The Consultant's Italian Knight Read online

  ‘Mario, didn’t you hear what I said? I’m not expecting or looking for commitment. Hell’s bells, I only just got divorced so the last thing I’m looking for is a long-term relationship. I’m a single, unattached woman of sound mind—’

  ‘That’s highly debatable.’

  ‘Who will be thirty-five next week,’ she continued, ‘and I can’t see what would be so very wrong in us making love if we both accept and agree that there would be no strings attached.’

  ‘Kate, it wouldn’t be wrong for me, but for you…’ He shook his head. ‘Women see things differently. For them, making love isn’t a casual act they can immediately forget. It means more to them. It involves putting their hearts on the line.’

  ‘Not any more it doesn’t,’ she protested. ‘This is the twenty-first century, Mario. Women can have casual flings, and then walk away with no hard feelings on either side.’

  Well, at least that’s what she’d heard modern women did. She’d never done it herself, but maybe she should have. Maybe that was what had been wrong with her life up until now. She had never simply acted on instinct, and she should have done.

  ‘Dio, Kate, maybe some women can do that!’ he exclaimed. ‘But you…You’re different, and you sure as hell are worth more than a casual fling. You’re bright, and funny, and caring, and—’

  ‘OK, let’s cut to the chase,’ she interrupted, letting go of his hands though her heart ached at the unhappiness she could see in his face. ‘What you’re really saying is you don’t want to wake up tomorrow, and think, dear lord, how did I end up in bed with such a fat woman?’

  ‘Kate, you are not fat!’ he exclaimed. ‘You are a lush, gorgeous, sexy woman, and I want to make love to you, but…’

  ‘So are you trying to tell me—very subtly, of course—that you’re lousy in bed?’ she said. ‘That I’m going to be disappointed?’

  His mouth fell open, then a glimmer of a smile appeared on his lips.

  ‘It’s not going to work, Kate. You are not going to make me angry, and, yes, I’m lousy in bed.’

  ‘Prove it,’ she said, and his smile widened for a moment then disappeared.

  ‘Kate, listen—’

  ‘No, you listen,’ she interrupted. ‘I know we don’t love one another but I do know we’re attracted to one another, and for me that’s enough. Dammit, if you’d brought any of your Johnny Cash CDs with you I’d even be prepared to let you play them at full blast to prove that I mean what I say.’

  ‘And greater sacrifice can no opera loving woman make,’ he said, his lips creasing into a reluctant grin. ‘But, Kate—’

  ‘Mario, I know what I’m doing!’ she exclaimed. ‘Just as I also know that you’re lonely and unhappy, and I…’ Her voice broke. ‘I’m lonely, and unhappy, too, and maybe…Maybe we can help each other, comfort each other, take away the loneliness and the unhappiness just for a little while.’

  She could see the indecision in his face, the heartbreak, the desire, and then, just when she thought it was hopeless, that she was going to be sleeping alone in her big double bed again, he suddenly reached for her.

  ‘Oh, Dio, Kate,’ he said savagely. ‘Li desidera, anche.’

  And his lips met hers and took her breath away.

  ‘What you just said?’ she gasped when she surfaced for air. ‘Was that good?’

  ‘Yes, it was good,’ he said, kissing her again, and this time his tongue met hers, hot and devastating, and she arched against him, feeling her blood surge, and her heart race, and she held onto him, never wanting to let him go.

  ‘I’m going to have to take Italian lessons,’ she said breathlessly when he trailed a searing row of kisses across her lips, her cheeks, her throat. ‘So I’ll know when you’re lying to me.’

  ‘I won’t ever lie to you,’ he said, his voice ragged. ‘You might not always like what I say, but I won’t ever lie to you.’

  ‘I don’t care if you lie, I just…Oh, God, that feels so…so…’ She bit her lip and convulsed as he slipped his hand under her blouse and she felt his fingers hot on her breast.

  ‘Good?’ he whispered into her neck, as he eased his fingers inside her bra and slowly began to tease her nipple with his thumb.

  ‘Yes—oh, yes,’ she said, feeling a heat beginning to flare deep and low in the pit of her stomach. ‘Just don’t stop. Please, don’t stop.’

  He didn’t. He lowered her back onto the sofa, trapping her beneath him, and very soon her clothes were gone, and so were his.

  ‘Kate, oh, Dio, Kate,’ he said thickly as his fingers found the pulsing slippery rush between her thighs, and he began to stroke her, gently at first and then more insistently, but though she squirmed with pleasure it wasn’t enough, she wanted more, much more.

  Quickly she rolled on top of him, and he gasped and shuddered as she began to lick her way down his chest, but when she cupped him with her fingers, he caught her wrist to stay her.

  ‘Kate, this is madness,’ he said with difficulty. ‘We shouldn’t—I shouldn’t…’

  ‘I don’t care,’ she said, every nerve ending inside her screaming for release. ‘I don’t care.’

  And he rolled her back under him again, and kissed her, touching her everywhere with his hands and his lips, and just when she thought she wouldn’t be able to bear any more he suddenly slid inside her, hard and slick and deep, and she sucked in her breath and clutched him to her, no longer knowing where she began or he did.

  ‘Kate, oh sei belissima,’ he groaned as he pulled back, making her moan and gasp with longing, and then he drove deeper, rocking harder and harder into her, and she felt his arms shake as he balanced his weight on them, and rose up to meet him, catching his rhythm, so that the heat began to build, deep and low, leaving her weak with pleasure and wanting.

  Frantically, she dug her fingernails into his back, and called his name, urging him on, feeling the pressure tightening deep inside her, knowing she was almost there, almost there. She could feel it coming, feel herself beginning to fall over the edge, and suddenly she gasped and convulsed, and began spiralling and spiralling and spasming over and over again. And then, while she was still holding onto him, still shuddering from the shattering ecstasy, he convulsed, too, and collapsed into her arms.

  ‘You…you lied,’ she said, when her thundering heart finally allowed her to speak.

  ‘About what?’ he said, looking exhausted as he lifted his head to gaze at her.

  ‘About being lousy in bed.’

  He grinned.

  ‘I know,’ he said, and she punched him lightly on the shoulder.

  ‘Macho Italian show-off,’ she said, trying not to smile and failing miserably.

  ‘You’re no slouch in bed yourself,’ he said, kissing her lightly. ‘In fact, you’re phenomenal.’

  And she laughed, but as he rolled onto his back and gathered her against his chest she didn’t tell him that it had never been quite like this for her before. Not with her ex-husband, not with anyone. It had been her best sex, ever.

  And that was all it had been, she reminded herself, as she felt him kiss the top of her head. She’d gone into this with no illusions—hell, she’d been the one who had talked him into making love with her—so she was going to simply enjoy it while it lasted and when they parted she’d smile and wish him well. Modern women did it all the time so she could, too.

  Couldn’t she?

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  A SLOW smile curved Kate’s lips as she stared down the unit and saw Mario smile back. They’d been lovers now for a week, and it amazed her that they’d both once had doubts. Even this morning when he’d pressed a small, wrapped box into her hand, and muttered an awkward, ‘Happy Birthday,’ she’d been able to accept the gift for what it was and not for one second seen it as any kind of token of intent.

  Yes, it was working out perfectly, she told herself, as Mario began to walk towards her, his blue eyes dancing. Modern women didn’t need—or expect—to hear the ‘L’ word. They just took t
heir pleasure where they found it, and that was what she was doing, and it was working.

  ‘How’s my birthday girl?’

  ‘Good,’ she replied, her hand going automatically to her throat where she could feel the small heart-shaped pendant he had given her nestling against her skin.

  ‘And it’s going to get even better,’ he murmured huskily into her ear. ‘Tonight, after dinner, wonderful things are going to happen to you.’

  They already had, she thought, feeling her heart kick up at the heat in his eyes, but no way was she ever going to admit it. It wouldn’t be cool or modern, and she was determined to be cool and modern, so she murmured back, ‘Promises, promises,’ and saw him grin.

  ‘Anybody ever tell you you’re asking for trouble, Kate Kennedy?’

  ‘You have,’ she said, trying not to smile. ‘More times than I care to remember.’

  ‘It obviously hasn’t sunk in, though, has it?’ he observed. ‘In fact, I think I’m going to have to take you in hand.’

  ‘Now, that sounds promising,’ she said, her cheeks dimpling. ‘What have you got in mind? Handcuffs—padlocks—a little—’

  ‘Well, this is a great start to the day!’ Terri exclaimed, striding towards them, her face tight. ‘Colin’s going to be late because his car won’t start, two of my nurses have phoned in sick and, in case you’ve both forgotten, Paul is going to his cousin’s wedding this afternoon so we’ll be without him as well.’

  ‘Right,’ Kate replied, glaring hard at Mario, daring him to say anything. ‘Have you phoned the nursing agency to see if they can supply us with anybody?’

  ‘Well, shucks, no,’ Terri declared waspishly. ‘I thought it might be fun to see how we could manage without two nurses. Of course I’ve phoned the agency but they can’t get us anyone until noon so we’re presumably supposed to put a sign on the unit door saying, If you’re critically ill, please come back later.’

  ‘Terri—’

  ‘And Admin have been on the phone saying they haven’t received the referral notes for that mushroom poisoning case and of course Paul is blaming me, saying I must’ve lost them and…and…’ Tears welled in the sister’s eyes. ‘I shouldn’t take this out on you, Kate, but I really don’t need it, I don’t.’

  ‘You know, I think I might just see if anybody needs me,’ Mario declared, edging his way down the treatment room, with a look on his face that said, Oh, hell, crying woman, I’m out of here, and Kate scowled back at him with an answering gaze of, Chicken, but he still went.

  ‘Look, Terri, we both know Paul is a prat,’ Kate declared the minute she and the sister were alone, ‘and Admin live on a totally different planet to the rest of us. There’s nothing I can do about Paul—he’s a hopeless case—but if the papers for Mr Nicolson have gone missing I’ll simply send Admin up another set, and that will keep them happy.’

  ‘But the nurses?’ Terri demanded. ‘What about the nurses?’

  ‘We’ll manage,’ Kate insisted. ‘We’ve done it before, and I’ve no doubt we’ll do it again, so come clean. What’s really wrong? And I don’t want any more twaddle about Paul or Admin.’

  ‘It’s…’ The sister pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket and blew her nose noisily. ‘It’s Neil. He left his mobile phone at home this morning, so Frank said he’d take it round to him before he went to work.’

  ‘And?’ Kate prompted as more tears filled Terri’s eyes.

  ‘When Frank got to the pub, Neil wasn’t there. Neil hasn’t been there since he handed in his notice a month ago.’

  ‘But…?’

  ‘Exactly.’ Terry nodded. ‘Apparently, he only worked at the pub for two days, but he’s been getting up early every morning, supposedly heading for the pub, then going God knows where.’

  ‘Maybe he’s got another job,’ Kate suggested tentatively. ‘Maybe he didn’t like working at the pub, but as it was his dad who got him the work he didn’t like to admit it because…because he was afraid Frank would be hurt.’

  ‘Nice try, Kate,’ Terri replied, ‘but it’s not very likely, is it? Neil’s got no qualifications, he doesn’t know anyone who could offer him work, and yet for the past three weeks he’s been flashing money around like there’s no tomorrow, so what’s he doing?’

  Kate didn’t know, and she wanted to guess less. There were so many temptations for young people nowadays, so many ways they could go off the rails, and none of them were good.

  ‘Terri—’

  ‘I keep thinking, what if he’s shoplifting?’ the sister interrupted. ‘What if—dear lord, Kate—what if he’s dealing drugs?’

  ‘He wouldn’t—he’s not the type,’ Kate said with more certainty than she felt, and Terri shook her head.

  ‘You know as well as I do that there isn’t ‘a type’. It can happen to anyone. Look at Duncan Hamilton. He was a grade A student, but that didn’t keep him out of the hands of the drug dealers, did it?’

  It hadn’t, and when Kate thought of Neil swallowing packets of cocaine as Duncan Hamilton had done, of him perhaps being rushed into her own A and E…

  ‘Terri, I think you should talk to Mario about this,’ she said quickly. ‘Tell him what you’ve told me—’

  ‘Are you out of your mind?’ Terri interrupted, horror plain on her face. ‘No way am I going to shop my own son to somebody who works in the drugs squad.’

  ‘But, Terri—’

  ‘Frank and I will deal with this on our own, so promise me you won’t say anything to Mario—promise.’

  More secrets, more lies, Kate thought unhappily as she stared back at the sister, but Neil wasn’t her son and if Terri didn’t want Mario to know about him she had to respect the sister’s wishes.

  ‘OK, I promise,’ she said reluctantly, and Terri blew her nose again.

  ‘I’m sorry—so sorry—for landing all of this on you on your birthday. I haven’t forgotten,’ Terri added as Kate shook her head dismissively. ‘Neither have the rest of the staff. Your cards and present are in the nurses’ staffroom, and I meant to take them through to your office so they’d be there when you came on duty, but then Frank phoned to tell me about Neil, and…’

  ‘It honestly doesn’t matter,’ Kate said firmly, and gave the sister a hug.

  It was all she could do. That, and pray Neil had somehow managed to acquire a lot of money legally.

  ‘What’s wrong with Terri?’ Mario asked when Kate eventually joined him. ‘She seemed really upset.’

  ‘She’s just a bit annoyed with her son, that’s all,’ Kate replied, and Mario frowned.

  ‘That will be Neil. Eighteen years old, just left school?’

  ‘How did…? Oh, of course.’ Kate nodded. ‘You have a file on everyone, don’t you?’

  ‘As I keep telling you, we only have detailed files on known members of the drugs fraternity,’ Mario replied. ‘I checked the police data base for Terri simply as a matter of routine, and it said she was married, with two kids, and gave their names and ages.’

  ‘Oh. Right,’ Kate said. ‘So, who’s first up in the waiting room?’

  ‘Terri seems to be somewhat excessively upset for somebody who’s simply annoyed with her son,’ Mario observed, and Kate felt her cheeks heat up.

  That was the trouble with getting involved with a cop. They had suspicion inbuilt in their personality, and she hated lying, was hopeless at it, but she’d promised Terri she’d say nothing, and she couldn’t go back on her word.

  ‘Terri worries a lot,’ she said. ‘I understand it goes with the territory if you have teenagers.’

  ‘Uh-huh,’ Mario murmured. ‘So why do I have the feeling you’re not telling me everything?’

  ‘Because you’re paranoid, that’s why,’ Kate replied, taking refuge in exasperation.

  ‘Maybe.’

  ‘Look, can’t you stop being a cop for even two seconds?’ she exclaimed, and Mario shook his head.

  ‘Nope.’

  ‘Then, try,’ she said with more emphasis than she�
��d intended, and walked quickly over to join Paul before Mario could ask any more questions she didn’t want to answer.

  ‘We have a possibly fractured arm in the waiting room, an elderly lady complaining of earache, and somebody with stomach pains who will no doubt turn out to be suffering from nothing more serious than a bad case of indigestion,’ the specialist registrar reported when he saw her. ‘And to think I specialised in A and E medicine for this.’

  ‘Hey, look on the bright side, Paul,’ Kate said tartly. ‘I’m sure some poor unfortunate will arrive soon with something more challenging for you, but in the meantime which patient—?’

  ‘Did Terri tell you she forgot to send the referral forms up to IC for that mushroom case?’ Paul interrupted. ‘Now, far be it for me to complain…’

  But you’re going to, Kate thought.

  ‘But I don’t think her mind is on the job.’

  Not at the moment, it isn’t, Kate thought, but at least Terri would get back to her normal professional self whereas her specialist registrar was always going to be a jerk.

  ‘How is Mr Nicolson?’ she said, deliberately changing the subject.

  ‘He’s had to be put on the liver transplant list.’

  ‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ she said, and Paul shrugged.

  ‘The man was an idiot, Kate.’

  And I’m seriously beginning to dislike you, she thought, but she didn’t say that.

  ‘Which of the patients would you like?’ she said instead, and his lip curled.

  ‘If I were in charge, I’d bounce the lot of them out the door as timewasters.’

  ‘But you’re not in charge, are you, Paul?’ she exclaimed, ‘so I suggest you take the stomach pains, and I’ll take the possible fractured arm and earache.’

  And in future keep your big mouth shut, she thought as the specialist registrar strode away, his face dark with ill-suppressed anger.

  ‘A regular little Prince Charming, isn’t he?’ Mario observed, clearly having overheard everything Paul said.

  ‘I can’t decide whether he needs a complete personality transplant,’ Kate replied, ‘or a swift boot up the backside.’