignore. If he was ever to put his heart on the line and get close to someone it would be Maddy who’d make him do it.

This story didn’t come easily for me. There’s a lot of pain in my hero and my heroine, and I really wanted them to have their moment—to learn to live freely again and know what it’s like not to be on guard all the time. But they didn’t make it simple for me. Oh, no. Every word and emotion was dragged out onto the page, and I’m relieved they finally got their happy ending.

I hope you root for these two as you read their story.

Drop by and let me know if they affected you as they did me: [e-mail]. Or visit my website: suemackay.co.nz.

Cheers,

Sue MacKay

Resisting Her Army Doc Rival

Sue MacKay

www.millsandboon.co.uk

SUE MACKAY lives with her husband in New Zealand’s beautiful Marlborough Sounds, with the water at her doorstep and the birds and the trees at her back door. It is the perfect setting to indulge her passions of entertaining friends by cooking them sumptuous meals, drinking fabulous wine, going for hill walks or kayaking around the bay—and, of course, writing stories.

Books by Sue MacKay

Mills & Boon Medical Romance

Midwife...to Mom!

Reunited...in Paris!

A December to Remember

Breaking All Their Rules

Dr White’s Baby Wish

The Army Doc’s Baby Bombshell

Visit the Author Profile page at millsandboon.co.uk for more titles.

To the most gorgeous and precious wee people in my life. Grandies Austin and Taylor. I love you to bits and can’t believe how lucky I am to get Austin hugs and Taylor smiles.

And to Laura McCallen for your unfailing patience to see me through this story. (At least you appeared patient from my end. ) :)

Praise for Sue MacKay

‘I highly recommend this story to all lovers of romance: it is moving, emotional, a joy to read!’

—Goodreads on

A December to Remember

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

Praise

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

EPILOGUE

Extract

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

CAPTAIN MADISON HUNTER stepped out of the New Zealand Air Force freight plane and onto the tarmac, relieved to be on terra firma at last, flying being her least favourite of the things she had to do. Then the searing heat of the Sinai Peninsula slammed into her, ramping up the discomfort level and making her gasp.

‘Who needs this?’

‘Beats Waiouru in winter any day,’ quipped the communications major striding alongside her. His energy was embarrassing after all those hours crammed between cargo crates, doing nothing more intelligent than playing endless rounds of poker.

‘Guess that’s because you’ve been here before. Right now I’d be happy marching through snow and sleet,’ Madison retorted, thinking longingly of the isolated army base where she’d done her basic training, hell hole of the North Island that it was.

‘At least your boots will be dry.’

‘True.’ Sodden boots were the bane of army exercises back home. They never dried out before the next foray. Looking at the dusty ground in front of her, she finally smiled. ‘This couldn’t be more different. Exciting even.’ If she could ignore the heat.

Heaving the thirty-kilogram pack higher on her back, Madison rolled her shoulders to ease the tightness. Didn’t work. Sweat streamed over her shoulder blades, down her face, between her breasts. Must have been out of my mind when I signed up. ‘Did I miss the clause in my contract saying beware of sun, sand, dirt, and sweat enough to drown a small creature?’

‘Page three,’ quipped Major Crooks.

‘I take it the high temperature is relentless.’ Dry heat shimmered against the white block buildings, while the air was almost cracking. Off-duty soldiers lounged in what little shade they could find.

‘I never got used to it on my last tour.’ He pointed across the dusty parade ground. ‘See that building to the right? It’s the medical unit.’

Madison scoped the basic structure with a faded red cross painted above the door. Less than what she’d worked in on base at home, more than she’d been led to believe she’d find here. Had to be a positive. ‘I might drop in after a shower.’ If she didn’t fall asleep standing under the water. Her body ached with fatigue. There hadn’t been a lot of sleeping going on during the flight. She probably stank like a piece of roadkill about now.

A man stepped through the medical unit’s entrance, and paused. Tall and broad shouldered, his body tapered down to the narrow hips his hands settled on. Looking in their direction, his gaze finally settled on her.

Sam Lowe? As in the guy every girl from high school had fallen in love with Sam Lowe?

Her knees sagged, and not from the load on her back.

Seriously? Someone she knew from home when home had been Christchurch? Now, there was a surprise that lightened her mood a notch. Not that they’d been friends in any way but she’d grab at any familiar face in an alien environment; until she’d settled in, any rate. Unless she’d got it wrong, and that wasn’t Sam.

‘Are you all right?’ Major Crooks asked.

‘Fine. Where’re our barracks, do you know?’

He pointed. ‘Over to the right, behind the mess block are the officers’ quarters.’

‘Thanks, I’ll catch up with you later.’ Right now Madison wanted to check out the man she thought she recognised, but was probably so far off the mark she’d sound stupid uttering his name.

She squinted through the heat. No doubting the vision that reminded her of standing on the side of the rugby field, barracking for their high school team as he led them to yet another win. It was definitely Sam Lowe striding towards her, those long legs eating up the ground like nothing bothered him. It probably didn’t. Those shoulders and the cocky tip of his head backed up what her eyes were seeing, but there was little else she knew about him, she realised.

‘Captain Hunter, Madison.’ The man had the nerve to snap to attention in front of her. And grin. He still does that. Smiled and grinned his way into and out of every situation he faced. An expert, no less, she now recalled. Still arrogant? Well, she wasn’t a spoilt brat any more—if she’d ever been—so possibly he’d changed, too.

‘Sam,’ she replied, at a loss for words. She didn’t trust unexpected surprises. They tended to backfire on her.

He said, ‘Welcome to the Sinai.’

Her voice returned, spilling out more than was necessary. ‘I can’t believe this. We’re both in the army, posted to the same region, on the same base?’ What were the odds? They even had rank in common. Her teeth ground back and forth. Slim to zilch. Showed how wrong she got things these days, despite the harsh lessons she’d endured already. A medical insignia told her more. ‘You’re a doctor, too.’

He nodded. ‘We’ve been expecting you.’

‘As in me personally?’ Of course her name would’ve been on the staff list that’d have come through days ago. But, ‘I doubt you realised who I was,’ she retorted, suddenly on edge in front of that dazzling smile, and needing to shield herself from its dangerous intensity. So? Relax. She knew how to cope with men, had learned the hard way to always be careful and cautious. Just ignore them. Easy-peasy.

‘As in a new medic, fresh from home and not worn down by the day-to-day grind of living in camp.’ He widened his grin. ‘And, yes, as in Madison Hunter, high school prefect and science genius.’

Oh, yeah, it would be too easy to fall into that grin, and forget the pain of being betrayed after trusting a man with her heart once already. Reining in the bewilderment overtaking her faster than a speeding bullet, she stood to attention. ‘So we’ll be working together?’

‘I’ll be out of your hair next week.’

He wasn’t getting anywhere near her hair. But was he admiring it? Yeah, he was. Something like shock diluted that brazen glare he’d been delivering.

Fair cop. She did look very different these days. Her waist-length hair had fallen prey to the hairdresser’s scissors the day after she’d joined the army. Crawling under barbed wire through mud and snow while dressed in full army kit had made the thick locks she’d considered her best feature very unattractive and in need of constant attention. What had Sam been talking about? Apart from hair? ‘So you’re one of the medics I’m replacing.’

‘Afraid so.’ His shoulder moved, oh so nonchalantly.

That grin was now crooked. Instead of loosening the hold it held over her, she was drawn in deeper. It was beguiling and threatening in an I-can’t-afford-to-check-this-out kind of way. Desperate for a distraction—no, Sam already had that role—Madison glanced around the compound. She checked out the perimeter fence and saw women, men and children sitting in a huddle, resignation on their faces.

‘Why are there civilians waiting outside the camp?’

‘They’re hoping to see a doctor or nurse.’

Her heart tightened for the sad-looking bunch of people. They appeared helpless, lost even. It took all her willpower not to drop her pack and race across to ask what she could do for them. That was one of the reasons she’d joined the army after all. ‘I want to help them.’

‘It’s not that easy, Madison.’

‘Why not?’ She flung the words at him. ‘It’s why I became a doctor. Isn’t it the same for you?’

He took her question on the chin. ‘I understand, but out here you’re a soldier first, doctor second.’

‘So you’re saying we ignore those people?’ Her hand flapped through the air in the direction of the perimeter. ‘Seriously?’

‘No, I’m not.’ Sam’s mouth tightened as his gaze stopped on the people she’d noted. ‘We do see some of the locals under a strict system involving body searches and metal detectors before bringing them in.’

‘We don’t hold regular clinics?’ She’d been told she would be attending to outsiders, and had been keen to get amongst them.

‘More than enough,’ he grunted, ‘but so many people require medical attention it’d be a never-ending stream if we allowed it.’ Sam locked his now fierce eyes on her. ‘We do our share. Remember why you’re here, Captain.’

‘But there are children out there.’ She couldn’t help wanting to help each and every person in that crowd waiting quietly as though they had nothing better to do, but especially the children. They were pulling at her heartstrings already. It would be a struggle not being allowed to put her medical skills to good use as she wanted when there were people needing them. That was why she’d trained in the first place, to make life better for others, especially children now that she likely wouldn’t be having any herself.

‘Yes, there are. Cute as buttons some of them, too.’ His face softened briefly.

‘They look so desperate.’

Sam shook himself and growled, ‘Don’t be fooled. They’re not all what they seem.’ He started walking again.

‘They’re not?’ But he didn’t, or chose not to, hear her.

On a sigh she changed the subject. For now. ‘I’ll see you around. I need to find my quarters.’

‘I’ll—’

‘I don’t think so. Major Crooks gave me directions.’ Then she added lamely, just in case Sam didn’t get the point, ‘He’s been here before.’ Having this man escort her through the camp was not happening. She required a few minutes to put her left-field reaction to him into perspective. He might be a sight to behold, and a face from the past, but she had to learn to stand strong and inviolate. Vulnerability might’ve become her norm lately, but it was one of the things she was working hard to overcome. So when her danger sonar said be aware of this man, she was going to push him away.

‘I was about to say I’ll see you later in the medical unit, where I can introduce you to everyone.’ He stared at her, annoyance vying with interest in those eyes that appeared to notice far too much, his mouth flat at last.

While her mouth ached with the tight smile she was trying to keep in place. Her eyes had better be fierce, not showing her true concerns about this exchange. Having anyone know her inner turmoil would see her back on that plane, heading home. ‘Yes, Captain.’

His face instantly became inscrutable, every last thought and emotion snapped off with the flick of a switch. Her tense muscles tightened further. She’d gone too far. He didn’t deserve her attitude, but a woman had to look out for herself. Especially in a place she did not understand. In a fit of pique for coming second to her in an exam result Sam had once told her she was a spoilt little rich brat, and right now she was proving him correct. He’d also said she knew nothing about the real world. If only he knew. Back up. She didn’t want him to know about the disaster that flipped her life upside down.

Suddenly she was tired of it all; exhausted from the trip, from the heat, from the short but stupid conversation with Sam. She wanted to get on with him, maybe get to know him a little—without falling into that grin. ‘I look forward to learning the ropes from you.’

‘I’ll see you later.’ Sam’s boots clicked together, then he spun around to stride away, his back ramrod straight, his hands clenched at his sides.

He’s better looking than ever. Shut up. But it was true. The boyishly handsome and beguiling face had become chiselled, mature, and worthy of more than a glance. As was that muscular bod. Her traitorous body was reacting to the thought of what his army fatigues covered. Only because there’d been a sex drought in her life for so long, surely? Not that Sam would be the rain that broke it, even if her body was thinking otherwise.

Heatstroke. Had to be. But she’d been out in the sun less than half an hour. Admitting things about a man she’d met minutes earlier would have more to do with her wobbly state of mind. Things that weren’t conducive to working alongside him. Captain Lowe. Remember that and forget his looks, his muscles, and that open face she’d managed to shut down. But she was female after all and did enjoy being around a good-looking guy. She wasn’t immune to physical attributes that would send any breathing, feeling woman into orbit. Despite the fact that letting down the barriers so that a man could get close would take more guts than she possessed, she could still appreciate perfection when she saw it.

Maddy shook her head abruptly. You came here to do a job, not to fire up your hormones. Experience had taught her that she couldn’t do casual sex; she had to have some connection with a lover. When she’d fallen in love she’d known it had been worth the wait. Until that man, who had become her husband, had pulverised her heart along with her confidence, and she was back to square one. She was unlikely to ever forget Jason’s appalled reaction to her disfigured body. She’d believed in his love. Now she knew not to expect any different from any man, so knew keeping safe was entirely up to herself.

‘Captain? Your room is number three in that block behind the mess hall.’ A soldier appeared in her line of vision, a clipboard in his hand, thankfully blotting out that irritating sight of long legs and tight backside that had her in a spin.

‘Thank you, Private,’ she acknowledged as she turned in the right direction.

One step and Madison froze.

Thick smoke billowed above a hut on the far perimeter.

A chill slithered down her spine, lifted the hairs on her arms. Her heart leapt into her throat. She forgot to breathe. ‘No.’ The word crawled out of her mouth as fear swamped her. ‘No-o.’ Smoke meant fire. No, please, no. She couldn’t deal with that. Not today. Not ever. Not again. Anything else, yes. Move. Run. Someone could be trapped inside the hut. Move. She remained transfixed, staring at that murky column rising into the air, twisting, spiralling out of control.

‘Move, damn it.’ Do something. But her boots were filled with concrete. ‘I can’t.’ Her fingers touched her midriff, not feeling the scars through her uniform, but they were there, as familiar to her touch as her face in a mirror was to her sight.

‘Madison?’ Sam stood in front of her.

She tried to look away from that smoke. She really did. But her eyes had a mind of their own, were fixated with the swirling, growing cloud. As the smoke darkened, horror darkened her soul. Knots cramped her stomach. Bile spewed into her mouth, soured her tongue. Finally her lungs moved, expanded slowly against her chest.

Strong hands caught her upper arms, shook her. ‘Captain Hunter, what’s the problem?’

The air stalled in her lungs again. Breathe out slowly; one, two, three. Now in, one, two. ‘There’s a fire.’ She jerked her chin in the right direction as her lungs contracted, forcing hot air through her mouth.

Sam glanced where she’d indicated. ‘That’s not smoke. It’s a dust whirl. Get used to it. We get plenty around here.’ That intense stare returned to her face. What was he seeing? Apart from someone who should be behaving like a soldier? And clearly wasn’t.

‘You’re sure? You haven’t gone to check it out.’

‘I’m sure.’

Her knees sagged, and her shoulders drooped further into his strong grip. Air escaped her lungs again. ‘D-dust I can cope with.’ Phew. She was safe; she didn’t have to rush into roaring flames to rescue Granddad, pull him free of burning timbers. Except she hadn’t managed to save him. A blazing beam had seen to that. The sweat on her back chilled, her damaged skin prickled. Granddad.

Someone was shaking her. Sam. Of course. ‘Madison, look at me.’

I can’t do that. He’d see right inside, would know she was a screw-up. Nothing like the confident girl who used to cope with everything and had always been a success. She certainly didn’t used to do vulnerable. Digging deep, she tried to find that Madison, but she was long gone. Burned in the midst of a fire. ‘I’m all right. I don’t mind dust.’ That scratchy sound coming across her tongue was not her usual voice; instead, it sounded like a cat when its tail was stomped on.

‘You won’t be saying that for long. It never goes away, coats every damned surface, and gets into places you won’t believe.’

But it won’t kill me, or scar my body, or terrify me. Or take someone I love. Or change my life for ever. Shaking in her boots, she continued staring at the thinning cloud as it changed direction to head away from the buildings. A grenade had been lobbed at her within minutes of arriving. This place was not good for her.

Just as well Sam still held her. To hit the ground with thirty kilos on her back would hurt, and write her off as a loser in everyone’s eyes.

Did he know he was rubbing her arms with his thumbs? Couldn’t, or he’d stop immediately. She didn’t want that. Not yet. She needed the contact, the comfort, which showed how messed up she was. She was an officer in the New Zealand army, for pity’s sake. ‘It’s truly only dust?’

‘Yes, Madison, not smoke.’

The unexpected gentleness in his voice nearly undid her. She wasn’t used to that tone from men any more, and it reached inside to tear at her heart, slashed at the barricades she kept wound tight. She tilted forward, drawn by an invisible thread, needing to get closer. Her brain was begging Sam to wrap his arms around her.

Her chin flipped up. Under pressure from her pack she straightened her spine and locked her eyes on his. He’d have her back on that plane heading home quick smart if he knew what she wanted of him. Good idea. That’d get her away from here and everything she suspected was going to test her over the coming weeks and months. Something at the back of her mind was pushing forward. I am not a coward. Not even a little one? No. Not even a tiny one. Messed up? Yes. But she would not add coward to her CV. Twisting her head away from that all-seeing gaze, she locked her eyes on the dust that had ripped her equilibrium apart.

‘Dust can be a nuisance. Dirty and scratchy.’ Slowly, one shallow breath at a time, her lungs relaxed, returned to doing their job properly. There was little resemblance to smoke in that whirl. She’d made an idiot of herself. ‘Thanks for rectifying my mistake,’ she whispered.

‘Any time.’ Sam stepped back, his hands dropping to his hips in his apparent favourite stance, taking that strength and safety with him, leaving her swaying until she found her balance, but like he was ready to catch her if necessary. That she could cope with; the intensity he was watching her with she could not.

Madison slowly looked around, taking time to get her body back under control. She was a soldier, and a doctor. No one need know she lost her cool at the sight of smoke. Or the smell of it. Or the roar of flames. Except Sam had already witnessed her near breakdown. She could only hope he wasn’t going to be like a dog with a bone until he found out what that had been about.