The Surgeon and the Princess by Karin Baine (ebook reader with android os .TXT) 📕

Before she could dodge around him and bolt for the door, Ed was cradling her face in his hands, smiling at her. ‘Stop talking.’

This time she did as she was told and let him kiss her as if he meant it. As if he’d been holding back the first time and now he was letting the bubbling well of desire come to a boil. His arms were locked around her now, holding her tight to him as his mouth found hers again and again. Hard and insistent. Soft and tender. Sending her mind and body into a whirl.

She melted against him, let him fold her into his strong frame like the delicate princess she was supposed to be. Except princesses weren’t supposed to be trying to rip a man’s clothes off, desperate for him to remind her what it was to be desirable.

Ed groaned as Georgiana untucked his shirt from his trousers and slid her hand under the fabric. Searching hands found their way confidently across his abdomen. He sucked in a shallow breath at the intimate touch. It had been some time since he’d last engaged in this kind of fevered display. It felt good. He hadn’t been sure that she was attracted to him in any way, yet her playful tongue in his mouth, her apparent determination to strip him of his clothes would suggest differently.

Deep down Ed wondered if she was searching for affirmation she was still attractive when she was so hung up about her altered appearance. In satisfying her craving for male interest, he might’ve been anyone. For him, though, this moment would only have happened because of the strong, courageous person he knew her to be. From the moment he’d seen her pounding the treadmill, defying those who’d tried to steal her independence, her life and her femininity, he’d been lost. There was nothing he wanted more than to clear the contents of his desk onto the floor and take her right here, right now, but that would cause more damage than satisfaction.

An ill-advised tryst would endanger everything they were working towards. Getting in deeper with Georgiana could only end in tears for a multitude of reasons. For a start she was a princess and he, for the want of a better word, was a commoner. It would cause the sort of scandal she wanted to avoid. She was also vulnerable, not in the right head space for romantic involvement. He’d be taking advantage to continue this. With all their plans, they were going to be spending a lot of time together and there was no room for tension between them. Which was bound to happen when he had so many other commitments. History had told him so. He’d been here before, only this time they were both loners. Making a future together as a couple was impossible.

Yet it was hard to put a stop to something he was enjoying so much. Hard being the operative word.

‘Georgiana...we...need...to...stop...before...this...goes...any further,’ he said in between passionate kisses. He slipped a hand around her waist, pulled her in for one last, long, lingering lip lock before letting go and stepping back, breathless and wanting.

‘Whoa.’ He had to hold onto the edge of the desk until he got his bearings again, the adrenaline rush of having her in his arms and subsequently letting go knocking him off kilter.

‘What? What’s wrong?’ Her dilated pupils and kiss-swollen lips only increased his level of guilt because he still wanted to kiss her.

He should’ve shut this thing down instead of selfishly prolonging it for his satisfaction. It took all his resolve not to oblige her sweet mouth begging for more.

‘Nothing’s wrong, it’s all so very right,’ he said regretfully, ‘but that’s not why we’re here.’

‘Right,’ she said, blinking furiously, trying to focus.

‘Neither of us is in a position to start something. You’re going through a lot of life changes and, as I’ve told you, my home situation is already demanding. It isn’t a good idea.’ He didn’t want anything to compromise the work they’d been trying to do together. Georgiana was helping him so much with the gala, then there was the possibility of her working at the clinic. His libido couldn’t be his motivating factor when an inevitable break-up would impact on all areas of his working life. There was no way he’d jeopardise the futures of his patients just so he could have some fun.

‘It’s no big deal. Just a kiss. It doesn’t have to mean anything and it certainly shouldn’t impact on our plans here. Let’s never speak of it again.’ She was trying to make light of it but her eyes held that sadness that came from rejection.

It was difficult to ignore what had happened when he was buttoning his shirt and tucking it back into his trousers, his skin scorched where Georgiana had sought him.

‘It’ll probably take a few days before I can report back on those veteran guests we talked about. I’ll get back to you with details when I can.’ She was letting him know she’d be out of bounds for a while, which wasn’t a bad thing considering what they’d been up to. At least with some space they might be able to forget it, put it down to a lapse in judgement and leave it in the past.

If only he could forget how she tasted on his lips, felt in his arms and set him on fire everywhere she’d touched him.

‘Let’s get you home.’

Out of my office, out of my head and out of temptation’s way.

CHAPTER EIGHT

‘I’D LIKE TO talk to you about something.’ Missing the company she’d had at the clinic, Georgiana had taken to sitting with her parents in the evening. Ed had put their nocturnal activities on hold under the guise that he needed to finalise arrangements for the gala dinner. It was probably for the best when there could be no future for them together and she didn’t want to spoil the