To Trap A Temptress (Southern Sanctuary - Book 2) (4 page)

Chapter
Four

Nell
stood by the bar nursing a tall glass of soda water listening as her good
friend Julie and her husband Grant bickered good naturedly about how they
met.  Absently her eyes swept the room evaluating the single men. 
Too short, too spindly, too smiley, ugh all those teeth, too pretty boy, too
bland, too drunk.  The list of criticisms just went on and on but
essentially it boiled down to the fact that there wasn’t one single man here
who she found the slightest bit attractive. 

“Earth
to Nell.  You here with us Sweetie?”

“What…
sorry.”  She blinked and re-focused on her friends.  “Sorry probably
just a bit of jetlag.”  She fibbed.

Nell
hadn’t seen Julie since she’d announced she was expecting her first
child.  Now at just over six months pregnant her friend was glowing in a
light green maternity cocktail dress that perfectly suited her auburn pixy cut
hair and big brown eyes.   Julie was a family physician based in
Sydney and her husband Grant, a transplant from England, worked at the same
practise as a physiotherapist.  

“You
were there Nell.”  Grant smiled her way, looking slightly sunburnt across
the nose and cheeks after only one day on the beach.  The colour bringing
out his blue eyes and the strawberry blond of his slightly too long hair. 
“Whose party were we at?”

Nell
sent a smile Julie’s way.  “You’ve never told him?”

“Nell.” 
Julie tried to look stern but that’s hard to do when your only 5.2ft and have a
stomach currently shaped like a beach ball.

“What?” 
Grant looked between them.

“It
was our party actually, Julie had heard a rumour that a cute guy had
transferred into the physio program from the UK and wanted to meet you.”

“You
did?”  Grant beamed at his wife.

Julie
rolled her eyes.  “Why are you giving my husband ammunition?  Are you
no longer my friend?”

“Please,
you guys have been married six years and together for over ten, you didn’t
think you could keep it a secret for ever did you?  Besides I think it was
sweet.”

“Me
too.”  Grant beamed at Julie, leaning over to place a soft kiss on her
lips.  “Very, very sweet.”

“Hey
there people, having a nice time?”  Devon Patel sashayed up wearing a
snugly fitted thigh high skimming black satin cocktail dress that perfectly
complimented her thick glossy black hair that spilled down her back almost to
her waist.  With her flawless dark skin, finely boned features and exotic
green flecked brown eyes she looked like an Indian supermodel rather than the
up and coming ear, nose and throat specialist she was back in the real
world.  “You all remember Kaye and Tasha but have you met my escort for
the reunion, Doctor Case Chambers?” She announced the last name as if she
expected it to receive a round of applause. 

Devon
had arrived with her two best gal pal cronies from med school in her wake,
whilst attached to her side stood a tall good looking man, dark blonde hair
expertly cut and swept back from a high forehead, his light grey suit tailored
well to showcase his trim athletic frame whilst his light blue shirt and slightly
darker blue tie perfectly complimented his light blue eyes.  The
newcomer’s gaze swept the group in greeting before coming to settle upon Nell.

“Nell.” 
He sent her a warm smile worthy of a romance book cover hero.

“Case.” 
Nell was genuinely pleased to see him, stepping forward to plant a kiss on his
cheek.

“You
two know each other?”  Devon asked with open mouthed surprise.

“You
could say that.”  Case’s eyes remained fixed on Nell.

“I
did my residency at the same hospital as Case.”  Nell informed her old
adversary.  “He was two years ahead of me.”

“We
even lived together for a while.”  Case followed up.

“You
what?”  Devon’s voice rose to a rather unflattering pitch. 

Good
to know that boring Nell Montgomery could still provide the occasional
shock.  “We shared digs with two other doctors as well if I remember
correctly.  With our crazy schedules sometimes we’d go weeks, months
without bumping into one another.”

“But
you weren’t together?”  Devon demanded.

“Not
for lack of trying.”  Case sent Nell another easy smile. 

“Ah-Huh.” 
Nell pointed an admonishing finger his way.  “Sleeping always took
precedence over dating in those days, we were worse than zombies by the end of
shift.”

“Well
that’s ancient history by the sound of it.”  Devon if possible moulded
herself even closer to Case’s side.  “You didn’t bring a significant other
with you Nell?”  The tone she used implied that the very idea was so
fantastical she didn’t even bother to wait for Nell to reply before redirecting
her attention to Julie, peppering her with questions regarding the program for
the four day event. 

It
bought back serious med school flashbacks as Tasha and Kaye proceeded to hang
on every word Devon uttered.   Hard to believe ten years later the
two women still treated Devon as if she were queen bee.  The three were
even dressed similarly.  Had they co-ordinated wardrobes?  Perhaps
mini-dress short, snug, cleavage exposing dresses were all the rage right
now.  If so Nell hadn’t gotten the memo.   In fact in comparison
to these three showy peacocks she suddenly felt kind of dowdy. 

Her
own dress was strapless, a fitted light blue satin boned top with a floating
full skirt that had a transparent top layer of gauzy fabric shot through with
finely threaded silver that still allowed you to glimpse the light blue colour
of the fabric underneath as it swirled to just below her knee.  As soon as
she’d seen it she’d thought old school Hollywood and to compliment the style
she’d worn her hair up in a soft chignon held together with two glittery combs
that matched her sparkling wedge Jimmy Choo sandals. 

But
now that she was here standing next to Devon and her posse she suddenly felt
mother of the bride drab and dated.   Goddess what a long day, up at
the crack of dawn thanks to Julie’s inadvertent butt dial, a morning full of
house calls, Hadleigh’s official meld party and now her reunion cocktail
party.  Would anyone notice if she ducked out early? 

Mmm,
she was betting Devon would and broadcast a catty loud remark about Nell
‘boring’ Montgomery.
 
No it seemed like
she was stuck just where she was.  Okay plan for the evening; keep a low
profile, don’t draw any attention, nod and smile and stay away from the
alcohol.  What could possibly go wrong?

“God! 
Who is that?”

It
wasn’t so much Tasha’s strangely worshipful tone that froze Nell in place but
rather that the woman had interrupted Devon mid-story and instead of slapping
Tasha verbally down a surprised Devon was now likewise staring over Nell’s
shoulder, a look of pure avarice stealing across her perfect features. 

All
the hairs on the back of Nell’s neck prickled as she watched Devon drop her
hold on Case’s arm as if he’d suddenly been diagnosed with Ebola.  
Why were all her instincts screaming that her low profile plan was about to go
to hell in a hand basket?  She noted that the ballroom despite the music
playing had suddenly gone very quiet as conversations came to an abrupt
halt.  In the process of turning her head Nell couldn’t help but note the
look of envy and fear on the faces of the male half of the population in the
immediate vicinity and the dazed lust on the faces of all the women.

“What
are you doing?”  She heard Julie hiss under her breath to Grant.

“Sucking
in my gut… I have to get back to the gym.”  Her husband muttered a
response.

“I
wish I could suck in mine.”  Julie’s mournful words and the look of
incredulous dismay on her face as she eyed her protruding belly caught Nell by
surprise, laughter bursting forth from her lips even as she finally caught
sight of who had caused all the ruckus.   

Goddess
no, it couldn’t be… Drum?  Here in Fiji?  At her med-school
reunion?  He reminded her of a panther in his all black ensemble,
powerful, lithe and graceful despite his size.
 
His dark eyes fixed upon her as if she were prey. 

“Hey
Doc, sorry I’m late.”  He came to a halt beside her, his flashing black
eyes roaming over her from head to toe, heated approval warming those dark
depths.  He leaned down brushing his warm mouth over her delicate ear,
sending shivers down her spine as his breath caressed her skin.  “Dance
with me.” 

It
was the exact same words she’d used at the meld party but instead of a command
the way he breathed them into her ear the words sounded more of a teasing
dare.  Nell tried to form a response but her mind had turned to
sludge. 

“Go
on.”  Julie nudged her hard.  “We can do the introductions
later.” 

On
knees that felt like they were made of taffy she let Drum lead her out on to
the dance floor, knowing every eye in the room was currently focused her way,
speculation running rife. 

Drum
wrapped a hard muscular arm around her waist drawing her in close. 
Pitching his deep voice low for her ears only. “Brings back old times doesn’t
it?” 

Giving
herself a hard mental kick Nell glared up at him.  “How did you get here?”

“I
have absolutely no fucking idea.  One minute I’m in my place back in
Atlanta, my closet turns all Narnia on my ass and the next thing I know I’m
here.  I’m guessing the universe didn’t like the way we left things
between us earlier.  I know I didn’t.”

Nell
bit her bottom lip as hot colour flooded her cheeks.  “You can’t stay.”

“It’s
a party.  No one will mind one extra.”

“Actually
it’s my ten year reunion, my graduating med school class.  Everyone here
knows me, knows everyone who should be here.”

“Then
we’ll just say I’m your date.”

“It’s
a four day event, you have to go.”  She tried to stop dancing but she
couldn’t break his hold. 

The
corner of his mouth twitched upwards.  “Going somewhere Doc?”

“We
need to get you out of here.  I can activate the transport portal for
you.  We just need to get to the supply closet.”

“I
don’t think so.”  Drum whirled her in an abrupt turn.

“You
seriously can’t want to stay here?”

“What’s
not to like?  Sun, sea, five star luxury and a gorgeous temptress to dance
the night away with.”

Nell
shook her head in exasperation.  “I insist you leave.”

Drum
shrugged with unconcern, manoeuvring her between two couples closing in on them
desperately trying to eavesdrop.  “You can insist all you like but that’s
not getting me anywhere near that closet.  I’m staying, you’d better get
used to the idea.”

Nell
glared at him, blue eyes snapping.  “Do you know there are five pressure
points in the body that if pinched correctly will cause temporary but complete
paralysis?”

Drum
laughed outright.
 
The sound was a
novelty, his rumbling amusement sending ripples of heat to pool in her stomach
and lower in her body. 

“Okay
hypothetically let’s say those pressure points work on me and you drop me like
a stone Doc.  How exactly would you then attempt to drag my deadweight to
the supply closet, or for that matter explain to your good friends here exactly
where you were dragging me?”

Nell
bit her lower lip.  Drat the man he was right.  “How can I possibly
explain who you are and why you’re here?”  She mumbled more to herself
than to him.

“Don’t
worry Doc, I’ll handle the logistics.  By the way where am I exactly?”

“You
really don’t know how you got here?”  She asked one more time.

“One
moment I’m reaching for a pair of shoes, the next moment I’m here.  The
supply closet was drenched in your scent so I came looking for you.”

“I
smell?”  Nell couldn’t keep the horror out of her tone.

“In
a good way Doc.  Trust me, in a very good way. Your scent has been keeping
me up nights going on five months now.  It’s been pure hell.
 
I’m tired of trying to fight it… and now that
I’ve met you… I don’t think I can.”

Nell
frowned lightly.
 
“Five months?
 
I don’t…”

“It
took some discreet investigating on my part but you were at our Washington base
back then right?”

“Washington? 
Well, yes, Hadleigh called me in to help heal Vaughn after he fell through the
floor of a burning building.  Never mind that...”
 
The man was trying to deflect her off topic,
teasing her about how she smelt and that he’d been thinking about her before
he’d even met her… which was kind of disturbing but also made things in her lower
body begin to throb.
 
Honestly Nell, she
scolded herself mentally, stop day dreaming and get some answers before things
get totally out of control.
  
“I just
can’t understand why you’d be here… unless.”