Australian Affairs: Claimed: Dr Chandler's Sleeping Beauty / Countering His Claim / Australia's Maverick Millionaire

Kitty felt a blush steal over her face and neck. ‘I have enough experience to know that sex is not just a physical connection,’ she said. ‘It’s a deeply emotional experience.’

‘Clearly your boyfriend didn’t find it so emotionally satisfying, otherwise why did he find someone else?’

She threw him an arctic glare. ‘I think it might be time for you to leave.’

He held her look with a cynical glitter in his eye. ‘You need to grow up, Kitty,’ he said. ‘You’re a young, fanciful girl in a woman’s body. Life isn’t a fairytale. There are no handsome princes out there who’ll declare undying love for you and carry you off into the sunset. There are no fairy godmothers to make everything turn out right in the end. There are no genies in bottles, no magic spells, and sure as hell there are precious few happy ever afters.’

Kitty folded her arms imperiously. ‘Are you done?’

The air crackled with electric tension as dark blue eyes warred with grey.

‘No,’ he said, eyes glittering as he closed the distance between them in one stride. ‘Not quite.’

She took a step backwards as he came towards her but the sofa was in the way. She gave a little startled gasp as his strong hands gripped her by the upper arms, pulling her to him. Her body jolted with sensual energy when it came into contact with his. It was like a dead battery being plugged into a power source. Currents of energy flowed through her, kick-starting her senses into throbbing, pulsing life. His mouth came down and blazed with furnace-hot heat against hers. As the kiss progressed in intensity raw need licked along her flesh like trails of runaway fire. Desire pooled in her belly, hot and liquid, melting her to the backbone. His tongue thrust boldly into her mouth, commanding and conquering, demanding and deliciously, dangerously male.

For a moment, a mere nanosecond, she thought about resisting. But the feel of his tongue weaving seductively around hers was her undoing. She wound her arms around his neck, leaning into his kiss, giving back, responding in an unabashed way she wouldn’t have believed possible just a few days ago. Red-hot need rose in her like a hungry beast waking after a long hibernation. It roared from deep within her, great primal bellows of unmet wants that refused to be ignored and denied or suppressed any longer.

Her fingers delved deep into the thick pelt of his hair. His hard chest wall abraded her breasts as she pressed herself closer and closer. She felt the swelling ridge of his erection against her feminine mound, a tantalising reminder of his power and strength and her primitive need to yield to it.

One of his hands pressed against the small of her back and the other went to her hair, his fingers splaying against her scalp as he kissed her deeply and urgently.

Her tongue played cat and mouse with his. She brazenly teased and tantalised him with darting, flicking movements of her own. He took control back from her with another shift in position. His hand went from her hair to her breast, cupping it possessively, his palm moulding its contour with sensual expertise.

Kitty was breathless with escalating need. She hadn’t realised her breasts could feel quite so sensitive. The nipples were tight, and aching for more of his touch. As if he read her mind, or indeed her body, he glided his hand up under her pyjama top and captured her naked breast. Lightning bolts of desire zapped through her body at that shamelessly intimate contact. Her nipple budded into his palm; she felt the delicious pressure and wanted more. His thumb moved over the tight nub, back and forth in a mesmerising motion that set every nerve singing.

And then, most shocking of all, he bent his head and took her nipple and its areola into his hot, moist mouth. She clung to him as the world spun, soft little whimpers coming from deep inside her throat as his tongue stroked her into mindlessness.

He moved to her other breast, taking his time over exploring it, teasing it with his teeth and tongue. A shiver scuttled over her flesh—how could her body not have known such exquisite pleasure existed? How could she not have felt such earth-shattering sensations before?

He worked his way back to her mouth, lingering over the sensitive skin of her neck until he claimed her lips once more. This kiss had an undercurrent of desperation to it. She felt his need building, a rampage of want that thundered through his blood. She felt the potent power of him surging against her body. It awoke a primal need inside her to open to him. Her body pulsed and vibrated with a longing so intense it made a mockery of anything she had experienced before. She had never felt such powerful, all-consuming desire. It took over every thought. It blocked out every resistance. It was as if he had unlocked a part of her being she hadn’t known existed.

How could it be her hands greedily seeking his naked chest underneath his T-shirt?

How could it be her mouth responding to his with such reckless abandon?

How could her body be rubbing up against his like a shameless wanton?

Suddenly it was over.

He put her from him almost roughly. ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’

Kitty took umbrage at his attitude. ‘Me?’ she asked. ‘You started it!’

He raked a hand through his disordered hair, his breathing still heavy and uneven. ‘I know, and now I’ve stopped it,’ he said.

She crossed her arms over her chest. ‘I would have stopped it before it went too much further.’

His eyes were like a laser as they held hers. ‘You were taking your merry time about it, sweetheart.’

Kitty shot him an icy glare. ‘You caught me off guard. It’s late and I’m tired and not thinking straight.’

His lip curled mockingly. ‘Still think sex is all about emotion?’

She felt her cheeks radiate with colour. ‘We didn’t have sex.’

‘We weren’t far off it.’

‘I would never have let you make love to me.’

He came up close again, capturing her chin between his thumb and forefinger, his eyes holding hers in a hot, tense little lockdown that sent a shudder of reaction all the way down her spine. ‘I could’ve had you flat on your back and screaming all the way to heaven and back and you damn well know it,’ he said.

Kitty felt the echo of his incendiary statement deep in the pit of her belly. She wanted to make him take those shamelessly coarse words back. God help her, she wanted those shamelessly coarse words not to have a grain of truth in them.

She wrenched out of his hold, rubbing at her chin as if it had been stung. ‘You are a loathsome, diabolical, arrogant man,’ she said through gritted teeth. ‘I detest men like you. You think you can have any woman you want, any time you want, but you can’t. You can’t have me.’

His mouth still had that slant of mockery in place. ‘You really shouldn’t have thrown down such a delightful little gauntlet,’ he said. ‘Now I’ll have to prove you wrong.’

She held herself stiffly: arms folded, back straight, mouth tight. ‘You’d be wasting your time.’

‘I don’t know about that,’ he said as his gaze ran over her indolently. ‘It’d sure be fun trying.’

Kitty glowered at him. ‘What about your bet?’

‘Some rules are made to be broken,’ he said. ‘Anyway, everyone already thinks we’re doing it. Why not do it for real?’

‘I’d rather die.’

‘You’re afraid, aren’t you?’ he asked. ‘You’re afraid of being out of your depth in a relationship. That’s why you chose a boyfriend you’d known for ages. He was safe and predictable. You could control things with him. But that’s not what you need.’

‘I hardly think you’re the person to tell me what I need,’ she tossed back. ‘You barely know me.’

‘I know you well enough to know that behind that starchy schoolmistress thing you’ve got going on is a young woman who longs to let her hair down,’ he said.

Kitty gave a scathing little laugh. ‘And I suppose you think you’re exactly the person I should let it down with? Thanks, but no thanks.’

He strode across to the door. ‘Let me know if you change your mind,’ he said. ‘You know where to find me.’

CHAPTER ELEVEN

‘WHAT’S wrong with this place?’ Julie asked outside Brad’s bar and grill the following evening, when they were scouting for somewhere to have dinner.

‘I’m not going in there,’ Kitty said, turning up her nose.

‘What’s wrong with it? It looks nice, and they have live music.’

‘It’s a pick-up joint,’ Kitty said. ‘Let’s go somewhere more sophisticated.’

‘But I’m thirty and I’m single,’ Julie wailed. ‘I need a pick-up joint.’

‘Well, I don’t.

‘You’re single too,’ Julie said. ‘Or has that changed since we last spoke?’

‘I hate men,’ Kitty said, scowling. ‘They’re so shallow and selfish.’

‘I know, but that’s part of the attraction,’ Julie said. ‘We’re so giving and selfless. It’s that whole opposites attract thing. Hey, isn’t that your boss?’

Kitty put her head down. ‘Keep moving,’ she said. ‘We’ll find another place further along.’

‘God, he’s even hotter than I remembered,’ Julie said. ‘Maybe he’ll join us. Why don’t you invite him?’

‘He already has plans,’ Kitty said, tugging at Julie’s arm. ‘Come on.’

Julie shrugged off Kitty’s hand. ‘I’m going to thank him for checking me out,’ she said. ‘I should’ve thought to drop in a bottle of wine or something. I bet he would’ve appreciated that.’

‘He wouldn’t have remembered who you were,’ Kitty muttered.

‘Hi,’ Julie said as she blocked Jake from moving any further along the footpath. ‘I’m Kitty’s cousin. You saw me in A&E a few days ago.’

‘How could I forget?’ Jake said with a smile. ‘How’s the ankle?’

‘I’m off the crutches, as you can see,’ Julie said. ‘How is Kitty shaping up?’

‘She’s proving to be quite an asset to the team,’ he said. ‘We wonder now how we managed without her.’

Kitty glowered at him. ‘We mustn’t keep you,’ she said. ‘Come on, Julie. Dr Chandler has an important date.’

‘She cancelled,’ Jake said.

‘How dreadfully disappointing for you,’ Kitty said.

‘You win some, you lose some,’ he said with a dismissive shrug. ‘Plenty more fish in the sea.’

‘So you’re putting your line out again this evening?’ Kitty asked with a pert look. ‘Good luck with that.’

He smiled a lazy smile. ‘What about you?’ he asked. ‘A hot night on the town?’

‘I wish,’ Julie said, rolling her eyes. ‘Why don’t you join us?’

‘I’m sure Dr Chandler has much better things to do than keep us company,’ Kitty said.

‘I’d love to join you, but I’m meeting someone,’ he said.

Kitty curled her lip. ‘That was quick.’

‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘Nothing like the right bait. Works like a charm.’

Kitty looped her arm through her cousin’s. ‘Don’t let us keep you.’

‘What was all that about?’ Julie asked when they had walked on a bit.

‘What do you mean?’

‘You were spitting chips at each other,’ Julie said. ‘I could’ve cut the air with a knife.’

‘That man has a revolving door on his bedroom,’ Kitty said in disgust. ‘He’s the biggest playboy imaginable. He had the gall to set up one of his shallow hook-ups while I was sitting right beside him in the car.’

‘What were you doing beside him in his car?’

‘It’s a long story.’

‘Tell me.’

‘He took me to my orchestra rehearsal,’ she said. ‘My car broke down.’

‘That was nice of him.’

‘He only did it to rub my nose in it.’

‘What do you mean?’ Julie asked.

‘He gave me a lecture about buying secondhand cars,’ Kitty said. ‘Honestly, you’d think I’d committed a crime. And that was on top of the dressing down he gave me about water restrictions. How was I to know you’re not supposed to use a hose to wash your car?’

‘I should’ve told you about that—sorry.’

‘It’s not your fault.’

‘It’s not his fault, either.’

‘Yes, it is,’ Kitty said. ‘He just loves to lord it over me. He doesn’t like the way I pay attention to detail at work. But I don’t have his depth of experience or confidence. I can’t just waltz in and diagnose everyone just like that. I need to feel my way.’

‘I’m sure he’s only trying to help you,’ Julie said. ‘He seemed quite positive about your being a part of the team when I asked him.’

‘He doesn’t think I’m up to the task,’ Kitty said. ‘He thinks I’m scared of being out of my depth.’

‘But you are,’ Julie said. ‘It’s what I was telling you the other day. You’re a classic control freak. Sooner or later you’re going to have to realise you can’t control everything in life. Anyway, how boring would that be?’

‘I’m perfectly happy with my life the way it is,’ Kitty said.

‘I wish I could say the same,’ Julie said wistfully. ‘I wonder if I’ll ever meet someone who wants the same things I do.’

Kitty squeezed her cousin’s hand. ‘That’s the fairytale, isn’t it? We have to believe, otherwise what hope is there?’

* * *

Jake checked his watch yet again. It wasn’t the first time his brother had stood him up. He had been left waiting on numerous occasions, but he could never bring himself to leave until he was absolutely sure Robbie wasn’t going to show. He always gave him a chance to redeem himself. The psychologists would probably call it enabling behaviour, but what else could he do? Robbie was his flesh and blood. He hated to think of him out on the streets, desperate for food or shelter. He had to do what he could to protect him.

‘Got a dollar, mate?’ A voice spoke from a bundle of rags on the sidewalk.

Jake fished in his pocket for some money. ‘Why are you on the streets?’ he asked, dropping the coins in the tin.

‘Got nowhere else to go,’ the man said, quickly pocketing the money.

‘What about shelters?’

‘Cost money.’

‘What about your family?’

‘Don’t have no family.’

‘Everyone has family,’ Jake said.

‘Not me,’ the guy said. ‘You?’

‘Yeah,’ Jake said. ‘They drive me nuts.’

‘That’s what families do.’

Jake took out his wallet and peeled off a few notes. ‘Here,’ he said, handing them to him. ‘Find yourself a hotel or something. Don’t blow it on drugs or drink.’

* * *

Kitty padded out to her kitchen early the following morning for a glass of water before her shower. She pulled up the blind on the kitchen window and saw Jake in his own kitchen on the opposite side of the courtyard. He was standing in front of his open refrigerator—and he was naked.

Her eyes drank in the sight of him, all bronzed and buffed, every muscle toned and taut with good health and vigour. He looked as if he had just stepped off a marble plinth in a museum. Not a gram of fat on him anywhere, just strong lean planes of hard male flesh.

She gave a little gulp.

He closed the fridge and turned and saw her staring at him. A slow smile spread over his features. He raised the carton of juice he was holding in a salute and mouthed, Good morning.

Kitty pulled the blind back down with more haste than efficiency. She clutched the edge of the sink, breathing hard. What must he think of her, gawping at him like that? Had he done it on purpose? Did he make a habit of wandering around naked in full view of the neighbours? So what if she was the only neighbour residing here just now—he had no right to flaunt himself like that!

Then she remembered his hot little hook-up. He probably had her there, still lying languorously in his bed after a bed-wrecking night of sex.

She stomped off to the shower, but as the water flowed over her in stinging little needles she thought of him having a shower next door, no doubt sharing it with his lover. Was he soaping up her breasts? Was he kissing her neck and décolletage?

‘Grrrrggh.’ Kitty reached for a towel and scrubbed herself dry. ‘I hate that man!’

* * *

Kitty was on her way to her car to drive to work when she remembered Jake had arranged to deliver it to his mate’s workshop. Just as she was about to call a cab on her mobile, he appeared from round the corner.

‘Want a lift?’ he asked.

Kitty couldn’t control her fiery blush. ‘Please don’t put yourself out any further,’ she said. ‘I can easily call a cab.’

‘At this time of the morning?’ he said. ‘It’s bedlam out there. I just fought my way through it with your heap of rust. Only just made it too. I think the radiator’s about to go on it as well.’

‘I’m sorry you’ve had such a trying start to the morning,’ she said.

His dark blue eyes glinted. ‘My morning started out just fine.’

Kitty opened the passenger door and bundled herself inside, cheeks still burning hot. Did he have to embarrass her even further?

‘How did your night on the town go?’ he asked once he was behind the wheel.

She threw him a flinty look. ‘It was probably excruciatingly tedious compared to yours.’

‘I don’t know about that,’ he said, checking for traffic as he pulled into the street. ‘I’ve had better.’

Kitty glanced at him but his expression was unfathomable. ‘Are you going to see her again?’ she asked.

‘Who?’

‘Your hot date last night.’

He changed lanes before he answered. ‘Maybe. It depends.’

‘On what?’

He glanced at her wryly. ‘Why the sudden interest? Are you thinking of joining the queue?’

‘Don’t be daft,’ she scoffed.

His mouth slanted in a smile. ‘Frightened you might get trampled in the rush?’

Kitty pressed her lips together and refused to say another word until he pulled into the hospital car park. ‘Thank you for the lift,’ she said.

‘I’d offer to run you home again, but I have another commitment straight after work,’ he said.

‘I’ll make my own arrangements,’ she said.

‘Here’s my mate’s card,’ he said, reaching for a business card from one of the dashboard compartments.

‘You can give him a call to find out when your car will be ready.’

Kitty felt the brush of his fingers as he handed her the card and her belly gave a little flutter. ‘Thanks…’

His eyes meshed with hers, dark and intense and knowing.

Could he feel the sexual energy she could feel? Did it make his skin ache to feel her touch? Did his lips tingle at the memory of hers moving against them? Did his blood roar through his veins at the thought of holding her in his arms, moulding her to him, making love to her?

‘I like how you had your hair this morning,’ he said.

Kitty put a hand up to her neat chignon. ‘My…hair?’

‘First thing,’ he said. ‘It was down and all tousled. That just-out-of-bed look really suits you.’

‘You caught me by surprise.’

He gave her an indolent smile. ‘Ditto.’

‘I’m going to work,’ she said, swinging her bag over her shoulder. ‘I’ll see you inside.’

CHAPTER TWELVE

‘WAS that Jake Chandler’s car I saw you getting out of this morning?’ Cathy Oxley asked in the locker room.

Kitty put her bag in the locker and closed the door. ‘He gave me a lift to work as my car is being repaired.’

‘What is going on with you two?’ Cathy asked. ‘One of the doctors from Paediatrics said Jake took you to an orchestra rehearsal. Are you or aren’t you an item?’

‘Nothing’s going on,’ Kitty said. ‘Dr Chandler kindly offered to take me to the rehearsal at short notice when my car refused to start. He also kindly offered to deliver my car to his friend’s workshop.’

‘Why would he do that if he wasn’t interested in you?’

‘He was just being neighbourly.’

‘Some people have all the luck,’ Cathy said. ‘All my neighbour does is complain about my cat or my kids.’

‘I’m not Dr Chandler’s type,’ Kitty said. ‘Apparently I don’t let my hair down enough.’

‘Did he say that to you?’

Kitty compressed her lips. ‘Amongst other things.’

Cathy grinned. ‘I think he likes you. I’ve seen the way he looks at you. He sure as hell doesn’t look at anyone else like that.’

‘He has a different lover every night,’ Kitty said, scowling furiously. ‘He probably doesn’t have time to look at them before he shoves them out the door again.’

‘You know it’s the hardened playboys who always fall for the old-fashioned girls in the long run,’ Cathy said. ‘I’ve seen it many a time.’

‘You won’t be seeing it this time,’ Kitty said as they walked out of the locker room together. ‘I’ve never met a more irritating, beastly, odious man.’

‘Er…’ Cathy gave a grimace. ‘I’ve got to go. See you.’

Kitty turned around to see Jake Chandler standing there with an inscrutable look on his face.

‘Haven’t you got better things to do than discuss me with the nursing staff?’ he asked.

She stood her ground. ‘I’m trying to put out the rumours that are circulating about us,’ she said. ‘I thought if everyone knew how much I hated you it would stop them speculating.’

‘Hate is a strong word, Dr Cargill.’

She refused to be intimidated by his steely gaze. ‘I know,’ she said. ‘But it’s appropriate in this case.’

‘I have a feeling you don’t hate me as much as you’d like to,’ he said. ‘I threaten you. That’s what you hate, isn’t it, Kitty? I make you feel things you don’t want to feel. You don’t want to feel desire, do you? It frightens the hell out of you.’

Kitty glowered at him. ‘I don’t feel any such thing.’

‘Sure you do, sweetheart,’ he drawled. ‘You want me. You want me real bad.’

‘You’re mistaken,’ she said, her heart racing, her breath catching.

He captured her wrist in his strong fingers, his thumb finding her pounding pulse. ‘This is what I do to you, isn’t it?’ he asked. ‘It’s the same thing you do to me.’

Kitty swallowed again, her stomach plummeting when she saw the naked desire in his gaze. She felt the sensual pull of his body, and the heat and fire of his touch set off every nerve screaming for more.

She was frightened by how he made her feel. Frightened and yet exhilarated.

‘Dr Chandler?’ One of the residents approached from further down the corridor.

Jake dropped Kitty’s wrist and turned around. ‘Yes?’

The resident looked from Kitty to Jake. ‘I’m sorry to interrupt…’

‘You’re not interrupting anything,’ Jake said, dropping his hand by his side.

‘There’s a patient just come in who keeps asking for you,’ the intern said. ‘He says he’s your brother.’

Jake went to Bay Two, where Robbie was lying groaning on the trolley. It angered him to see his younger brother so wasted at this time of the day. His skin looked grey and pasty and his hair looked as if it hadn’t been washed in a week. His clothes were little more than filthy rags and his shoes had holes in them. How had his kid brother got to this? What choices had he made that had sent him on this crazy, senseless trajectory? Why couldn’t he just turn his life around? Did he have no self-control or self-respect? Didn’t he want things to be different? How could he expect to live a full life when he was abusing his health so wilfully?

‘Isn’t it a bit early for a hangover?’ he said as he twitched the curtain closed. ‘Or is this one left over from last night?’

Robbie clutched at his head. ‘Don’t talk so loud.’

‘You know, if you’re here for a hand-out there are much better ways to do it.’ Jake said. ‘I told you I’d pay for rent and food. You don’t have to use emotional blackmail.’

‘I’m sick, damn it,’ Robbie said.

‘Yeah, well, I would be too if I was on the same liquid diet you’re on,’ Jake said. ‘When was the last time you had a proper meal?’

‘I don’t know…couple of days ago, I think.’

‘Perhaps I should assess him?’ Kitty said. ‘I’m not family. I can be a bit more objective.’

Jake fought with himself. He was used to handling his family issues on his own. He didn’t want the train wreck of his brother’s issues to intersect with his professional life. It wasn’t only that it was embarrassing. He felt so damned helpless. He was used to sorting out other people’s problems. His life was devoted to saving other people’s sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, and yet he couldn’t do a thing to put his kid brother’s life back on track.