I won’t be developing one, that’s for sure.” Ellen pushed a strand of escaped hair out of her face. Wasn’t she already headed that way? She stood in front of Karen’s hut.
She’d stopped at the top of her steps and looked at Ellen. “What is it with the two of you anyway?”
“He doesn’t like me for some reason.”
Karen gave her a searching look. “Aren’t you overreacting?”
“I don’t think so. I’m too tired to worry about what Dr. Freeman thinks of me tonight. See you in the morning.” Ellen continued along the path.
“Well, you’re blind if you don’t see how attractive he is,” Karen called after her.
Ellen was well aware of how handsome Chance was but it wasn’t enough to overlook his controlling and sometimes overprotective attitude where she was concerned.
The shower water couldn’t get hot enough for her. Ellen stood in it until it started to cool. She loved this shower. It was almost like she was skinny dipping. With a towel wrapped around her, she entered the back door of the hut just as a light came on in Chance’s. She watched as he pulled his safari shirt off over his head and let it drop to the floor. From her vantage point she was a voyeur but she couldn’t stop herself from looking.
Chance was older than any other men she had been attracted to but he still had a nice body. He flipped his belt out of the clasp then looked up. It was as if they were standing inches apart and he was reading her every thought. Heat flashed over her. She released the blind but it hadn’t fallen between them before she saw a sexy grin cross his lips.
CHANCE LAY BACK in the lounger located in a recess surrounded by plants near the pool. Only a person who looked carefully or passed him could see him, while he had an open view of most of the water. He needed some down time, just like the others. Thank goodness Friday was the transition day for guests so this afternoon there were few around. The resort would be full for the week by the next evening.
He’d worked his staff hard over the last week. They had moved to five different areas in five days, with each day starting at four a.m. The team not only needed a break but deserved one. Michael had volunteered to show the others around Trujillo. Karen and Peter had taken him up on the suggestion but for some reason Ellen had declined to join them. Chance had paperwork to see to and a conference call to make so he’d remained behind as well. He’d not seen Ellen since that morning and assumed she was resting in her hut.
In the short time since the three new staff members had arrived, their clinic team had turned into a cohesive group that worked well together. Ellen had assisted him some but mostly he’d stationed her with Michael or given her triage duty. She and Michael had become regular buddies. When there weren’t patients to see, they had lunch together, laughing over something that had happened. It reminded him too much of Alissa and his ex-colleague Jim.
Even Marco and his crew gave Ellen special attention. She shared her sunshine with everyone but him. It wasn’t that she wasn’t civil, it was just that he didn’t receive the same warmth. The times she had worked with him they had said little outside the need-to-know arena. He shouldn’t have cared but he felt left out. When she’d first arrived he’d wanted it that way but now he wasn’t so sure. The more he was around her the more he admired her. She wasn’t the pampered princess he’d wanted to believe she was.
Ellen was an excellent doctor. When she was working triage she recorded what was wrong and had everyone in order of need so that no time was wasted between patients. Maybe it was time to let her start handling patients on her own. They could see three times more patients if he did.
After the excruciating return ride to the resort, when she’d fallen asleep against him, and later, when he’d caught her watching him undress, he’d renewed his vow to stay clear of her as much as possible. He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t enjoyed the feel of a soft body against him. But wouldn’t he have reacted the same to any female contact?
There wasn’t much opportunity for a sex life around here but when he’d found companionship he’d been discreet about it. After his wife had left he’d been the favorite subject of discussion and he hadn’t enjoyed it. He preferred his private life to remain just that—private. A few times in Honduras he’d met a woman of interest and when he’d return to the States he had a few ladies he regularly stayed in contact with, so he had hardly been celibate. Still, there was something about Ellen that made his hormones stand up and take notice whenever she was near, as if he had been a monk and left the order.
If the ride home hadn’t been painful enough, the fact that she’d been watching him undress while wearing nothing but a towel had made him even more sexually aware. Every time they were alone it was like she was teasing him, daring him to come closer. He was confident this was something she did unconsciously yet it was still there, pulling him to her. As his body heated with need he imagined stepping across the short space between their huts and taking her in his arms. That would have shown her not to be poking the bear. Instead, she’d let the blind down, shutting him out.
He understood that feeling. In this case, he was glad she had. Even a short moment of pleasure would turn into a bad idea in the long run. Despite how she might act about work here, she wasn’t the type to stay with him. No woman was. His life was in Honduras. She would never be satisfied with him or living here for the long run. He wasn’t her prince charming.
Chance opened one eye to a slit at the soft pad of feet along the bricks around the pool. Ellen stood there in a blue bikini, preparing to dive. He shifted uncomfortably in the chair as his body reacted to all the beautiful skin on display. Her hair was down around her shoulders. The woman was going to be his undoing. He’d been played for a fool before and if he wasn’t careful he would give Ellen the opportunity to do the same again.
With a perfect arch, she dove into the pool and surfaced. As she swam to one end and back, he was fascinated by each smooth movement she made. What he wouldn’t do to be the water flowing around her. He had to get some control but that wasn’t going to happen right now. On her next pass he stood. Hopefully his baggy swim trunks would disguise most of his body’s reaction to her.
A yelp of surprise came from her when he stepped into her view.
“Hey.” He watched as all that long blonde hair swirled around her on the surface of the water.
“Hi. I didn’t see you sitting there.”
He stepped closer. “I thought you would’ve gone to town with the others.”
“I thought about it. But I hate to admit that after the pace we’ve kept this week I needed a little extra rest. I can be a tourist on our next day off.”
“Do you like being a tourist?”
“I do. I love to see new places. See how others live.” She held on to the edge of the pool.
Her position gave him a tantalizing view of her breasts scantly covered in triangles of dark blue that reminded him of a sky just before a storm. “So what do you think of Honduras?”
“I like it. The people are wonderful. Every day is exciting.”
“Some days, too much so.” Like
