Emma Darcy - The Ultimate Choice

'You haven't been looking after that leg properly, have you?' she said quietly. 'And I don't mean this last week. You've been neglecting it for years.'

His mouth twisted. He met the challenge in her eyes with a hard, mocking look. 'There are other things in life that interest me more,' he said drily.

The way he looked at her made her wonder what had been going through his mind while she was manipulating his leg with her eyes closed. If he'd been remembering…

Kelly's heart skipped a beat. She had to remember what they were here for.

‘If you keep on the way you've been going, it will only cause you more and more trouble,' she admonished him. 'Already there's some wasting in the adductor muscles. Don't you care about yourself?'

He grimaced and turned his head away before muttering a reply, I can put up with it.'

'Well, I won't!' Kelly protested, impatient with his attitude. 'And I'm going to fix it as best as it can be fixed. I'm going to give you back two perfect legs.'

Again he gave her that intense, inscrutable look. 'Why should you care?' he asked softly.

Kelly had the feeling that she was walking across quicksand, and any moment she was going to be sucked in. 'Because I know I can do it…and I want to,' she answered slowly, but she knew there was more to it than that. Somehow she sensed that the leg was a barrier between them, and she had a strong instinctive urge to break down that barrier. And any others he raised. She saw the flicker of dissatisfaction with her reply, felt his withdrawal. 'Perhaps it's because I can't stand to see anyone in pain,' she added more forcefully. 'Certainly not in unnecessary pain.'

His shoulders lifted and fell in a careless little shrug. 'Two years of operations and exercises left me with a distaste for spending any more time on the problem. The leg was never going to be good enough to stand up to much, anyway. So I rechannelled my career into an area where it didn't matter. The pain only flares up occasionally. After I've done something stupid,' he added self-mockingly.

Like chasing her, Kelly thought guiltily. She quickly applied the suction cups for the interferential. 'You've got too many years ahead of you to let your leg deteriorate,' she scolded. 'You're still a young man.'

He made a contemptuous sound.

Kelly felt even more impatient with him. 'I'll bet you're not even old enough to have a hip replacement,' she said scornfully. And that was information that she really did want to know. 'How old are you, anyway?' she demanded.

'Old enough to know better, Kelly Hanrahan.'

The low growl had a distinct bite to it.

Kelly took the bull by the horns, if you're going to keep on kissing me, I want to know how old you are.'

She heard the swift intake of his breath. His body went curiously rigid. He said nothing.

The silence seemed to go on and on.

Kelly was quite certain he was not going to answer. Apparently he had no intention of kissing her ever again. The disappointment she felt was acute enough to make her feel silly and miserable. She started to turn away.

'How old do you have to be to have a hip replacement?'

Kelly glared at him, resenting the diversionary tactic, but his eyes were hooded, revealing nothing of his thoughts or feelings. His face wore an abstracted look.

'Generally they don't like to do them until a person is forty,' she replied tartly.

The silence lasted for fifteen or twenty seconds. 'Then I've only got five more years to go,' he said at last.

Kelly's spirits instantly lifted and she sighed with satisfaction as she worked out the arithmetic. Twelve years between them didn't form an unbridgeable gap. A man of thirty-five was considered in his prime, and women always matured more quickly than men. By her reckoning, that just about put them on a par. There was certainly nothing wrong about her feeling attracted to him or him feeling attracted to her.

She smiled triumphantly as she switched on the machine. 'I want you to relax now and let the interferential do its work. I'm going to attend to some of my other patients. If you have any trouble, just give me a yell,' she said, and even she could hear the exultant lilt in her voice.

Justin St John was starting to bend!

Although Kelly was satisfied that she had won the honours in the first round with Justin St John, it was early days yet, and the end was still very much up in the air. Why had he changed his mind from yesterday, when he had categorically refused any more physiotherapy from her? Why hadn't he attacked her about stealing Rasputin? He hadn't even mentioned it. He had to have some plan up his sleeve.

Kelly conscientiously carried through the exercises necessary for her other patient, but she was extremely aware of Justin St John's presence in the next room. However, with the extra workload that his presence had thrust on her, she was kept busy for the next forty minutes.

Not that he suffered in any way from the lack of her personal attention. Leaving the machine on him for that long wouldn't do any harm, and could only do good. The high frequency waves would help relieve the pain. The low frequency waves would exercise and help correct the atrophy of the underused muscles.

After she had finished with two other patients, she could give Justin St John her undivided attention until ten-thirty. And that would be the danger period. Kelly was aware that if he was going to make some counterstroke against her it would be during this time that it came.

The minutes rolled by all too quickly.

Kelly returned to the cubicle.

For a moment she felt light-headed, much the same as she felt before the penultimate round in a Grand Prix event, when it was essential not only to do well, but to pull out something special that would place her in front of all the other competitors. She took a deep breath and pulled the curtain shut behind her.

She switched off the interferential and removed the suction cups. 'How does this feel now?'

'Better,' he grunted.

'I'll finish off with some resisted exercises and then some ultrasound.'

He complied with all her instructions without complaint. No conversation was entered into by either party as she made him move his leg against the pressure of her hand. But there was a distinct rise of tension in the room. The physical connection that the exercises demanded engendered a very personal sense of intimacy.

'That's enough for today,' Kelly finally said, her voice made husky by a tightened throat. She swallowed hard, then attempted a brisker tone. 'To do any more might stir it up. But when we can get more freedom of movement I'll start you on the weights. I want you here every day…'

'Kelly…'

He levered himself up on his elbows and it was a demand to meet his gaze. She looked up, knowing and expecting this to be the moment of reckoning. There was a sardonic twist to his mouth, and the grey eyes were hard and probing.

Kelly's chin lifted belligerently, if it's beneath your dignity to come here, I'll come to you.'

He shook his head. 'You can't really believe you can barter therapy for the horses…

'I wouldn't try!' A flush of indignation highlighted her cheeks. 'And that's a very offensive comment! I've given you no reason to relate the two things in such a cynical fashion. I do care about you, whether you want me to or not. And I don't want to see you… incapacitated, when it's all so unnecessary.'

His lips curled with bitter irony, if I hadn't been incapacitated, you wouldn't have got away from me yesterday evening.'

Kelly took a deep breath and faced him squarely. 'If your feelings were more human, it wouldn't have been necessary for me to get away from you. You would let me ride my horses. I wouldn't have to steal them from you.' Her green eyes blazed with righteous conviction. 'You're the one who is unjust. I'm sorry about the pain you inflicted upon yourself, but it's all your own fault.'