for distancing himself from them. He could hardly be close to his brother while avoiding his parents, though; and when he saw his parents he was always on the receiving end of their disappointment.
Sometimes he thought that most parents would’ve been proud of their son for sticking through fourteen years of training and qualifying as an obstetrician. But the Darringtons had had rather different expectations for their son...
He really ought to make his excuses and leave. Ella was the last person he should get involved with. Apart from the fact that she was obviously much closer to her family than he was to his, she was his colleague and he didn’t want things to get messy at work. Nothing could happen between them.
But when he went into her small kitchen to tell her that he needed to go, she turned round and smiled at him and all his common sense fled. Her beautiful green eyes held him spellbound. And right at that moment he felt the strongest connection to her. Her mouth looked warm and sweet and soft, and he really wanted to kiss her. When his gaze flicked up to her eyes again, he realised that she was doing exactly the same: looking at his mouth. So was she, too, wondering...?
Instead of saying goodnight, he stepped forward and brushed his mouth very lightly against hers—just as he’d wanted to do all evening. Not just all evening, if he was honest with himself: he’d wanted to kiss her for weeks and weeks and weeks.
Every nerve-end in his lips tingled, so he couldn’t stop himself doing it again.
And this time she kissed him back.
‘Ella,’ he said when he broke the kiss. ‘I’ve wanted to do that for months.’
‘Me, too,’ she whispered.
So she’d noticed him in the same way?
His common sense made a last-ditch bid to extract him. ‘We shouldn’t do this.’
‘I know—we work together and we ought to be sensible,’ she agreed.
‘Exactly,’ he said, relieved that he hadn’t quite ruined their working relationship by giving in to that mad urge to kiss her. They could still salvage a professional friendship after tonight.
But then she rested her hand against his cheek. Her touch was light and gentle, and he found himself twisting his head to kiss her palm.
Her beautiful green eyes darkened.
Then the kissing started all over again, this time in earnest, and Oliver forgot all his good intentions. He loosened her hair, the way he’d wanted to do all evening, and let it tumble down to her shoulders.
Her eyes widened. ‘Oliver!’
‘I know.’ He kissed her again. ‘But I can’t help this—I really want you, Ella. I have done since the first time I met you.’
‘Me, too,’ she said.
His whole body tingled with desire. She wanted him as much as he wanted her?
‘So what are we going to do about this?’ she asked.
‘Right now, I can’t think straight,’ he admitted. ‘I just want to make love with you.’
For a moment, he thought she was going to back away. But then she inclined her head very slightly and took his hand to lead him to her bedroom.
‘Are you sure about this?’ he asked softly as she switched the bedside light on.
‘I’m sure,’ she said, her voice low and husky.
He kissed her, and it made his head spin. Hardly able to believe this was happening, he slid the zip down at the back of her dress. Seconds later, he stroked the material away from her shoulders and it fell to the floor.
She undid his bow tie, then unbuttoned his shirt with shaking fingers, smoothed the material off his shoulders and let it fall to the floor next to her dress.
He unsnapped her bra. ‘You’re beautiful. All curves.’
She gave him a shy smile. ‘You’re beautiful, too. All muscles.’
And suddenly the faint awkwardness was gone—there was just Ella, kissing her, and feeling the warmth of her skin against his.
Oliver wasn’t sure which of them finished undressing whom, but the next thing he knew he was kneeling between her thighs and her hair was spread over the pillows, just as he’d imagined it.
And then he stopped. ‘Protection. I don’t have a condom.’
‘You don’t need one,’ she said, flushing slightly.
So she was on the Pill? Part of him remembered Justine’s treachery and the repercussions. But he knew that Ella wasn’t like Justine. The woman he’d got to know over the last eighteen months was open and honest. She wasn’t going to cheat on him with someone else, get pregnant, and then try to make him believe that the baby was his. He knew that without having to ask.
‘Oliver?’ She looked worried, now. ‘I don’t sleep around. I’m not...’ The colour in her cheeks deepened. ‘You know.’
‘I know.’ He stroked her face. ‘And the rumours about me aren’t true. I don’t have sex with every single woman I date.’ He shouldn’t be having sex with Ella, either; but right now her skin was warm against his, this had been a long time coming, and he wanted to do this more than he’d wanted to do anything in years.
‘I know,’ she said, and kissed him.
That kiss made him relax with her, and he slowed the pace down, wanting to explore her. He kissed and stroked his way down her body, starting with a dip beneath her collarbones and paying attention to exactly what made her sigh with pleasure, from the curve of her inner elbow to the soft undersides of her breasts, then starting with the hollows of her anklebones and feathering his way upwards until she was making tiny, involuntary noises and clutching at his shoulders.
‘Now?’ he asked softly.
‘Now.’ Her voice was raspy and husky with desire. Which was exactly what he’d wanted.
As he eased into her, he felt her tense.
‘OK?’ he asked.
She nodded. ‘I just never thought it would be like...’
Her words slammed into his brain and he realised the implication of what she’d just said.
Ella was a virgin. And he’d just taken her virginity.
Oh, hell. But it was too late now. He couldn’t reverse what he’d done. All he could do was try to make this as good for her as he could.
‘Oliver?’ And now she looked panicky. As if she thought she’d done something wrong.
It wasn’t her. He was the one in the wrong. He should’ve thought. Should’ve checked. Should’ve walked away, instead of giving in to that desperate need to be close to her.
‘You’re beautiful,’ he said, staying perfectly still so her body would have the time and space
