Read Online Doctor...to Duchess? by Annie O'Neil - Free Book Online Page B

shower.”
    Julia stared at him in disbelief. She’d only just met the man and he wanted them to take a shower together? Images whirled through her mind kaleidoscope-style. Warm water cascading down her naked body, through the thick tangle of Oliver’s black hair. Little streamlets weaving their way along the contours of his cheekbones, past those green eyes, along his jawline, as they took turns lathering...
    “Earth to Julia. C’mon, jump in the car. We’re going straight to the Hall. You’re shaking.”
    Julia shook her head, not comprehending. She knew Oliver was hard to read, but this? This she wasn’t ready for. “Sorry? No. No. I’m fine—you can just drop me at mine. I need to get to the clinic.”
    “You’re not going anywhere near the clinic in the state you’re in. You’re lucky I’m not strapping you to the bonnet, you mucky pup.”
    Well, then.
No room for misinterpretation on that one.
    “Fine.” She shot him a glare, as if it would change anything. At least she’d stop thinking about soaping up his naked...
    “No need to be churlish. We’re on the same side here.”
    Unlikely.
    Her eyes traveled up from his lips to the inky-black tumble of his hairline. What would it be like, she mused, just to tease her fingers through...?
    Oliver tipped his head toward the four-by-four, an undisguised expression of exasperation playing across his face. “Are you getting in or am I going to have to lift you in?”
    Ooh. Well, if you put it that way...
    Shock.
She must be suffering a minor case of shock after the accident. Never before had she been prone to the waves of saucy thoughts crashing through her systematically practical approach to life. “No Nonsense Julia,” her friends had dubbed her. Blimey. It was more like Jitterbug Julia these days.
    Shock. Definitely. Or she was going nuts.
    Before she could climb into the car, Oliver was squaring her to him, a hand on each shoulder, the heat spreading like a warm balm along her neck and gently meandering down her spine. “Your pipes have burst, the place is filthy—
you’re
filthy—and you need to get cleaned up. You’re a head cold waiting to happen and that’s the last thing your patients need.”
    Good point. She would’ve come to the same conclusion. Eventually. Particularly if he hadn’t been standing a hand’s breadth away from her, diverting her focus with all his man scent and rugged handsomeness. It was plain rude to be so distracting. Surely they’d taught him that in charm school or wherever it was dukes-in-waiting went?
    “I think I can manage well enough, thank you,” she primly announced.
    He opened the door, pointedly ignoring her refusal as he put a supportive hand to her elbow while she climbed in.
Mmm...
That felt nice, too. She wondered how his hands would feel if they shifted from her elbow to her waist, a finger just tracing along the curve down to her hip and... She shook herself out of her reverie. This really had to stop.
    The engine roared to life, and Julia grabbed ahold of the door handle as the vehicle surged forward under the thick green canopy of woodland.
    She risked a glance over to the driver’s side of the car. Oliver was stony-faced, staring dead ahead.
Uh-oh.
Here they come.
    The giggles.
    Her go-to nervous reaction. A hand flew to her mouth to stem the flow, only causing her to choke instead. A series of coughs overtook the giggles and before she knew it tears were streaming down her face. Without warning a sting of pain fought the whimsy of her laughter. She missed intimacy. Knowing someone would touch her. Desire her. Support her when she was feeling fragile. Matt would’ve known her giggles meant she was a bit overwhelmed and would’ve pulled her in for one of his reassuring bear hugs. A hiccupped laugh escaped the fingers clamped over her mouth. Were grief and joy natural bedfellows? Whether her tears were happy, sad or just a biological by-product of her coughing attack was suddenly beyond her.