A Doctor By Day...

‘Hey,’ he said, as he sat up straight in the chair, held the jacket on each side of the zip and lifted it slightly, adjusting it on his shoulders, ‘this is mine.’

‘It’s nice.’ It was. She could smell the leathery fragrance. She hadn’t noticed a leather smell on the Himbos, not that she’d got that close to their shorts.

‘Yeah?’

She grinned, feeling more at ease. It was much less stressful now she was out of the spotlight and off the stage. ‘Much better than leather pants.’

‘Have you ever worn leather pants?’

Scarlett shook her head.

‘Well, you should give them a go, you might be surprised at how comfortable they are.’

‘You have leather pants too?’

He raised one hand. ‘Guilty as charged. Call it part of our uniform. But you might be pleased to know I don’t own leather shorts.’

‘That’s a relief,’ she said, but, as much as she thought leather was being worn a little too often around the club, she suspected he would look rather good in leather pants. She suspected he’d look good in anything.

He shifted in his seat and his thigh brushed against hers for the second time. Her nerve endings sparked and it felt as if all the cells in her thigh muscles were straining to get closer to him, as though they were trying to leap out of her skin. She moved her leg away from his before she could be tempted to lean into him instead.

The alcohol she’d drunk tonight had most certainly reduced her inhibitions. Not only had she voluntarily got up on stage, she was now having lustful thoughts about a complete stranger. She was planning on having fun but she wasn’t sure if her courage stretched far enough to include Jake. She should go home before she did something even more out of character. Before she could be tempted by a cute young barman who might, or might not, be flirting with her. There was no way she was going to make a move on him, well, not the first move anyway. She needed to get out of here. If he wanted to come with her that was his choice. If he chose to stay behind then she’d assume she’d read the signals wrong. There was a good possibility of that, she thought. She was hardly the most experienced woman at the table.

She’d done her duty to Candice. Surely she could leave now without appearing rude. She leant across the table to speak to Candice, ready to make her excuses. ‘I think I might head off, if you don’t mind. I had a really busy night on call before working today.’

‘How are you getting home?’

‘I’ll take a cab.’

‘Do you want me to come with you?’ Mel asked. ‘You shouldn’t go on your own.’ Hindley Street was not the street you wanted to walk down alone.

‘I’ll wait with you, if you like,’ Jake said to her. ‘I’ve finished my shift and was about to go anyway.’

‘Perfect! Thanks, Jake.’ Candice agreed on Scarlett’s behalf without any hesitation. ‘That way, Mel can stay and enjoy the rest of the evening. You don’t mind, do you?’ Candice asked, as she looked at her.

Scarlett didn’t want to be accused of breaking up the party so she did what came naturally to her and agreed. ‘Sure,’ she replied. She’d had a lifetime of experience at being the one to keep the peace, being the one to do what everyone expected of her while her sisters did as they pleased, so of course she agreed, but it didn’t hurt that she was more than happy for Jake to keep her company. She knew then that his touch had been deliberate and the thought sent a frisson of excitement through her body.

‘Jake is one of the good guys, you can trust him,’ Candice added, before she turned to Mel and whispered with a chuckle, ‘I’m not denying he could charm a nun out of her habit but that’s Scarlett’s good fortune.’

As Scarlett ducked her head under the table to put her shoes back on and search for her handbag she heard Candice say something about charm but she couldn’t catch the whole sentence. She thought about asking her to repeat her comment but when she found her handbag and looked up she saw that Jake was standing, ready to pull out her chair for her. Not wanting to keep him waiting, she decided that if what Candice had said was important she’d find out some other time.

She followed Jake from the club, aware of several women checking him out as he passed their tables, but their attention was short-lived as another dancer was on the stage and now that Jake was fully clothed there were obviously more interesting things to look at elsewhere. Scarlett didn’t mind, she was happy to have him all to herself.

There was a taxi rank opposite the club but the queue was horrendously long, stretching for half a block. Knowing it could take for ever for her turn to come, she released Jake from his obligation. ‘It’s going to take ages, you don’t need to wait,’ she said, as they joined the end of the queue.

‘I promised Candice I’d look after you.’

‘That’s okay, I won’t tell her.’ She smiled. ‘Thank you for offering but it’s busy enough. I’ll be all right,’ she said, as she slipped her shoes off. Her feet had had enough and she couldn’t stand the thought of another minute standing in uncomfortable high heels. The concrete pavement was rough but cool under her skin and was soothing in an unexpected way. She glanced down the line and saw she wasn’t the only one who’d divested herself of her footwear.

‘Come on, I’ll give you a lift,’ he said, looking at her bare feet.

‘It’s fine, really,’ Scarlett insisted. ‘I’m just not used to wearing high heels.’

‘I’m not going to leave you here and I think we’ve both got better things to do than stand on the street for an hour.’

His tone wasn’t impatient. Maybe she was reading things into his words but the depth of his voice and the low volume made it sound as though the better things he had in mind involved them both and she was tempted to dive in, recklessly, heedlessly, and accept his offer. But her natural inclination not to cause trouble made her ask, ‘What if I live miles away?’

‘Then that’s my problem. I’m not going to retract my offer. I’d look like a jerk.’

She looked up at him. Barefoot, she was now several inches shorter than he was. ‘I’d hate to have that hanging over my head.’

‘So, can I drop you home?’ He grinned and all her objections, few though they were, vanished. She nodded and slipped her sandals back on before following him as he retraced their footsteps.

He led her to an alleyway behind The Coop and Scarlett followed blindly. She knew she would feel unsafe if he wasn’t beside her but even though he was virtually a stranger she trusted him. It was an odd situation to be in, she wasn’t normally a trusting person, particularly not when it came to men, but she only got good vibes from Jake and he wasn’t really a stranger, was he? He knew Candice.

He stopped beside a dark green convertible that had been parked behind a dumpster, which kept it partially shielded from view. The roof was down and there was a cumbersome, heavy steering lock clamped to the wheel.

Jake opened the passenger door and shrugged out of his leather jacket. ‘Here,’ he said, as he held it out to her. ‘It might be a bit cool with the top down but it’s a bit temperamental and it’ll be quicker and warmer if you wear this.’

Scarlett slipped her arms into the sleeves as Jake held it for her. His fingers brushed her neck as he turned up the collar. The jacket was much too large for her but it was warm and smelt divine, a heady combination of leather and clean male. She didn’t bother to zip it, just pulled it close, wrapping it around her like a cocoon.

She sank into the low seat as Jake stowed the steering lock behind them and started the engine. The sound was low and throaty and reminded her of his voice. Scarlett relaxed. She closed her eyes and let the warmth and scent of the leather of the seats and Jake’s jacket seduce her. It was nice to have someone else make a decision for her. Not being required to think was a novelty. All her life she had been the one people turned to for advice. She had been the one who everyone relied on to be sensible, responsible, to make the hard decisions, and Scarlett’s natural tendency was to carefully consider all angles before making an informed and logical choice.

Letting a stranger give her a lift home was not the sort of thing she did. She wasn’t a spontaneous sort of person. Every decision she made was carefully measured, considered and weighed before she acted on it. She was used to being in control. Of her life and of her actions.

Going home with someone she’d just met was the sort of thing her sister Ruby would do. Ruby would have set her sights on a guy the minute she walked into The Coop and wouldn’t have thought twice about letting them give her a lift home. Even their younger sister, Rose, was more outgoing than she herself was. She would have walked into The Coop, tossed her blond hair, batted her long eyelashes and her big blue eyes and within minutes she would have had men falling at her feet. She would have flirted expertly and at the end of the night she would have been spoilt for choice if she wanted a lift home.

Scarlett didn’t know if she could ever be as confident or as fearless as her sisters but it was kind of nice to step out of her comfort zone for a change. But she knew the only reason she felt safe to do that was because there was a connection with Jake. She wasn’t thinking about the physical or chemical connection she felt but rather the safer, more reliable one that was their common friend, Candice. Scarlett knew that no matter how gorgeous and charming a man was, she would never let a complete stranger give her a lift home. She just didn’t do things like that.

‘Scarlett?’

She jumped as she felt Jake’s hand on her knee. She opened her eyes to find they had left Hindley Street behind. The little green car was on the bridge over the River Torrens as Jake headed up Montefiore Hill.

‘Are you okay?’ he asked, and she realised he must have been speaking to her while she was daydreaming.

‘Yes. I’m fine.’

Jake flicked the indicator on to turn at the lookout at the top of the hill. She tried not to notice the cars parked there, certain that the occupants were up to no good as they looked across the city lights. She had never fooled around in the backseat of a car but sitting here with Jake’s hand still resting on her knee she could almost imagine what it would be like. But he removed his hand to negotiate the corner, leaving a cold circle the size of his palm on her skin. He drove past the old cathedral and up towards O’Connell Street.

‘Are you hungry?’ he asked, as the car idled at the next set of traffic lights.

‘I am,’ she said, as she rubbed at the cold spot on her knee. She was a little surprised to find she was hungry but dinner seemed like hours ago.

‘My favourite late-night take-away is just up here. We can grab something to eat there, if you like?’

‘Sure.’ She thought it was probably a good idea to eat something else and soak up the rest of the alcohol she’d consumed but where they ate was another decision she was happy to let Jake make.

Jake slowed his sports car as they approached the café strip and he searched for a parking space. A car was pulling out from the kerb and he waited, taking the spot in front of a café with distinctive blue-and-white signage. She recognised the café; she’d walked past it plenty of times but had never been inside, but it seemed that Jake knew it well.

‘Jake, how’s it going?’ The guy behind the counter greeted him as they walked in. ‘What’ll you have, the usual?’

‘Sounds good,’ he said, before explaining to Scarlett, ‘You can’t go past George’s lamb yiros,’ he told her.

There was a huge selection of dishes written on the blackboard above the counter but Scarlett could see the lamb revolving slowly on the enormous spit, cooking as it turned, and the smell carried to her. It smelt fantastic. She’d never tried a yiros before but it was an easy decision. She nodded. ‘Make that two,’ she told George.

‘You want garlic sauce with that?’ George asked.

That sounded rather potent and Scarlett wasn’t at all familiar with yiros etiquette. Jake was watching her, his head tipped to one side, waiting for her answer. She didn’t want to be in close proximity to him if she had garlic sauce and he didn’t. Even in a convertible she suspected it could be unpleasant.

‘Is that how you usually have it?’ she asked Jake.

‘Yep.’

‘Okay, then.’ Scarlett watched as George expertly carved slices of lamb as it rotated on the spit and piled it onto flatbreads and garnished it with garlic sauce and salad before wrapping each yiros in wax paper and handing them over the counter. She followed Jake to a table tucked into the back corner of the café. All around them other patrons were devouring their yiros but from what she could see it was almost impossible to eat daintily. Worried about making a mess of Jake’s jacket, she slipped it off and hung it over the back of her chair.

‘Do you want to take your shoes off too?’ Jake was smiling at her.

She shook her head. ‘Not in here.’

‘You could take them off on the street, why not in here?’ he said, as he tore the wax paper to expose the top half of his yiros.

‘We’re in a restaurant. Earlier I couldn’t face the thought of standing any longer but I’m okay as long as I’m sitting down,’ Scarlett said, copying his actions.

‘I’ve never understood why women insist on buying uncomfortable shoes—although they do look great on you.’

‘Thank you.’ The compliment almost made the pain worthwhile. ‘But they’re not mine and I didn’t realise they were so uncomfortable. I borrowed them,’ she admitted. ‘Strip clubs aren’t really my scene and I don’t own anything suitable to wear to one.’ She took a bite of the warm flatbread. The lamb was tender and juicy, perfectly complemented by the sauce.

‘Going to the club doesn’t mean you need to dress like a stripper.’ He laughed.

She stuck one foot out from underneath the table, pointing her toes and swinging her foot from side to side. ‘You think these look like stripper shoes?’

Jake raised one eyebrow and grinned. ‘That wasn’t what I meant,’ he protested.

‘I wonder what my sister would have to say about that!’

Scarlett smiled back before taking another bite of her yiros, only to discover a fraction too late why she should have said no to the garlic sauce as it squirted out of the bread and ran down the side of her hand. She was holding the yiros with two hands, trying to stop it from falling apart, and there was nothing she could do about the sauce that was now running over her wrist and heading for her elbow.

Jake reached across and ran his finger along her forearm, wiping the sauce from her skin. He was watching her as he put his finger in his mouth and sucked the sauce from it and Scarlett felt as though he’d run his tongue along her bare skin. She could see the heat in his eyes and could still feel the heat from his finger as it sent a current shooting through her.

‘You’ve got sauce just here too,’ Jake said, and Scarlett held her breath as he stretched his hand out and wiped the side of her cheek. His thumb grazed the corner of her lip and Scarlett couldn’t help it—her lips parted under his touch and it was all she could do not to capture his thumb with her mouth. She inhaled deeply as Jake removed his hand and this time wiped his fingers on his serviette.

Despite the fact that they were sitting in a busy café, surrounded by other people, she was aware only of Jake. She ate the rest of her yiros in silence, acutely aware of him sitting opposite her, but somehow she managed to finish eating without any further mishap.

She felt the first wave of fatigue roll over her as she wiped a serviette over her lips and stifled a yawn.

‘Are you ready to go?’ Jake asked.

She was tired but in no hurry to get home. She was quite happy to sit for a bit longer in his company but she had no reason to delay. She stood as Jake picked his jacket up from her chair and slung it around her shoulders. He left his hand around her back, holding the jacket in place as he walked her to his car. Scarlett had to squeeze in close to him to manoeuvre between the tables and chairs and she could feel the length of his body where he pressed against her. The night air was cool on her skin when he released her to open the car door and she pulled his jacket more tightly around her to make up for the loss of warmth.

Within minutes she had directed Jake to her house. The night was over.

Almost.

Jake was out of the car and was walking her to her door.

‘Thanks for the lift,’ Scarlett said, as she unlocked her front door.

‘It was my pleasure.’ He was leaning on the doorjamb, watching her quietly.

‘And for supper,’ she added, reluctant for the evening to end.

Light spilled from the hallway and fell on Jake, illuminating him where he stood. She was in shadow but she could see Jake’s hand reaching towards her shoulder.

‘What are you doing?’

‘Something I’ve been wanting to do all night.’

He was leaning forward. Was he going to kiss her? His head was next to hers, his lips beside her ear, and his voice was quiet and deep. She could feel the gentle puff of his breath on her skin as he spoke and then she could feel his fingers in her hair as he pulled the end of her ponytail and untucked her hair from its bun. He pulled her hair forward and loosened it over her shoulders and his hands brushed her skin.

‘That’s much better.’

Scarlett turned her head and lifted it, just slightly, less than an inch, to look at him. He was still watching her and the way he looked at her made the heat pool low in her belly. She could feel a fluttering of nerves, a tremble in her stomach, but the nerves were anticipatory, not anxious. Jake’s green eyes were shining emerald in the light. His lips were millimetres from hers. He dipped his head into the shadow and closed the gap. His lips were warm and hungry, soft yet demanding. His body was lean and hard and his hands on her arms were firm but gentle. Scarlett pressed herself into him as two of them became one.

His hands slid behind her, cupping her bottom, holding her to him.

She wound her hands behind his head as her lips parted in response to the pressure of his tongue.

She was standing on her front porch, kissing a stranger, but he didn’t feel like a stranger. Scarlett felt as though she belonged with him, as though she’d known him always. Every cell in her body responded to his touch. Every part of her recognised him, as though they’d met before, and as she kissed him she felt as if she was reuniting with a lover, not making out with a stranger.

She brought her hands to his chest and placed them flat against his pectoral muscles. She grabbed a fistful of his T-shirt, bunching the fabric up in her palms, and dragged him out of the doorway and into her hall.

She should be saying good-night. She should be thanking him for the lift and saying goodbye but the look in his eye and the taste of his mouth had disengaged her brain and she couldn’t let him go. Not yet. She knew their first kiss was only a taste of what was to come.

She stepped to her right, towards her bedroom door, and her lips left Jake’s mouth. He was watching her closely, his green eyes intense, and she knew he was waiting to see what she would do next. She knew it was her decision now.

She pushed the front door closed and stepped backwards into her bedroom.

Jake didn’t wait for an invitation. He stepped towards her, following her lead. His hands were behind her back and she felt him slide the zip on the back of her dress down and her dress fell at her feet. She stepped out of it, naked except for her underwear and her borrowed heels.

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