same to you.’ He half expected her to tell him to bugger off, but instead she told him to come in.
He found her lying on the bed, clutching a pillow to her chest. Her hair was loose and her cheeks were wet. She looked young, wary and impossibly vulnerable.
‘Sorry,’ he said quickly, anxious to get this over and done with. He hated eating humble pie. ‘I acted like a jerk.’
‘Yes, you did.’ She held his gaze unflinchingly, though her usually sparkling eyes were rimmed with red.
‘Damn,’ he muttered into the silence. ‘You’re not going to make this easy for me, are you? What else can I say? I apologise. I’m not used to female company on these projects. I guess I just flipped.’
Brianna stared at him for several long, tense moments. Then she dropped her gaze to the floor. ‘Yes, well, I probably provoked you.’
He raised an eyebrow. ‘Probably,’ he replied dryly. ‘I was rough. I’m sorry if I hurt you.’
‘Hurt me?’ she exclaimed, eyes glittering. ‘You think I’m angry with you because you were rough? Of all the ridiculous …’ She shook her head. ‘It’s not what you did, Dr McBride. It’s what you said.’
Mitch looked baffled. ‘What I said?’
‘You really think I wanted to kiss you just so I could see what it was like to kiss a man who has less money than I do? You think I’m that shallow?’
He took a moment to study the woman on the bed. Nobody had made her come here. She didn’t need a job, like he did. She was here of her own free will, because she wanted to make a difference. ‘No, I don’t think you’re shallow,’ he replied quietly. He held her gaze and something moved between them, something that stirred him, frightened him. He was beginning to like her, as well as fancy her. Never mind shallow, he was in danger of being dragged out of his depth.
He broke the gaze and shoved his hands in his pockets before he was tempted to do anything with them. Like run them down those amazing curves of hers, for starters. ‘Look Brianna. I need to focus on what I’m doing here, without any distractions, tempting though they might be. You’re only here for a few more days, so I suggest we forget about what happened. To avoid any further complications, let’s stay out of each other’s way.’
Brianna watched as Mitch ducked back out of her tent. Possibly he was right. Probably he was right. Certainly staying away from him was exactly what she’d planned after she’d left his tent. Never had a man made her feel so cheap. But now her anger had vanished. Call her foolish, but despite his sometimes cruel words, she saw something in him she hadn’t seen in any of the other men she’d dated. It wasn’t just lust, though his kiss had been far beyond anything she’d ever experienced. Never had she been handled with such wild ferocity, such white-hot passion. He thought he’d been rough? She’d never felt more aroused.
But he was more than a sexy doctor with rugged good looks and an athletic build. Beneath all that there was toughness, layers. She couldn’t fully put a handle on it. Mitch wasn’t a man a woman could ignore. Love him or hate him, he made a mark. He certainly had on her. Yes she wanted his body, but she was also desperate to understand his mind.
She wasn’t sure she was ready to give up on him quite so readily.
Chapter Ten
When she woke the following morning, Brianna could still feel the heat of Mitch’s lips on her mouth and the hardness of his body against the softness of her own. With a groan of pure exasperation, she threw off the sheets and climbed out of bed. Why oh why did she have to fall in lust with the one man who had no intention of following up on the spark between them? She hated this tense, aching feeling that she could only guess was sexual frustration. It was totally alien to her. She was used to turning down what was being offered, not being turned down.
As she sat having breakfast with a few of the team, she realised it
He found her lying on the bed, clutching a pillow to her chest. Her hair was loose and her cheeks were wet. She looked young, wary and impossibly vulnerable.
‘Sorry,’ he said quickly, anxious to get this over and done with. He hated eating humble pie. ‘I acted like a jerk.’
‘Yes, you did.’ She held his gaze unflinchingly, though her usually sparkling eyes were rimmed with red.
‘Damn,’ he muttered into the silence. ‘You’re not going to make this easy for me, are you? What else can I say? I apologise. I’m not used to female company on these projects. I guess I just flipped.’
Brianna stared at him for several long, tense moments. Then she dropped her gaze to the floor. ‘Yes, well, I probably provoked you.’
He raised an eyebrow. ‘Probably,’ he replied dryly. ‘I was rough. I’m sorry if I hurt you.’
‘Hurt me?’ she exclaimed, eyes glittering. ‘You think I’m angry with you because you were rough? Of all the ridiculous …’ She shook her head. ‘It’s not what you did, Dr McBride. It’s what you said.’
Mitch looked baffled. ‘What I said?’
‘You really think I wanted to kiss you just so I could see what it was like to kiss a man who has less money than I do? You think I’m that shallow?’
He took a moment to study the woman on the bed. Nobody had made her come here. She didn’t need a job, like he did. She was here of her own free will, because she wanted to make a difference. ‘No, I don’t think you’re shallow,’ he replied quietly. He held her gaze and something moved between them, something that stirred him, frightened him. He was beginning to like her, as well as fancy her. Never mind shallow, he was in danger of being dragged out of his depth.
He broke the gaze and shoved his hands in his pockets before he was tempted to do anything with them. Like run them down those amazing curves of hers, for starters. ‘Look Brianna. I need to focus on what I’m doing here, without any distractions, tempting though they might be. You’re only here for a few more days, so I suggest we forget about what happened. To avoid any further complications, let’s stay out of each other’s way.’
Brianna watched as Mitch ducked back out of her tent. Possibly he was right. Probably he was right. Certainly staying away from him was exactly what she’d planned after she’d left his tent. Never had a man made her feel so cheap. But now her anger had vanished. Call her foolish, but despite his sometimes cruel words, she saw something in him she hadn’t seen in any of the other men she’d dated. It wasn’t just lust, though his kiss had been far beyond anything she’d ever experienced. Never had she been handled with such wild ferocity, such white-hot passion. He thought he’d been rough? She’d never felt more aroused.
But he was more than a sexy doctor with rugged good looks and an athletic build. Beneath all that there was toughness, layers. She couldn’t fully put a handle on it. Mitch wasn’t a man a woman could ignore. Love him or hate him, he made a mark. He certainly had on her. Yes she wanted his body, but she was also desperate to understand his mind.
She wasn’t sure she was ready to give up on him quite so readily.
Chapter Ten
When she woke the following morning, Brianna could still feel the heat of Mitch’s lips on her mouth and the hardness of his body against the softness of her own. With a groan of pure exasperation, she threw off the sheets and climbed out of bed. Why oh why did she have to fall in lust with the one man who had no intention of following up on the spark between them? She hated this tense, aching feeling that she could only guess was sexual frustration. It was totally alien to her. She was used to turning down what was being offered, not being turned down.
As she sat having breakfast with a few of the team, she realised it
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