She could hardly accuse him of deceiving her. He was laying his bitter cards out for her to see, and if she didn’t like them she could leave right now-walk through the house to her bedroom and close the door hard behind her.
But he wasn’t lying. This man was telling her the truth, and, no matter how unpalatable it was, the truth was what she wanted. Scott’s lies and deception had been with her for too long for her to want anything else.
And she wanted Luke. His eyes held her, mesmerised, and Nikki knew that if two weeks of this man was all she could have, then two weeks would have to be enough. It would have to suffice for the rest of her life.
She lifted her hands to hold his face, and stood on tiptoe to touch his lips with hers. ‘If tonight is all we have,’ she whispered, ‘then tonight is all there is.’
For a long moment he stood motionless. Nikki felt a moment’s searing panic. She had thrown herself at him. Would he react in disgust?
And then his hands came around her body, and tenderly she was lifted up to lie cradled in his arms. He held her hard against him and his lips deepened the kiss.
‘My bedroom has the double bed,’ Nikki whispered as the kiss came finally to its sweet end, and Luke chuckled.
‘Ever the practical one, Dr Russell.’ He pushed the door from the hall open with his foot. ‘Well, Dr Russell, what are we waiting for?’
It was the sweetest night Nikki had ever known.
Five long years she had been without a man, and her body had forgotten just how good it was. Or maybe her body had never known. Luke held her tenderly in his arms and the world was forgotten. All she knew was the feel of his skin against hers, his warmth embracing her, making her feel the most desirable woman in the world.
And when tenderness turned to urgency it was Nikki’s desperate need that drove her on. She wanted this man so much. She wanted to be closer to him than she had ever been to another person in her life before. She wanted to be part of him, one with him, and when they climaxed together she soared on a pinnacle of ecstasy that made her feel the night was exploding around her.
Oh, God, she loved him. She loved him so much…
Nikki drifted towards sleep in his arms, his face cradled in the rise of her breasts, and her heart swelled in a rush of pure tenderness. She would do anything for this man. Anything. And he was only hers for two and a half weeks.
They hadn’t taken precautions. Nikki’s eyes suddenly widened in the dark as the thought struck. Suppose… Suppose she was wrong about Luke’s infertility…?
He felt her sudden stiffness, and stirred to lift her face to his. ‘What is it, my beautiful Nikki?’ he asked sleepily.
‘Luke…’ Nikki said unsteadily. ‘Luke, I’m not…I’m not protected. I didn’t think…’
‘There’s no need.’ Luke’s voice was suddenly bitter. ‘You know the ramifications of the treatment for Hodgkin’s disease as well as I do, Dr Russell, and as for anything else…well, I haven’t been with a woman since I was ill. You’re quite safe.’
‘Oh, Luke, I’m sorry.’ Nikki could have bitten her tongue from her head.
‘Yeah, well, leave it,’ Luke said roughly. ‘Go to sleep.’
She didn’t straight away. As Luke slept, Nikki lay in the dark and tried to come to terms with what she was feeling. She couldn’t. The emotions crowding through her mind were those she had never felt before and had no idea how to cope with.
‘I haven’t been with a woman since I was ill…’ Where had he been? Had he moved from locum position to locum position since then? And if so, what was he trying to escape?
It was too much. For now, he was here and she could somehow assuage the barrenness of the past. And he could do the same for her.
Nikki nestled her head against Luke’s bare chest. He stirred slightly in his sleep and pulled her closer.
She slept.
Luke woke at dawn. Gently he disengaged himself from Nikki’s arms, but the slight movement woke her. For a moment-just a moment-she wondered where she was, and then the tender memories flooded back. Her hands reached out to hold him to her. He couldn’t leave. Not yet.
‘It’s nearly morning.’ Luke smiled tenderly, leaning over to kiss the smooth skin behind her ear. He entwined a golden curl in his finger and then replaced it reluctantly where it had been lying on the pillow. ‘Do you want your daughter to burst in on her not so respectable mama, Dr Russell?’
Nikki chuckled and her hands tightened. Luke’s chest was broad and muscled and warm. A tremor went through her as the flame started to spread without volition through her naked body. ‘Amy’s a heavy sleeper,’ she whispered. ‘And she’s under strict instructions not to wake Mummy until seven.’
Luke shifted slightly so that he could bring his arm up from under Nikki’s supine form. ‘Give me back my watch, woman,’ he growled. Finally he held it up. ‘Six-fifteen,’ he announced. ‘That gives us forty-five minutes.’
‘Forty-five minutes for what?’ Nikki asked breathlessly. She knew, but to ask was heaven.
‘If you don’t know, then I’m not the man to tell you,’ Luke told her sternly. He moved to pull his body up and over her. The flame in Nikki’s thighs was building to an inferno.
‘You…you won’t tell me?’ she managed.
‘Lady, what use is talking?’ he muttered. He leaned down to take first one nipple and then the other between his strong teeth. It was all Nikki could do to stop herself crying aloud. ‘What use is telling, when I can show you?’
CHAPTER EIGHT
LUKE left her with five minutes to spare.
Luckily Amy chose this morning to sleep late, so Nikki was able to shower and pull her disordered mind back into some sort of control before her daughter and their visitor burst in.
‘Luke’s in the swimming-pool,’ Amy informed her. ‘Beattie says we can swim too, but will you come as well?’ Then she frowned at her mother. ‘You look different.’
‘I wore this dress a couple of days ago,’ Nikki said self-consciously. It was one that Charlotte had sent. ‘Don’t you like it?’
‘I remember. It’s a pretty dress,’ Amy agreed. She eyed her mother up and down. ‘It’s not that that’s different. It’s…’ She stopped. ‘I don’t know what it is.’
‘Your mum’s smiley,’ Karen announced suddenly. ‘She’s not usually smiley.’
‘Well, I hope your mum’s smiley today too,’ Nikki said softly, stooping to give Karen a swift hug. The hug did more than show affection to the little girl. It also enabled Nikki to hide her mounting colour. ‘She’s coming to see you today, and maybe she’ll take you for a walk to show you your new house.’
‘Will I go back home today?’
‘We’ll get you moved into your new house first,’ Nikki promised. ‘Karen, it might be a week or two before your mum’s got things under control. Do you think you can put up with us for that long?’
Karen nodded solemnly. ‘I like it here,’ she said seriously. ‘And if you think Mum needs a rest…’
‘I think you both need a rest,’ Nikki told her. ‘When your arm’s a bit better and you can go back to being your mum’s best helper then we’ll send you home so fast we won’t see you for dust. Faster than a speeding bullet…’
‘Faster even than Superman…’ Amy giggled. ‘I like having Karen here. Mummy, are you coming swimming with Luke?’
Nikki shook her head. ‘No.’ She dared not. The thought of Luke in the swimming-pool…The thought of Luke anywhere at all was enough to turn her knees to water. She needed strong black coffee and some distance between them. ‘You girls go,’ she ordered.
‘But Luke’s waiting!’
‘Let him wait!’
Once again they breakfasted by the side of the pool. Whispering Palms was transformed, Nikki thought
