Ellen squeezed his neck and gripped his back, squirming against him.
“Woman, you’re killing me.”
“Good.” Her lips found his and took command.
Abruptly Chance rolled forward, causing her to slide behind him, her face buried between his shoulder blades. The thump of steps on the boards of the porch stopped her complaint.
“Chance, I need to see you about your plans for the surgery team.” At Michael’s words Ellen went stone still.
“I’ll meet you up by the reception area,” Chance said.
“It’ll just take a minute.” Michael said.
Ellen grinned against Chance’s back and brushed a fingertip over his waist. His hand captured hers and squeezed, holding it in place. Her body shook with a giggle.
Chance said tightly, “I’ll see you up front.”
There was silence for a second, then an “Oh…” from Michael. He added, with humor wrapping the word, “Gotcha.”
As the sound of his footsteps disappeared, Ellen kissed the back of Chance’s neck and ran her hands around his waist beneath his shirt. She snickered. “We almost got caught.”
Chance’s swung his feet to the floor and stood. He turned and offered her a hand. “I think you should go.”
Really! She could kick Michael for showing up. Finally Chance was letting her in, showing his true feelings, and Michael barged in. Maybe she had been stepping over an edge that would end up hurting her but it would have been a wonderful trip down. Chance’s touch sent her body into awareness overdrive.
As soon as Michael had left, Chance had turned cold. What was he afraid of? She wouldn’t let him walk away as if nothing had happened. This time she wasn’t going to stand for it.
Putting her hand in his, she let Chance pull her to a standing position. As soon as she had, he let her go and stepped back. She glared at him as she straightened her dress, then stepped close enough that her chest came into contact with his. His eyes widened but he didn’t move. How much humiliation could she take?
“Dr. Freeman, I don’t know what you’re playing at but I’m tired of it. We’re both adults. I’m old enough to know what I want and to be responsible for my decisions. I’ve made it clear I want you. I know you want me too. You made that obvious minutes ago. So give it a rest. It’s not me you are protecting, it’s yourself.”
He said nothing but his jaw muscle jumped. She’d made her point. Shaking all over, she said, “I’ll be going now.”
Had he been gut punched? Chance stood there looking at the spot where Ellen had stood. He hadn’t planned on what had happened. The second she’d fallen into his arms he’d been unable to let her go. If Michael hadn’t walked up Chance had no doubt where it would have ended. His bed. Every fiber in his being wished it had.
Ellen was angry. She should be. He deserved every word she’d said. She felt used. What had he been thinking? That’s just it, he didn’t think around her. He’d wanted her to stay away. After tonight it looked like she would without him saying it again. Why didn’t that make him feel better?
She been right about him protecting himself. He was afraid of her. Ellen had the capability of taking his heart and crushing it.
Inhaling a few deep breaths, he headed to the lobby area to meet Michael.
He was sprawled in a chair, flipping through a magazine as if he wasn’t really interested in the material. When Chance approached, he sprang out of the chair with a wide grin on his face. “Sorry, man, I didn’t mean to break something up. I had no idea.”
Chance didn’t want to talk about what had happened between him and Ellen. His nerves were too raw. The need still too intense. “What do you need to know?”
“Oh, yeah, yeah. You’re in a hurry to get back to Ellen.”
Michael had seen her. Chance had tried his best to protect her. What was or wasn’t between them, he wanted it to remain theirs alone.
Michael was saying, “I think it’s great and about time. Ellen’s crazy about you. I’ve tried to get something going but she’ll have none of it. But you, she can’t seem to keep her eyes off. Even when we’re working she knows where you are all the time.”
She did? Chance hadn’t been aware. Maybe he hadn’t wanted to. Regardless, he didn’t want to discuss Ellen with Michael. “What did you need from me?”
Michael looked at him a second then said, “I need the list of patients and their diagnoses to fax to the surgery team ASAP.”
“I need to double-check the info. Can I get them to you first thing in the morning?”
Michael grinned. “I’m sure that’ll be soon enough.”
“Good. See you then.” Chance started back toward his hut.
A few minutes later he shuffled through the papers on his desk, the same ones that Ellen had come over to work on before he had distracted her. He looked at the drug list from a few nights before. Beside each drug there was a pink dot. What the hell?
That damn fingernail polish. The same that had covered her nails as she’d raked them over his skin just a few minutes earlier. And the ones he wished were still pulling him close.
He had to figure out a way around this obsession with Ellen. All he need to do was endure a few more weeks and she would be gone. The bigger question would be how would he survive after that?
Despite Ellen’s anger with Chance, she was still basking in the glow of his kisses days later. She didn’t like it but couldn’t seem to do anything about it.
What would have happened if Michael hadn’t interrupted them? Would Chance have forgotten all the opposition he’d put up against her and taken her to bed? Would she have let him? Could she have resisted?
Even now she wished she could be alone with him again. But she had no intention of allowing that. She wanted someone who trusted her to make her own decisions.
She looked at him sitting at the head of the table as if he were the patriarch of a family. Forking another piece of the succulent fruit off her dinner plate, she scanned the table. The staff was sitting down together for the first time in over a week. She relished it when they ate in their dining area, almost like they were a family. It had been just her father and her for so long that she enjoyed a meal with the large, boisterous group.
Chance tapped his fork against his glass. “Okay, listen up. Here’s the plan for the next couple of days.”
Everyone quieted.
“We’ll be going to two outlying villages that are farther away from here than we normally go. Because of this, we’ll have more armed guards than usual. Security will be extra-tight. We’ll be in drug-trafficker country. They shouldn’t bother us unless we give them a reason. And we’ll be making every effort not to do that.”
Ellen’s newfound freedom shook a little. They were going to spend the night in the jungle? This was more than she’d expected when she’d decided to come to Honduras. She looked at Chance again. Everything was more than she’d expected.
“Is there a problem, Ellen?”
“No, sir.”
His eyes narrowed at the use of sir. “You’re welcome to stay here if you’re not comfortable.” His blue gaze bored into her. Daring her.
Was he trying get her to stay here? “No. I’m good. I wouldn’t