The Best Of The Year - Medical Romance. Carol Marinelli
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And now she was gone.
All because he’d wanted to play doctor with a damn sports team. Lining up their specialties side by side, he’d known which one gave more value to mankind. But none of that had mattered at the time. Because he’d wanted that job. Had wanted it badly. And now none of it meant anything.
He’d seen that same special spark that Paula had possessed in Mira today. She’d been up on that mountain when the avalanche had hit. No one had known if that snow was going to shift again or not. She could have simply called in the rescue teams and waited for them to get the survivors out before she’d begun treatment.
But she hadn’t. She’d been one of the first on the scene, digging right alongside the relatives and friends of the victims. And the way she’d run toward him and that rescue worker, fire in her eyes as she’d yelled at them to pull the last man out of the snow, saying there was still hope.
Something his wife had said constantly. There’s always hope.
Until, of course, there wasn’t. Until a plane—a plane Jack had asked her to be on—had gone down in a ball of fire. Until hope had been snuffed out by reality.
Just like in Mira’s eyes when she’d looked into that hole in the snow and seen the truth. That there had been no hope.
His brain headed down familiar dark paths. He took another sip of his drink. Relished the steady burn of the alcohol as it trickled down his throat and hit his gut.
Dinner had been good, helping him relax and forget all the reasons he should be avoiding Mira like the plague. She’d made him smile time and time again, her animated expressions changing with each subject. She was passionate and beautiful, and he’d decided he could watch her talk all evening.
Only now she was on the other side of the room, talking just as passionately to her friend, the blonde.
Ellory, wasn’t it?
An argument? No, he didn’t think so. It looked more like Mira was trying to get the other woman to agree with her, palms facing up, their faces close together. In fact, it resembled some of the huddles he’d seen during games, when players had planned their next move.
Except this was hardly a play on a football field.
Break! A quick hug and a smile and then they were done.
Sometime during dinner, as he’d watched her laugh, he’d had some very bad thoughts. He’d entertained them all the way up to the last few minutes when guilt had wormed its way through him, devouring everything in its path. It happened every time he let his guard down.
Mira glanced his way and her shoulders went back, as if she’d come to some kind of decision.
What the hell?
As quickly as she’d left she was back, standing in front of him, hands on her hips, eyes on his face.
“What?” he asked, setting his glass on the bar.
“Nothing.” She stopped for a second and cleared her throat. “Just seeing if I can get up the nerve.”
“The nerve to...?”
“Ask you if you want to get out of here.”
The words were so unexpected they shoved the breath from his chest. He sat on his barstool like a lump for several seconds. Had he just walked into an alternate universe? One where his wildest imaginings suddenly became reality?
Whatever universe it was, his body decided it much preferred this one to the one he’d just been in, reacting to the innuendo with a slow unfurling of a certain flag.
He decided to make sure he wasn’t mistaken before he let his thoughts run any further ahead.
“Get out of here and go where?”
“Your room. My room. Take your pick.” She looked closer at his face, her brows puckering. “Unless you don’t want to.”
Nothing plainer than that. In fact, the man sitting on the next barstool looked at her so quickly that his head nearly flew off his neck. And the expression on his face? Hey, buddy, if you’re not going to take her up on it, then clear out.
Like hell!
“My room.” Better stick to his own territory. Only...
Damn. He hadn’t brought anything with him. This whole vacation had been taken under duress, he certainly hadn’t expected to have a woman invite him back to her room.
The guy on the barstool was still ogling Mira from behind. Jack sent him a scowl that told him to back off in no uncertain terms. Then he threw some bills onto the bar, got off his seat, and grabbed Mira by the hand. In the distance, her friend watched them.
So what?
He got as far as the hallway and then glanced down the length of the space to make sure they were alone. Then he moved in. Close. Chest to her breasts with just enough pressure to send a jolt of desire arcing through his gut.
His cheek slid along hers, scooping up her scent—vanilla and snow—and absorbing the soft feel of her skin. He journeyed toward her ear. Arrived.
“Now, see, Mira, you have me at a disadvantage. I want nothing more than to drag you back to my room, but unless your gift shop carries...certain items...”
“I have no idea, but it doesn’t matter.” Her head went back, and she stared at him for a second. “Ellory thinks I need to sleep with you. Get whatever...” she motioned between the two of them “...this is out of my system.”
Ellory. The friend.
So he wasn’t the only one who’d felt the sparks. Who’d experienced the chemical heat that sizzled any time they were together. “So, am I ‘in’ your system?”
“Definitely. She thinks it’s why I can’t move...” She shook her head. “I don’t normally do flings, but I think I want to make an exception in your case. So if you’re clean, I’m on the Pill.”
On the Pill.
Because she’d been sleeping with that oaf of a ski instructor?
Not fair, Jack.
Another thought came to him. “Are you trying to make your ex jealous?”
He couldn’t say for a certainty he would refuse to go with her, even if that were the case. He’d wanted this woman ever since she’d stood over him in the snow and offered him her hand.
Why? Why now?
He had no idea, unless it was because he was out of his comfort zone—away from his team. Maybe he was just tired of wallowing in a vat of grief and self-pity. Paula would be horrified to see what he’d become.
Mira shook her head. “My ex will remain my ex for evermore. But if you’re trying to get me out of the mood, it’s working.”
She started to slide out from beneath his body, and instinct had his hands going to the wall on either side of her, caging her in. “Sorry. Yes, I’m clean. And if you’re looking for a fling, I’m your man.” His lips found her jaw and skated along it. “I have to warn you, though. I wasn’t expecting company, so my room might be a mess.”
Tilting her head back as he made his way down the side of her neck, she murmured. “If you think I’m interested in looking at your...room, you’re very much mistaken.”
Part of his anatomy went haywire at the image of her reclining on his bed looking him over and putting her own special seal of approval on him. “I think I can find other things to occupy your thoughts.”
She relaxed. “Think so?”
“Pretty sure.”
He forced himself to stand upright, although all he wanted to do was take her mouth and make it his. But he could wait. He would wait.
Wrapping his