At His Service: Her Boss the Hero: One Night With Her Boss / Her Very Special Boss / The Surgeon's Marriage Proposal. Alison Roberts

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СКАЧАТЬ Set up a running line of 0.9 per cent saline while I’m pretending to get the IV access.’

      Not a peep came out of Mikki about why it might have been more appropriate for her to be the one putting a line in while Tama assisted by setting up fluids.

      Unlike Josh, she’d never suggested it could be worthwhile accelerating her training because she could do more in the field than he was authorised to do.

      In fact, not once since she’d set foot on their station had she pulled rank in any way. She hadn’t used her superior qualifications, any limitations that would have been perfectly reasonable given her gender, or any status associated with who her father happened to be.

      He’d been expecting her to, he realised now. Ready to fight back. He wouldn’t have been at all surprised if the boss had called him in for a quiet word because Mikki had said something to her father and he wanted to make sure his daughter got everything she wanted.

      Had she not said anything? How often did she talk to her father? Did she know that Tama knew who he was? His colleagues had agreed with him right from the start that Mikki was to be treated like any other trainee and it would be better not to even mention her family connections so maybe she didn’t realise they knew.

      Were they both keeping that knowledge as a kind of ace up their sleeves? Would Mikki use hers first? Tama had to admit he was impressed that she hadn’t let anything slip. But, then, that admiration that had started so grudgingly had taken on a life of its own, hadn’t it?

      Hell, even if this woman had resembled a potato in her physical appearance, Tama would have been impressed by now.

      And she didn’t look anything like a potato.

      She looked … amazing.

      Tama sighed aloud. There it was, in a nutshell. He was attracted to her … big-time.

      Josh had overheard the sigh. ‘Getting bored, mate? We’re almost there.’

      ‘Never bored,’ Tama’s smile at his friend was a kind of apology for his distraction. ‘Bring it on!’

      OK. He was attracted to Mikki, but did it matter? He wasn’t going to act on it. The very idea was ludicrous. She was here to learn. From him. That put him in the position of being her superior. Her teacher. Ethically, he would be on dodgy ground if he let any kind of relationship interfere with that.

      And he didn’t do relationships. Especially not with someone like Mikki. She was so not his type it was almost funny. Relationships meant you got close to someone, and if Mikki knew his background she’d look down on him. She wouldn’t be able to help herself. Just part of her social programming.

      No. Tama liked where he was. He liked the respect—admiration, even—he could read in Mikki’s face. His past was his own so it was good that there was a very large barrier that would prevent him acting on his attraction. He didn’t need to think of getting that close.

      Hey … nobody got that close so why the hell was he even thinking about it?

      Because Mikki had got under his skin, that’s why. Far enough to make him miss her when she wasn’t around. There was no harm in appreciating the woman, though, was there? Playing a little?

      Admitting the attraction was a release in a way. He knew what he was up against and he could handle it. From here on in, it was not going to distract him from the important things, like doing his job. This job, for instance. They were circling the area the GPS navigation system had identified. Any minute now and they would be into the rescue effort. Everything was good.

      And if the next job meant that they had the mouse along to play, so be it. Tama could handle that, too.

      The strident sound of the pagers came within minutes of the helicopter touching down but Tama appeared to be taking the details of the call with good humour. Mikki was watching him.

      She’d watched the helicopter land and Tama and Josh climb out, laughing and talking as they’d made their way back inside. It had been so good to see them. Because she’d spent two hours studying and had had enough?

      Yes, but that didn’t explain the way her heart tripped when she saw the now familiar shape of Tama heading her way. Her excitement wasn’t just about having stimulating company on station or the prospect of a new job that would include her in the action.

      She had missed Tama’s presence. Missed the way he filled a room and gave even the air she breathed an extra dimension. He was larger than life, that was the problem. More so than any man she’d ever met. Some of that aura radiated and it was almost like the kind of adrenaline rush you got from facing a major challenge and succeeding.

      It made her feel … bigger, somehow. Taller and braver and … special.

      Tama wasn’t looking at her right now as he talked to the dispatcher and scribbled down the co-ordinates he was being given. His head was bent and Mikki indulged herself for a second longer, her eyes feasting on the way tiny curls spiralled against the soft-looking skin at the nape of his neck. A vulnerable spot on a man who seemed anything but vulnerable. It made Mikki want to touch it. To touch him. She dragged her gaze away as Tama turned to hand the scrap of paper with numbers on it to Josh, who moved towards the wall maps.

      ‘Roger,’ he said finally. ‘We’ll get airborne as soon as we’ve refuelled.’

      ‘Another job?’ The question was redundant. Stupid, in fact, but Mikki couldn’t help asking it. Knowing that Tama would look in her direction when he answered. Wanting him to notice her.

      The smile was a bonus she hadn’t expected. ‘Tractor rollover,’ he told her. ‘Forty-two-year-old farmer.’

      ‘Is he trapped?’

      ‘No, and the ground was reasonably soft by the sound of things, but he’s got chest injuries and the local ambulance crew is concerned about his breathing.’

      ‘How far?’

      Josh was using his finger to trace lines on one of the large wall maps. ‘Here. Fifteen- to twenty-minute flight, tops.’

      ‘And it’s not a winch job.’ Tama actually sounded quite cheerful about the fact. ‘You good to go, Mouse?’

      ‘Absolutely.’

      Finally. The frustration of the last few days evaporated and Mikki was left with a sense that the enforced time on station had actually been a blessing in disguise. She was familiar with the gear and the protocols. Far more at ease with these men. Confident, even.

      It felt so right to be keeping step with Tama despite having to take much longer strides to stay by his side. Perfectly normal to climb into her seat, fasten her safety straps—lap belt first and then shoulder straps—and then glance up to be rewarded with an approving nod. This time, she actually felt like part of the team and that impression only strengthened when they arrived at the scene.

      ‘This is John.’ The local ambulance officer introduced them to their patient. ‘He lost control of the tractor on that hill and it rolled. He was caught under it and then thrown clear when it rolled again.’

      The tractor was lying on its side, half in a ditch, close to where the ambulance was parked.

      ‘Steering СКАЧАТЬ