When Sam had finally heard movement from her room, he’d got up and stood outside her door, impatient to get her out of there. How anyone could work that hard and that relentlessly all day, he had no idea. People had streamed into Katie’s room and out again all afternoon. Children, the elderly, the disabled: all walks of life. He couldn’t even imagine dealing with that volume of humanity and its issues day in, day out, trying to solve and sort endless problems for endless people in need. He stooped down to pick up her bag, and scanned her face.
‘You nearly gave me a heart attack,’ she told him, making to grab her bag back from him, but he took her hand in his instead and started leading her to the front door. Now that her shock was receding he could see the weariness in her features. As he set the alarm he noticed she was taking long blinks over her bloodshot eyes, and he scowled at the control panel. There was no way she was driving herself anywhere. He led her to his car, and it was testament to how tired she was that she only managed a brief bit of argument before she crawled into the passenger seat.
Yes, he told himself for the second time, this small woman who takes the weight of the world on her shoulders and gives everything she has to other people, this woman needs a man. Not just to protect her from this current threat, but to protect her from herself. To stop her from giving everything she has until there’s nothing left to give. A soft snore interrupted his self-justification, and he flicked a glance over to her. She was curled up on the passenger seat, her head resting on her arm at the window, and she was sound asleep.
Chapter 19
I amnottwp
Katie snuggled further into the immense heat her pillow was radiating. She felt like she’d slept for decades. There was a low voice cutting through her drowsiness and she frowned, grunting in annoyance as she tried to bury her head further into her pillow.
‘Shouldn’t you be in lectures anyway?’ the voice rumbled, vibrating her pillow and causing her to crack open her eyes in confusion. She blinked. What she thought was a pillow was actually a firm, broad, man’s chest. Maybe she was still dreaming? But the crisp, masculine scent enveloping her was unmistakable; as was the deep, supremely bossy Voice of Authority rumbling in the chest she was lying on.
‘Eva,’ the voice continued, even lower this time and holding a warning. Katie looked up the tanned column of Sam’s throat, past his stubbled jaw, which was clenched in annoyance, and saw that he had a phone pressed to his ear on his other side and his eyes were looking up at the ceiling in frustration. She dropped her gaze to her waist when she felt a heavy weight give her a squeeze, and saw that Sam’s lush arm, thickly corded with muscle, was wrapped around her. Looking back up at his face, her breath caught in her throat. His beautiful dark eyes were staring down at her now, scanning her face as if cataloguing her features in a weirdly intense way.
Katie wasn’t sure that allowing an intense perusal of her face at this hour of the morning was the best idea. This was confirmed when his eyes went to her hair and his mouth quirked in a small smile, despite the annoyance dominating his features a moment ago. Katie reached up in a cautious attempt to assess the level of embarrassment she should be feeling, and gave a small squeak when her hand settled on the matted side of her head that had been lying on Sam’s chest. The curls appeared to be standing at least a foot in the air.
‘No I’m not with anyone,’ Sam said into his phone. ‘That was just some sort of guinea pig on the telly.’ Katie narrowed her eyes at him and his smile grew broader, but whatever his caller was saying now wiped it off his face.
‘Eva,’ he growled, gripping the phone tighter. ‘I know I’m away a lot and that you want to see me but I promise I won’t be leaving again for weeks.’ Katie’s brow creased: this was news to her. Then again, Sam wasn’t exactly Mr Overshare. She pushed up to a sitting position and was about to slide out of the bed when his arm around her waist pulled her back down and she gave another squeak.
‘No: just that bloody guinea pig again. Look, Eva, I … what?’ he groaned, and let his head fall back on the cushions that were propping him up. ‘Don’t you have lectures today? … Well, shouldn’t you be using half term to revise? … No, I don’t have to be at the set … okay … okay … Eva, just listen a minute.’ He glanced down at Katie and sighed. ‘I’ll ask her … I’ll ask her, okay? No, I’m not at the flat. No, I’m not lying. Christ, you and Mum are worse than CIA interrogators; I’d take a good water-boarding over this any day. I’m at her place, happy now? She’s the guinea pig. Who knew a human woman could make that type of sound? Must be my technique.’ A surprised laugh escaped from Katie’s lips and she punched him. Her shock that he’d made a joke, and a funny one at that, overrode her embarrassment.
‘Hi, Eva,’ she said through her laughter. ‘Don’t worry, I’m not doing dodgy stuff with your brother.’
‘Not right now anyway,’ Sam clarified, and she gave another startled laugh. She could hear laughter and disgusted shrieks from the phone, which Sam held away from his ear, wincing. ‘Look, why don’t you ask her yourself,’ he said, his voice resigned as he handed the phone to Katie.
‘Uh, hi, Eva,’ Katie said, conscious that her voice was still croaky from sleep, which, after the sex comments from Sam, was probably more than a little suspicious.
‘Hi!’ Eva cried ecstatically. ‘I’m so glad to speak to you again.’ Clearly Eva was not fazed by Katie’s just-woken voice; in fact it seemed to make her positively gleeful. ‘You just have to come to lunch today. I’ve told Mum all about you and she doesn’t often get to see Sam, she has to grab all the opportunities she can; he’s always away in some far-flung, war-torn country doing God knows what. Say you’ll come.’
‘Uh … of course, honey. I’d … um … love to meet your mum.’ Katie looked at Sam, shrugging her shoulders and searching his face for any sign of what he wanted her to say, but his features remained unreadable. ‘But it’s up to Sam really. I mean, he’s –’
‘Please make sure he comes to see us,’ Eva cut in, and to Katie’s surprise her voice sounded almost pleading.
‘Eva, I’m not sure if that’s my place,’ Katie said softly.
‘Mum hasn’t seen Sam in over a year, Katie,’ Eva said, her voice so sad it made Katie frown in confusion.
‘I … okay. But it’ll have to be tomorrow or something. I doubt I’ll be able to get away from the practice today.’
‘You’re working today? But it’s ten already.’
‘Ten!’ Katie shouted. ‘What?! Bloody, bloody hell. Look, Eva, I’ve got to go. She thrust the phone at Sam, who said something to Eva that she didn’t register, given her flat panic. When she tried to leap from the bed she was hooked around the waistagainand hauled back against Sam.
‘Wha –?’
Before she could get another word out, Sam gently pushed her down onto her back and hovered over her face, his arms caging her in on either side. ‘Don’t be cross.’
‘What do you mean “don’t be cross”?’ she asked slowly, taking in his sheepish expression. ‘I reserve the right to be cross if necessary.’
Sam sighed. ‘You’re not going to work this morning,’ he told her in the Voice of Authority. Katie, who hadn’t taken a breath since being hauled across the bed, started to feel light-headed. Sam’s beautiful face hovering over hers and his breath fanning her cheek didn’t help the situation either. Just as spots began to dance in front of her eyes, Sam’s lips tipped up. ‘Have to admit I did think you’d have more to say on the subject, but then maybe you’ve learnt to accept my superior wisdom.’ Anger snapped Katie out of her stupor and she inhaled sharply.
‘I’ve got to go to work, Sam,’ she said through gritted teeth. ‘Who on earth is going to see the patients if I don’t?’
‘Russell’s got a locum in.’
‘A locum? At this short notice? You’re joking. Wait … what’s the name of thislocum.’
