Hot Docs On Call: Hollywood Heartthrobs

Once he’d finished eating he gave her a satisfied smile. ‘I was just talking to Tina up at the house. She says there’s some excellent snorkelling over near Lyford Cay. If we had time we could charter a boat and go further offshore, but we only have a couple hours—there’s still some interesting fish just off the beach. You fancy heading off and having a look? We can take a couple of motor scooters.’

‘What? Now?’ Up close and personal with a semi-naked Jake? No way. Once was bad enough. Or, rather, good enough. Too good. That wasn’t her idea of a fresh start. ‘What about Cameron?’

‘Well, we’re here to work, but we can’t work if the boss isn’t around, now, can we?’ He shook his head. ‘Have you ever snorkelled in the Bahamas before? Ridden a motor scooter?’

Sharing a standing-up breakfast was one thing, sharing a half-naked adventure was something altogether different. ‘Snorkelling? Motor scooters? My job isn’t the same as yours, Jake, waiting around until someone gets sick. I have other things to do. Lots of things.’

‘Can they wait?’

‘Says the self-confessed workaholic.’

‘Yes, I am... But Tina said if we do nothing else while we’re here we must do some snorkelling. She has all the gear. And I’m hardly extending my surgical skills sitting around here, am I? What will I do...? Practise my injection technique on an orange?’

He picked up an orange from the fruit bowl and threw it into the air and caught it. Then picked up another and juggled the two. Then three. His arms flexed as he threw and caught in effortless yet hypnotising fluid movements. She could see his back muscles tighten and release, his shoulders working, the wry smile as he concentrated, almost meditative. God, he was...well, her gut prickled with heat. She became acutely aware that there was just the two of them here. That kiss may have been put aside, but the way it made it her feel hadn’t been. Her fingers shook as she started to fill the dishwasher just to do something other than watch him. He caught the oranges in one hand and smiled again.

‘You did that?’ Her voice was thick with need. She coughed, tried not to think about his body, lowered her voice an octave. ‘You injected oranges?’

‘Yes, to get the angle right. And practised my suturing on pigskin...then on humans...my classmates, myself...’ He put the oranges back, serious again. ‘Okay, you’re right. I hear you on the work issue. I have to catch up on some reading and there’s research I’m assisting with...’

For just a few minutes he’d been carefree and fun, and she didn’t want to lose that Jake to a serious Jake. But how could she go with him when she felt like this? ‘It sounds lovely...maybe another time. Tomorrow, if we get a chance. There’s a list of errands I need to do today. I can’t take off and play. Besides, we have the dogs to think about.’

‘Tina could have the dogs. I could help you with the errands when we get back.’

Lola lifted her smartphone from the countertop and scrolled through her task list. ‘Because finding a decent manicurist on Nassau who can drop everything and come over as Cameron requires is the kind of thing you do every day.’

‘Whoa. I didn’t realise it would be that kind of difficult.’ He looked horrified, eyes wide and panicked. ‘That sounds way out of my comfort zone. Give me something easier to do, I don’t know...negotiate world peace? But first snorkel?’

What could she say? I’d like to, but if there was ever a possibility of drowning in lust I’d be victim number one. ‘I just...’

‘You just what?’ He was scrutinising her face, his jaw taut, eyes narrowed. Then his whole body stilled. ‘Ah. I get it, now. You just...don’t want to snorkel with me, that right? Sorry I took so long to catch on.’ Grabbing his half-finished coffee, he started to walk outside to the deck and the mood turned decidedly dark. ‘I hear ya, loud and clear, Lola. I won’t bother you again.’

He’d gone way past serious Jake and was somewhere on the edge of angry Jake. She followed him outside, feeling hollowed out. ‘Jake, I do want to go snorkelling. It sounds fun. I’ll come. I was trying to be dedicated to my work... You of all people know how that is.’ Did he believe her?

‘Yeah, I do. But, you know, for one second there I thought, Let’s stuff work for a while. But don’t worry, I’ll go on my own.’

‘No. No, I’ll come. I want to, really. I’m sorry. Please.’

He looked at her, weighing up her words. She wasn’t sure what he was thinking and her stomach knotted. But eventually he nodded, his enthusiasm around twenty per cent of what it had been. ‘Okay. Let’s think time management, then. How about one-hour blocks? One hour to snorkel. One hour to travel there and back, shower... One hour for work?’

‘Okay. I’ll get my things ready.’

He nodded, but the oomph had leached out of him. ‘I’ll take the pups up to Tina, then meet you at the garages—apparently there’s every kind of vehicle we might need in there.’

Looked like she didn’t have a choice.

* * *

This was the worst damned idea he’d had in years.

Jake watched as Lola discarded her T-shirt and shorts and stood a little away from him on the sand, with a towel tightly wrapped around herself. Underneath, he knew, she was wearing a black bikini that covered her curves well enough, but did nothing to hide her great figure. He swallowed, trying not to look too closely...but in the end it didn’t really matter, as his body was hell-bent on reacting anyway. His mouth watered at the thought of her perfect mouth, and his fingers craved to smooth down her wind-wild hair. Never mind the tight clutch low down in his belly that had him turning away from her. Thank God there was cold water close by.

Working would have been a much better idea but here he was, instead, with a reluctant accomplice and a serious case of hot lust. Why he’d even bothered to invite her he didn’t know. Playing hooky for once in his thirty-three years had seemed like a good idea when talking to Tina. Harmless.

In truth, he should have stayed back at the house and tried to catch Cameron for that conversation he still hadn’t had with her. It had been such a temptation to talk to Lola about the pregnancy—obviously confidentiality meant he never could—but he got the feeling Cameron needed more than him looking out for her.

‘Have you got a wetsuit? Rash guard? The sun’s fierce, you don’t want to get burnt,’ he growled at Lola, taking a step away from her. He didn’t want to have to rub sunscreen on to that gorgeous body, or they’d never actually get into the ocean.

And what he needed more than anything was a dose of cold seawater to sluice away the physical ache he had for her—especially seeing her right now; lush red curls against creamy pale skin, breasts that threatened to break free from flimsy string masquerading as a bikini, and a waist that looked the perfect size for his hands to grip.

‘Yes, boss. Here.’ She turned and held up a pink neoprene jacket and put it on, zipping up the front. Thank God.

He couldn’t get his head around the fact that the kiss had seemed real and wanted on both sides, and yet now she wanted to be anywhere other than with him. But he’d got the message, and she was right. There were too many reasons to prevent him getting involved with anyone, let alone a woman who had such a serious effect on his equilibrium.

‘Tina said that over by the rocks was the best place to start. There’s some coral there, so take care not to stand on it, we don’t want to damage it.’ And with that he turned and made his way down towards the water, fins and mask in hand.

But she was with him in two strides.

‘So, isn’t this the best look ever?’ Laughing, Lola dragged her mask over her face and made piggy eyes at him as she pulled the mouth tube into her mouth.

Actually, it was a pretty damned sexy look, and he was shocked by how much he wanted to haul her to him, even with a plastic mask on. So he dived deep into the clear, cool water and got on with fish-spotting.

Jake was always surprised at the serenity of the ocean; all that busy activity down there, yet little sound save for the ebb and flow of waves and the echo of his heartbeat in his ears. The sun warmed his back as a whole new world opened up below him. The little underwater gardens were teeming with life and there was enough interest to grab his attention away from the hunger Lola had started in his gut.

They followed the curve of the bay out west, floating and bobbing with the tide, popping up for air as and when they needed it, agreeing on a course to follow, then swimming and watching and pointing at the sea life. Lola was an excellent snorkeller, easily excited by the large black manta ray gliding along the seabed and the schools of pretty purple and electric-blue fish that darted back and forth in front of them.

Then she kicked away to follow a shoal of bright yellow spotted ones, and for a few moments he was alone—just skimming along the top of the water looking down into the rhythmic swaying of the seaweed on the coral.

His heart rate slowed, and for the first time since he’d set foot in the Caribbean he began to relax. The cool water washed over him and with it his sense of equilibrium and purpose was renewed. It was only a few days in the Bahamas, they could rub along together for that, fill their days with activities and surround themselves with other people. Soon enough they’d be back to LA and their normal lives. After that, the filming would swiftly wrap up and he’d have no reason to see her again. With time, he hoped, this ache would die and she’d just be a quaint memory. Like the other women who’d flitted in and out of his life.

It would all work out fine.

He didn’t know how long they’d been there, but suddenly the water turned choppy. Expecting the wave wash of a boat or a jet ski, he lifted his head out of the water and came face-to-face with a grinning Lola. She ripped the mouth tube from her lips and pointed out to sea. ‘Look! Look! Dolphins.’

Sure enough, a pod of bottlenose dolphins was diving and playing in the deeper reef. ‘Oh, yeah. Pretty cool.’

As she trod water she gripped his shoulder. ‘Cool? It’s flipping amazing. Look at them, showing off, playing together. Do you think we could swim with them? D’you think?’

‘You’ll have to be quick.’ And before he could argue she’d grabbed his hand and was half swimming and half dragging him through the waves, trying to catch them up. For little more than a few minutes the dolphins gave them a magical show of their skills, corkscrewing over and over, darting underneath their legs and popping up behind them. One of them took a liking to Lola and pushed his nose at her. She reached out and touched him before he darted away. He returned twice and played the same teasing game—pushing his nose at her, waiting for her to reach and then disappearing into the foam. Then, just as quickly as they’d appeared, they were all off in a display of enthusiasm, swimming faster than humanly possible and disappearing into the distance.

‘Wow...I can’t... This is so...’ Lola stopped and grasped his hand again, coughing as she took off her mask. The outlines of the rubber seal had marked her pretty face, but she was grinning widely, tears shimmering in her eyes. She looked so damned beautiful it made his chest constrict. ‘I don’t know what to say. That was... Oh, my God! Dolphins. That was so amazing.’

‘Yeah. Very cool.’ He took off his mask too and affected an English accent. ‘Pretty flipping amazing, actually.’ Like she was, with bright golden flashes in her dark brown eyes, her hair slicked back, droplets of water falling from her eyelashes. A mouth that he ached to taste all over again.

‘Yes, it is. All of it. Everything...’ Her voice cracked. She looked at him as she held onto his shoulder, her legs working beneath the surface to keep her upright, while something passed between them. Something electric, something real and hot. Everything felt as it had when they’d kissed, the charge in the air was the same—an almost tangible shimmer between them.

But that couldn’t be right, because she’d said... What had she said? That she was messing things up for him. But here she wasn’t messing up anything, here she was making the trip a whole lot more bearable. But he was useless at reading signals, especially in ten feet of water when words and actions didn’t gel. ‘Lola, we should probably go now.’

‘But—’

‘We need to get back. An hour for each, we agreed.’ He made a start for the shore, leaving the cooler depths behind and entering the warmer water where it was almost shallow enough to stand up, had it not been for the coral gardens beneath their feet.

‘Wait. Stop a minute.’ Panting, she caught up with him, grasped his arm. ‘Thank you for bringing me here. I’m sorry I was so hard to convince. I don’t want to get in the way of your work. I know how important that is to you.’

‘Yeah, but you can’t work all the time. People keep telling me.’ He reached and wiped some water from her cheek. It was cold out here but heat exploded through him. All the more reason to get the hell out. ‘But we can’t put it off forever either. We’d better make a start back.’

‘Stop.’ She reached for his jaw and ran her palm over his cheek. ‘Do we need to think about work right now?’

Her legs made little swirling kicks around him. He could feel the rhythmic movement, and a need to have her wrap those legs around his hips almost overwhelmed him.

He should have turned and swam away then. He should have listened to the voice in his head reminding him of what she’d said. But he did neither. Instead, he put his hand on her waist and pulled her closer. And, yes—it was a perfect fit for his palm. ‘What do you want to think about?’

‘Actually, I don’t feel much like thinking at all.’ She looked up from beneath long eyelashes adorned with droplets like a hundred tiny diamonds highlighting the flashes of colour in her eyes and the intensity of need.

His heart was raging a wild tattoo in his chest. Because even though he was lame at reading signals, he was pretty sure he knew what this one was saying. And, for the record, Lola was nothing like the others. She was special. Unique. ‘What do you feel like doing?’

‘I want to kiss you again.’ She wriggled closer into his open arms and slanted her wet mouth against his, and all thoughts of work and conflicting signals, and all the reasons to stop fled from his brain. He dragged her hard against him and kissed her back.

She tasted of salt and the sea, she tasted fresh and hot and hungry. As she entwined her legs with his he pushed his fingers into her hair, cradled her head and relished the press of her glorious curves against him. Her hand ran down his back as she moaned into his mouth, fingernails grasping at his skin.

Slowly he nipped along her bottom lip then kissed along her collarbone to the soft hollow at her throat, and she tilted her head back and laughed.

‘God, Jake, I’ve been dreaming about this.’

‘You too?’ He tugged the zip on her neoprene and slowly freed her breasts, slid his palm over one as he took her mouth again. Beneath his fingers her nipples contracted to tight buds and he coaxed them, first gently stroking then—reluctantly leaving her mouth—he was licking them against the rise and fall of the ocean.

It was like a crazy dream—a beautiful woman, a deserted beach, the reach and grasp of a delicious need that spiralled through him.

‘Oh, yes.’ She pulled his mouth from her nipple and cupped his face, anchoring him to her, deepening the kiss, hard and wet, pulsing in time with the waves. The kiss became urgent, the need for her almost frantic. He was so hard. So hard for her and she knew it as she wriggled against him and groaned with pleasure.

Laughing, she wrapped her legs around his hips, and as she did so, something wrapped tight around his heart and tugged. The light sound of her carefree laughter, the sway of the ocean waves, the rush of adrenalin and heat filled him with more than desire. He wanted her, too much.

It would have been so easy to slide back her bikini bottoms and thrust into her there, but reality began to seep into his brain. There was no future in this, and Lola was the kind of woman who would want the fairy-tale future in the end. Regardless of what she may say or do now, he couldn’t promise her anything apart from a good time and a goodbye.

She was fresh and untainted, she was something new and good. And, when it came down to it, he wasn’t. Not where women were concerned. He didn’t want them to cloud his vision, to distract him. He had a lot to achieve—a debt to repay. He didn’t want to have to consider another person.

Lola deserved to be considered.

He pulled away and held her wrists. ‘Lola, we need to stop this.’

‘Yes, God, my legs are killing me, treading water. Let’s get to dry land...and then...you know...there’s not a soul on the beach and I see a secluded place...’

He shook his head. ‘Let’s talk once we get to the beach.’

‘Talk?’ She almost flinched, the hit to her gut was visible, but she slowly absorbed it. Her smile slipped as she realised what he was saying. For a second he thought she was going to agree with him, but she hit her open palm hard on the top of the water so spray arced over him. ‘You know what, Jake? You are so damned annoying.’

Then she started to swim hard towards the shore.

After a minute or so she stopped and turned to him, breathless, angry, legs kicking beneath the surface. ‘I don’t get it. I don’t get why you do all that and then listen to whatever it was in your head telling you to stop. Because I know you want to kiss me, Jake. I know you want to fool around and I do too. So why the hell—? Ow! Oh. Wow.’ She gasped sharply, then again as her face contorted in pain and she started to thrash under the water. ‘Go. To. Hell—Ow! Ow!’

‘Lola? What’s wrong?’

‘I—? Leave. Me. Alone.’ She bobbed under the water, grasping at her leg. When she resurfaced she was blinking back tears, pressing her hand to her mouth and trying to stay afloat.

Jake’s heart hammered. ‘What’s wrong? Lola, what’s happened?’

‘Something stung me. Bit me? Ow...’ Her face was pinched and he could see she was fighting pain. ‘Oh, what the hell do you care anyway?’

‘Quite a damned lot, actually.’ The reality of that gave him a powerful thump to his solar plexus. This was not the time for arguing or playing stupid games.

CHAPTER SEVEN

‘CALM DOWN. TAKE A deep breath. Breathe, Lola. And again. That’s it. Good. It’s okay. I’ve got you.’ Jake’s arms wrapped round her as he kicked hard towards the beach. Her leg felt as if someone was holding a hot poker against it, the burn ripped through the flesh to the bone. She clung on to his shoulders as he powered through the waves.

She just wanted the pain to stop. I will not cry. ‘Jellyfish? D’you think it’s a jellyfish? Are there more? Don’t get stung too.’ She had to shout over the roar of waves and the rush of white noise in her head, though it came out like a panicked, high-pitched squeal.

‘I didn’t see anything swimming around... But, then, I was distracted...’ He hauled in oxygen, breathing hard as he bore the weight of the two of them. ‘Could be anything. Lola, keep still.’

‘It hurts.’

‘I know it does.’ And he was there for her, holding her, saving her. Regardless of what he’d said about the kissing. He was there, she’d remember that—once she’d got over the pain and the humiliation of being rejected. Again.

In no time at all they reached the beach and he laid her on the sand at the water’s edge and bathed her leg with cooling seawater. His eyes had lost the heat she’d seen before, but there was something else there—concern, hesitation. ‘How’s it feeling now?’

‘Okay. And stop being so bloody nice to me.’ It made things a million times worse, and made her like him even more.

‘First time anyone’s ever complained about me being considerate.’ His tone was kind and patient, in contrast to hers.

‘That’s because you’re showing me your nice side, but I know you have a bad side. And, no, it’s not okay any more. Every time you stop bathing it hurts even more. I think I’ll keep the water on it.’ She bit her lip and shuffled deeper into the water, scanning first for any rogue jellyfish that might have followed them. ‘My heart’s racing really fast.’

‘It’s probably just adrenalin from the shock—you’ll be fine. Just sit a while. Try more deep breaths. In...slowly...and now out...that’s it.’ Calmly he took her hand, pressed two fingers just below her thumb and focused. After way longer than a minute he was still holding her wrist, his palm stroking her skin. Now her heart was beating erratically for an altogether different reason. Again in that considerate tone he said, ‘Here, lean against me. Keep your foot in the water until you feel you can stand. Then I’ll take you to a clinic.’

‘Clinic? I don’t have time... We’ve got to get back. Cameron needs us.’

‘Cameron will have to wait.’

‘Seriously? Have you tried telling her to do anything she doesn’t...?’ But the searing burn was turning now into an aggravating itch. She wanted to tear at her skin. When she looked down she saw huge red welts and blisters starting to appear. So she leaned against him anyway, taking strength from his heat, her fist coiled into his. ‘It’s starting to itch like crazy. Don’t suppose you have jellyfish antidotes back at the lodge?’

‘Sure, I have something for every kind of emergency; polar-bear bait, black widow spider anti-venin. Zombie-killer stakes.’ He pushed her matted hair away from her face with his free hand and pressed a kiss on to the top of her head—as he would to a child. ‘No, oddly, I don’t have jellyfish antidote, even if there is such a thing, but usually you just need cold water and something acidic. Seriously, we’ve got to get it seen by someone. If it was a jellyfish—and it may have been something else—we need to get the right treatment. Some of them are deadly.’

‘And now you’re making me feel so much better about this. But apart from wanting to rip my skin off, I think I’ll take a chance on walking.’ She let him haul her up from the sand and watched while he gathered their things together, then she let him half carry her as she hopped towards the motor scooters. ‘Maybe the cool rush of air as I’m scooting along will help.’

‘You are not driving that scooter on your own, Lola. You’re shaking; you won’t be able to steer. Climb on the front of mine. I’ll send someone to pick yours up later.’ Then he made a quick phone call, flicked his cell phone back into his bag and indicated for her to sit in front of him, old-fashioned side-saddle style.

‘I... Oh, okay.’ She didn’t want to, but she did anyway, sliding her arms around his waist, pressing her head against the solid wall of his chest, breathing in the scent of man and elements and some flowery fragrance from the beautiful blooms all around them, but she didn’t care about that. All she could think of was the pain and the itch and the kiss and the way he’d felt, so hard, so hungry for her. The way he’d turned away from her, denying what he’d so obviously wanted.

And the way he’d looked at her when she’d been hurt, as if he’d do everything in his power to help her. If he hadn’t been so nice she’d have bawled him out all the more for stopping the kissing. Because here she was, with a guy who was the hottest thing on two legs and who also had a damned conscience.

* * *

‘That’s fire coral rash, pretty sure, Dr Jake.’ Tina was standing over the couch, hands on her ample hips, peering at Lola’s leg. Thankfully the painkillers were kicking in and the intense burning was subsiding, but the itch was driving her mad and there were still angry red welts on her ankle. Not to mention swelling.

And outright humiliation. Typical. Only she would be in the middle of paradise and get attacked by a man-eating plant.

‘Fire coral?’ Jake frowned. ‘What’s that?’

‘Looks like coral, but has venom,’ Tina explained. ‘She’ll live. Vinegar to kill the barbs. Then you can tweezer them out.’

‘Great. I saw some vinegar in the kitchen and I’ll go grab my medical kit.’ Jake nodded. He’d been nothing but focused on her comfort since the second she’d screamed at him in the sea. ‘She needs a hot drink for the shock. If you can get that sorted for me, please.’