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  The world stopped, Jo just hovering on the precipice of a fall she knew was going to be wondrous. How could it be anything else after what they’d shared?

  His hips slammed against herself again, the tight friction driving her over the edge. She cried his name as her body stiffened, clamping down around his as pleasure filled her, the strongest climax she could ever recall hitting her and shattering her into a thousand shimmering pieces…

  Chapter Four

  She was beautiful. Fantastic. Gorgeous. And any other combination of the words. Drew lay on his side as the early morning light filtered through the faded curtains and wondered how the best night of his life had occurred in a barn. Not really the sort of location which sprang to mind when you thought of the words ‘life changing’.

  But they’d carved their own little slice of heaven, taking shelter from the storm. Gently he reached out and stroked a loose lock of hair back from her cheek. He ran the silken strand through his fingertips, luxuriating in the sensation. Like her skin it felt like the most expensive silk. He leaned forwards. And smelt far better, the faint aroma of a floral shampoo clinging to the rich chestnut locks.

  Resting on the arm curled under his head, he watched her. He’d fallen in love with her. Hell, who was he kidding? He’d been in love with her for months, but he hadn’t dared do or say anything because of her history. Which probably had a lot to do with his foul mood these long months past.

  She started to stir, her eyes moving under her closed lids. A heavy sleeper, she’d slept right through the farm vehicles starting up outside earlier and moving off. Drew assumed that meant the roads were clear enough now to navigate. He hoped so, they had shifts later and if they were both late, or didn’t show, people were going to ask questions. Let them, he didn’t mind if people knew about their relationship. In fact, he wanted them to know. He’d go and shout from the rooftops right now if he weren’t so comfortable. The bed was warm and had the advantage of a warm and very sexy woman under the covers, one he happened to be head over heels in love with.

  “Heya sleeping beauty,” he murmured as she opened her eyes. Dark and slightly unfocused with sleep but the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. She smiled a softm, slow smile which made warm fuzzy things happen in his chest. Unable to help himself he leaned in to claim her lips in a kiss. A kiss which soon turned hotter, any thought of going anywhere in the immediate future shelved in favour of other, more pleasurable, activities.

  *

  It took them far less time to get back to her house once they’d recovered the car than the journey out had taken. Which surprised Jo a little with all the stopping and starting to give way for all the vehicles laying grit on the roads. For some reason what had to the whole gritting lorry fleet for the south of the country appeared to be concentrating on the roads around Newbolton.

  Sitting looking out of the window at the glorious sight the countryside had become though, Jo didn’t mind. Snow lay like a baby’s blanket over the landscape, the sun shining down and casting a magical, shimmering net. But the sun meant it would be gone soon, melting the snow into slush and the predictable slush before being washed away.

  Flicking a glance sideways at her silent companion, her heated gaze ran over the lean, masculine form in the driver’s seat. He drove a car like he operated; precisely and with a delicate touch, but fast. Jo had never been a speed demon but she felt totally safe with him. Her dark eyes rested on the large hands where they were wrapped around the steering wheel. He had nice hands. A shiver ran up her spine. And the things he could do with them, the feelings he could arouse with a mere touch, were absolutely wicked.

  She loved it.

  He caught her watching him as he checked the road was clear to pull out and smiled. The expression transformed the grumpy face she was used to seeing into something else. He’d always been good looking but without the scowl, he wasn’t just good looking. He was gorgeous.

  “Penny for your thoughts?” He asked, manoeuvring the car onto the main road. They weren’t far from her place now. With every yard she wanted to beg him to stop, turn around and go back. Flee back to the barn and hole up again, reliving the magic of the night before.

  “Hmm, I was thinking about last night.”

  His brow arched, “Any regrets?”

  “Oh hell no!” Jo’s laugh held a nervous edge. “It was fantastic… you were fantastic!”

  He chuckled. “Keep it coming baby, that’s just the sort of thing a man likes to hear,” He paused for a moment, too damn perceptive for his own good. “I hear a but though…”

  Pulling her bottom lip between her teeth she flicked a glance at him again. She knew her worry would be shining like a beacon in her eyes. She’d always been too transparent. One reason James had been able to manipulate her so easily.

  But was that all? Did they just get one night of passion before they went back to their lives, back to working together and resumed ‘normal service’?

  She couldn’t bear that, she wanted more. Far more. Her teeth worried her lip again. Did she dare say anything? And risk him having her transferred to another department because she was clingy. A pathetic divorcee not able to see the writing on the wall and accept what she’d been given gratefully.

  “Are you going to tell me what’s bothering you?” He prompted, his voice soft and concerned in the quiet of the car. “Preferably before I have to treat that lip you’re mangling.”

  She laughed, a small sound which just made her more miserable. Drew pulled the car to a stop outside her small terrace house. She screwed up her courage. It was now or never. Honestly, approaching him with damn mistletoe had been easier than this.

  “Well… uhm… I didn’t know… Do you…?” She stopped, colour flooding her cheeks as she lost the ability to frame a coherent sentence. God, she was pathetic, what must he think of her? Shaking her head she dropped her gaze to her hands and tried to pull herself together. Perhaps it would be better not to ask, then wait and hope he asked her out again.

  His hand entered her field of vision, covering hers.

  “Do I want to what, Jo?” He asked quietly as he shifted in his seat to face her. The fingers of his other hand touched the underside of her chin and lifted. She looked up into kind eyes, as though he knew what was going through her mind. As though he knew the doubts and the arguments which whirled through her brain.

  “Do I want to see you again?” He offered, a slight smile curving his lips. “Yes. Do I want to have sex with you again? No…”

  Jo gasped, a sharp stab of pain slicing through her chest and piercing her heart right through. How could he be so cruel? To actually come out and say it- She frowned at him in confusion.

  “Ok. You want to see me again but you don’t want to go to bed with me?” Her voice held the barest hint of a challenge. For a woman like Jo, whose self confidence had been ground into the gutter years ago, it was similar to a hoody youth getting up in someone’s face.

  He chuckled, his hand sliding into the nape of her neck as he drew her to him. “You didn’t listen, or let me finish,” he chided her. “I said I didn’t want to have sex with you. I don’t want just sex Jo, I don’t want a snatched relationship where we sneak around. I want to take you to bed and make love to you, all night. Every night if you’ll let me.”

  Jo blinked, hearing the words but unable to make her tired and sluggish brain process them. Then realisation kicked in and she gasped, a smile spreading across her lips as he leaned in to kiss her.

  “Are you serious? Hell, you can move in tomorrow for me!” She murmured, her words soft against his lips.

  Outside unkind eyes watched the car with malice. So she’d found herself a new man had she? Well to do, bit of money by the looks of that car and the clothes as the guy got out and came around the car to open her door for her. In the shadows of a nearby building the watcher’s lip curled derisively. A ‘new man’ obviously. He should be careful. You had to be firm with a woman like Jo. Show her where her place was an
d make sure she didn’t forget.

  There… the problem in a nutshell. Women who forgot their place and flaunted themselves, their bodies and their jobs around in front of a man. It took away a guy’s pride if his wife earned more than he did. A man should be the breadwinner in his own family, the top earner. Not some jumped up tart who knew how to empty a bedpan.

  He gritted his teeth, eyes on the slender figure that got out of the car. He’d know that elegant grace anywhere. His teeth threatened to crack under the pressure as he noticed her rumpled clothes. The little slut! She’d been out all night with her fancy man. Grim determination filled him. The tart and her pansy lover there thought they could laugh at him did they? Flaunt their relationship under his nose? Well, he’d have to teach them a lesson about that.

  *

  “Oh heya Jo, how you doing?”

  Em’s voice greeted Jo as she rushed past the nurse’s station and into the locker room to hang her coat up. She was so late she hadn’t been sure it was worth coming in. But she still had a couple of hours and she preferred being amongst people to sitting at home alone. Particularly with the scene she’d walked into after Drew had dropped her off.

  Her house had been ransacked. The lock on the back door broken off and the place looked like a tornado had hit. A tornado that routed through cupboards and pulled drawers open to strew the contents all over the floor. Everything was turned upside down, the house a complete mess both upstairs and down.

  Jo bit her lip as she hung her coat up. The police said there was no rhyme or reason behind the break in, probably kids looking for expensive electrical items. It happened this time of year. She snorted, they’d be out of luck. She didn't own anything expensive, electrical or otherwise.

  But she knew it wasn't kids though. It wasn't professional thieves either. Oh, she had no doubt that the police tests would come back with any evidence, as though it had been done by a professional gang. No, they would be too busy casing out houses with large families or houses in better areas. Houses with expensive gifts ready to be wrapped and go under the tree. Not houses like hers in singledom-ville. Hell, even her car, low budget when it had been new over a decade ago, was an advert for how much money she didn't make.

  No, she knew who it was.

  James. Her lying, abusive ex. It had his all hallmarks. She should have expected this from the moment she picked up the phone yesterday and heard his voice.

  She sighed as she closed her locker, turning the key and dropping the key into the deep pocket of her tunic. At least those fantastic earrings had been safe here, at work. He hadn't gotten those. She still didn't know who'd brought them for her though. Really she should try and find out, but exhaustion and apathy crept over her. It could wait, she’d done enough today.

  She'd managed to clean up, a small task given the size of her place, and called a locksmith to replace the damaged lock on the back door before she'd left. Paranoid, she'd also had him replace the one on the front door. If it had been James, then she wouldn't be surprised if he’d found and taken the spare key. And the last thing she needed was him having easy access to her home, her sanctuary.

  “I'm ok, I think. Everything's locked up now, police are gone,” she replied as she emerged from the staff locker room, smoothing down her tunic.

  “Are you sure you should be here? You look... uhm.” The other nurse ground to a halt, looking uncomfortable.

  “I look like crap, yeah I know,” She sighed, running her hand through her hair. “I just needed to get out... you know? Be around people rather than sitting on my own.”

  Em stood, compassion in her eyes as she pulled Jo into a swift hug. “Totally... uhm…if you need somewhere to stay tonight, so you're not on your own, you're welcome to come and crash at mine.”

  Jo managed a weak smile as Em pulled away. “I think I'll be ok, but thanks for the offer hun-”

  Her words were cut off as the fire alarm went off, the shrill noise a sound none of the medical staff liked to hear. Almost immediately the doors to the trauma room crashed open and Drew stepped out into the main area, heading straight over to the nurses’ station to pick the phone up.

  “Everything’s fine. No need to panic... if you can just stay on the bed...” Already Em was moving, reassuring the patients in the cubicles opposite the nurse's station. Further down the hall Jo could hear the other staff doing the same. Although the alarm had been set off, until they got the confirmation from Security through Drew that the alarm was real, the staff would just treat it as a hoax. Lord knows they had enough of those. Some kid only had to walk past once of the alarms, smash the glass and they had to go through the whole sweep and search procedure all over again.

  “Thanks mate, if you can bring the trolleys around as quick as you can, I'd appreciate it. Bye.” Drew hung the phone up, his lips compressing. It was the first time Jo had seen him since this morning but she didn't have time to drink in the way he looked. No time to appreciate the way he moved and the muscled forearms visible thanks to his rolled up sleeves but she did anyway. Within a split second though, her appraisal had cut off, warned by the serious expression in his eyes. She knew that look.

  “It's for real this time?” She asked, her heart sinking as he nodded.

  “It is, fire in one of the offices. Let’s get the patients moving.” He rose to his feet, at her side in the next moment. He swept a loose strand of hair back over her ear and kissed her quickly.

  “Be careful and make sure you're out quickly, ok love?” He asked, his eyes firm on hers. Eyes filled with concern. “Promise me.”

  “I promise.” As soon as he got her answer, he was gone. Jo watched him walk off down the corridor, unable to believe how things had changed between them since yesterday. The kiss in his office, which was amazing enough in itself but added to last night... Surely she was going to wake up any moment and find it had all been a dream. Shaking her head to clear it, she headed off in the other direction to start moving patients out.

  It didn’t take them long to start moving people out. The staff worked long and hard on evacuation drills to make sure they ran as smooth and quick as possible. Mere minutes later Jo wheeled her last patient out to the marshal point before heading back in to do a last quick sweep to make sure she hadn’t missed anything.

  She hurried through the doors, smiling at Emmie, leading another group of patients out, as she passed. Her movements quick she checked her cubicles, pushing the curtains right back and out of the way to give herself and anyone else a clear line of sight.

  She pushed the last curtain open, tucking it at the back. The next one had the curtains fully closed and she wondered who had that section today. Quiet descended over the department, the empty corridors and cubicles eerie for Jo, who was used to seeing them bustling with life. Shivering a little, she rubbed her arms. Just what she needed, to be on her own again.

  She turned, spotting a lone handbag under the table and reaching down to pick it up. The sound of the curtain behind her being pulled aside didn’t register at first. Not until hard hands wrapped around her throat and started to cut off her air…

  Chapter Five

  Something was wrong. Drew stood at the checkpoint and searched amongst the crowd for Jo. He’d already checked once and the initial assumption he’d just missed her in the mass of people was rapidly giving way to a gnawing, cold feeling in his gut.

  Something was wrong.

  She’d been late for work today because of a break-in at her place. A break in she didn’t find out about until after he’d driven off. Sure, she’d opened the front door but she’d stood on the doorstep waving him off before she went in. He didn’t know a thing about it until she’d called the department a couple of hours later to say she’d be late for her shift.

  He cursed under his breath as the crowds moved again and he lost track of his count. His eyes narrowed, concern visible on his usually scowling face. Something which made a couple of his staff look at him in surprise.

  Let them look, he
didn’t care. In the space of a few short hours Jo had crawled under the iron plating over his heart and made herself at home. She wasn’t here and he was as worried as hell about her.

  “Here John, take this, carry on the count. I think Jo Micheals is still inside.” He ordered, shoving his clipboard at one of the senior doctors. Before the other man could argue Drew had gone, sprinting back through the double doors and into the evacuated building.

  *

  Her air was running out, black spots threatening the edges of her vision. In desperation Jo fought, scrabbling at the hard hands around her throat with her hands, nails, anything.

  “What did I tell you before, you little bitch? You’ll never get away from me.” A voice hissed in her ear, the heavy weight of a male body pressing her hard into the bed as the pressure around her throat increased. James’ voice, filled with hate and venom.

  Despair filled Jo’s heart, her lungs on fire as she kicked back against him. He’d been violent towards the end of their relationship, violent enough to break through the fear she lived and push her to escape. He’d threatened numerous times to kill her if she left him. But she’d taken that with a pinch of salt, assuming that with the divorce finalised, he’d move on, forget about her. So much for that hope.

  “Oh no you don’t.” His hands tightened further, shaking her like a rag doll as she tried to get free. She gasped; mouth wide open to try and catch some air to fill her lungs and stop the blackout reaching up to claim her. If she lost consciousness it was over. He would kill her.

  That had been his intent all along, she recognised that now. An inescapable chain of events that had started with his phone call to her last night right through to whatever bin he’d set alight in A&E to get her alone. Setting a fire to trap her, the twisted bastard willing to sacrifice other lives, sick people would shouldn’t be moved, all to get his sick revenge.