night, haunted by what could have happened if he hadn’t become involved. She’d got under his skin. Maybe it had happened in that first moment, when she’d stumbled into his arms and growled at him to let her go.
Or maybe it had been Mouse who’d really got under his skin. Seeped in, probably, which was hardly surprising when they’d spent so much time with their skins touching.
Whatever. He was in this up to his neck. He couldn’t get out until that fierce Ellie appeared again. The one who would shove him away and growl at him in a brave stand for independence and autonomy. There wasn’t a hint of fierceness in her face right now. Max could see fear and uncertainty. But when his gaze slid down and he saw her hand resting on the edge of the baby seat, holding a tiny hand in her fingers, he could see the bond between a mother and child. The love.
He could see the courage that came with that as a given.
And it was a gentle kind of fierce.
Max could only smile. A poignant tilt to his lips that felt nothing like any smile he’d ever produced in his life.
‘Hey…’ He moved his gaze back to Ellie’s face. ‘I like trouble. Keeps life interesting. They didn’t call us the “bad boys” at school for nothing.’
He carried the baby seat into the apartment and then he ferried in the baby gear.
‘Uh-oh…where’s your bag, Ellie?’
‘I must have left it behind. I was only grabbing baby stuff.’
‘So you don’t have a change of clothes or anything?’
‘No.’
They both looked at what Ellie was wearing. The horrible, shapeless sweatshirt and jeans that looked five sizes too big. And then Max frowned.
‘Your clothes are covered in blood.’
‘Oh, my God…’ Ellie stared down at her stained jeans. ‘They’re saturated. What if he had hepatitis? Or HIV?’
‘Get them off,’ Max said crisply. ‘Get into the shower. Have a really good scrub. I’ll throw these into the laundry and soak them in bleach. Check that you don’t have any open wounds…on your legs, in particular. Did you get any blood on your hands?’
‘No. Someone gave me plastic bags.’
‘That’s right. I wondered what you were using when I arrived. That’s good.’ Max stepped towards the baby seat where the mouse was beginning to squeak. ‘I’ll look after her. The bathroom’s just down the hall. First door on the left.’
‘But she sounds hungry.’
‘I’ll give her a bottle. She’s had them before, I don’t think she’ll mind.’ Max didn’t mind either, he realised. He had enjoyed those feeding times up in PICU. Missed them, almost.
‘But—’
He raised his eyebrows at Ellie as if surprised by her insubordination. ‘Shower, Ellie,’ he ordered. ‘For Mouse’s protection as much as your own.’
Ellie gave an audible gulp. ‘But…I won’t have any clothes.’
‘I’ll find you something and leave it outside the bathroom door. Go on. There are clean towels in there and plenty of soap and shampoo so wash your hair as well. A thorough scrub from head to toe, got it? Decontamination.’
He had undone the safety belt around Mouse and was lifting her into his arms. Ellie stood indecisively for a moment longer, watching him. And then, with a noise that could have been a tiny sob, she turned and fled towards the bathroom.
It was a good twenty minutes before she emerged. Her hair lay in damp strands over her shoulders, spikes of her fringe hanging into her eyes. She had rolled up the sleeves of that salmon-coloured shirt he rather liked even though it was too close to being pink and the tail hung down far enough to almost cover the red silk boxers he had also provided.
With her face scrubbed clean and her bare legs and feet, she looked like a teenager. A malnourished one at that. She also looked far shyer than Max had anticipated. She was in his house and now in his clothes and she was clearly discomfited by the turn of events. She not only looked incredibly young but rather too vulnerable as well.
‘Squeaky clean?’ He tried to sound casual but he could smell how clean she was, dammit. Had she discovered some soap he didn’t know he had? Or was that vaguely floral, gorgeously feminine scent simply coming from her exposed skin? He hadn’t seen her this uncovered since that day she’d breastfed Mouse for the first time.
Oh, God… Why did that scene keep ambushing his brain, not to mention other regions of his anatomy?
Ellie was nodding. ‘How did it go with the bottle?’
‘See for yourself.’ Max couldn’t help a proud grin as he waved at where he’d placed the bassinette, tucking it into a corner of the living area, away from any draughts from the windows. ‘Fed, burped, changed and back to sleep. I reckon she’s had enough excitement for one day.’
The nod was heartfelt this time. ‘Me, too.’
‘Hungry?’
‘Starving.’
‘Me, too.’ This was good. Something to focus on that took his mind off Ellie’s bare legs and the knowledge that she wasn’t wearing a bra under that soft, old shirt.
‘The fish and chips are stone cold. I was just waiting for you to get out of the bathroom so I could go and get a fresh lot.’
‘No.’
Max stopped in his tracks even though he was already halfway to the door. Escape into some fresh air had been the perfect plan but the anguish in Ellie’s whisper made him feel as though he’d come up against a brick wall.
‘What’s wrong?’
‘I…um…I’d rather you didn’t go. What if…the police come? What do I tell them?’
Her expression suggested a belief that Max would have all the right answers and her trust undid something deep within. So did the thought that she didn’t want to be left alone. That she wanted him to stay with her.
‘Oh…Ellie…’ Her name was almost a groan.
An admission of defeat?
He walked back towards her, one step at a time, feeling as if he had no other choice at all. He gathered her into his arms and then realised that this was the first time he’d held her since she had stumbled on his doorstep—a lifetime ago. She’d been covered in shapeless clothing then and all he’d really been aware of had been the baby bump between them. Now it was just Ellie with a mere layer of silky material between them. He could feel the real shape of her body and the way it fitted against his. The length of her back. Firm, round little buttocks, all slippery under the silk. Her nose was buried against his chest and it even rubbed against him, a bit like Mouse when she was hungry or upset.
Max held Ellie with one arm around her back and with the other he smoothed the damp strands of her hair.
