His brothers lived the lives of their choice, and encouraged him to do the same, though they weren’t always keen when he leapt off mountains with nothing more than a board strapped to his feet for safety. They and their families were his support system, the people he loved most. There wasn’t room for anyone else. He’d tried once. Never again.
His eyes tracked across Sienna’s exhausted face. Yes, she cranked up his libido something wicked. No, she wasn’t going to become important to him other than as a patient at this point in time. Yes, he wanted to learn more about what made her tick. No, he didn’t have any intention of spending time with her.
No longer than it took to share a bottle of wine, at any rate.
CHAPTER FOUR
‘HOW LONG HAVE we been waiting for your lot to return?’ Sienna stared through the semi-dark at Harry. His rugged face was in shadow while the lantern he must’ve had in his pack gave an eerie glow to their surroundings. He was so close it wouldn’t take any effort to touch him. What would his skin feel like under her fingertips? Warm? Exciting?
Then he blinked and sat up straighter before reaching for her wrist, his finger instantly on her pulse. ‘A little over an hour. Not long, considering.’
Definitely warm...and exciting. ‘Hmmm...’
‘What does “hmmm” mean?’
That she liked the spiky sensations going on up her arm from where he held her. ‘Thank goodness you got here before the weather packed in or who knows what shape I’d be in by now? First thing I’m going to do once back on my feet is buy a lottery ticket. Who knows? My luck might still be running.’
His gaze cruised over her in a not-so-doctorish manner when she said ‘shape’. A manner she could get to enjoy very quickly. His chuckle was delicious: more warmth, as well as comforting, and as if he was with her. ‘I’ll drive you to the shop when we’re off the hill and the ED guys have tidied you up.’
Sienna shifted her numb butt and got stabbed with aches throughout her body for her effort. Her head pounded but thankfully her vision was clear. All the better to observe this annoyingly interesting man. Sticking her tongue firmly in her cheek, she asked, ‘You hanging around Auckland for a day or two more, then?’
‘Up until Christmas.’
‘Then where are you going?’
‘I’m starting to doubt you’ve got concussion. Your recall is superb. Remind me never to tell you anything important.’
A smile accompanied his words so she remained relaxed. ‘As we hardly ever speak that’s not likely to happen.’
Harrison grunted. ‘Here’s the thing. We seem to keep getting thrown together so I’m figuring we might as well get to know each other a little. Only as neighbours,’ he added quickly.
‘Sounds like a plan as soon as I’m mobile again.’ Fingers crossed that’d be tomorrow, not months down the track due to serious damage.
‘We can share a bottle of wine on the deck.’
So he was okay with the wine idea. She must’ve talked in her sleep. They couldn’t have been having similar thoughts about getting together for a drink. Could they? How soon could he visit?
Downplay this.
She hadn’t said anything in her sleep about how he made her blood sing, had she? Better concentrate on staying wide awake from now on.
He went quiet, and the haze in Sienna’s head began to rule despite her worry about what she might say next. But the fog didn’t take over as it had earlier. Had she run out of puff? Or was it that she was awake enough that images of her neighbour were rolling in? Leading her into temptation? As if. Stuck out here was so not the place for anything other than waiting to be lifted off.
Harrison sat beside her, his long legs stretched out, his hands relaxed on his thighs. Hard to ignore. He was more than attractive. There was something dependable about him that activated all her buttons when she stopped thinking how exasperating he could be. The pounding started up again in her skull. Not Harrison’s fault. Not even thoughts about him were to blame. She was falling asleep.
Falling. Over and over.
Sienna awoke with a jerk, and groaned.
‘Hey, easy.’ That hand she was getting inordinately fond of touched her good shoulder.
Something niggled from her dream. ‘What if no one had seen me go off the edge of the road?’
‘Let’s not go there. You were seen and here I am.’
She could have broken her back, been left for days till someone found her, or worse.
‘You need to relax, my girl. Spread your wings and fly.’
Sienna’s eyes flew open. Her father was right. She had been missing out on so much. What if she had broken her back? That would finish everything. This had been a wake-up call she needed to heed. ‘Bring that wine over the first time we’re both at home.’ Then she’d return the favour a few days later. If they got on well enough to repeat the date. Date? Not likely. Calling that a date only underlined how sad her life had become. Whether or not they had anything else to do with each other afterwards, spending an hour with Harrison meant she’d be making a start on getting out there to do things she’d only ever thought about. How was this for another? ‘I’m going to sign up for flying lessons.’ Plummeting down a hillside had a lot to answer for. But if that had gone horribly wrong there wouldn’t be any crazy ideas to put into action.
‘You want to become a private pilot?’ Bafflement darkened Harry’s voice. Then he reached for her wrist again. Did he think she was slipping into gaga land because of that knoc
k on her head? He could be right, but she didn’t think so.
That tingling thing on her skin was going on under his fingers. ‘My father keeps telling me to spread my wings and try different things. I’m interpreting him literally.’ Then she shuddered. ‘Only problem is I’m a bit afraid of heights.’ Though flying on a commercial flight had never caused any problems. ‘So this could be a bit of a challenge.’
Respect blinked out at her. ‘You need to do a bungee-jump from the Sky Tower. That’ll cure you.’ He laid her arm down against her side. ‘All normal.’
‘Glad you weren’t taking my pulse when you made that crazy suggestion.’ To be honest, she was surprised it had been normal when all the nerve endings in her wrist had been on high alert to his touch. ‘You ever done a jump?’
‘I get my thrills regularly dropping out of helicopters, so no need.’
‘That’s feet first on a winch, not upside down on a rope.’ Could she do it? Yes, she could. If she didn’t she’d crawl back into her safe box, probably never to come out again. She’d survived today’s crash; the momentum needed to be carried on. ‘Do it with me,’ she challenged before she could put her brain into gear.
His eyes widened and those full lips tipped into a tummy-twisting smile. ‘You’re on.’ He held his hand up, palm out towards her. ‘It’s a deal.’
Did he have to look so shocked at what he’d agreed to? There was no getting out of this one. She wasn’t sure whether to be pleased, or downright terrified. Only time would tell. Raising her arm and biting down on the stabs of pain from wrist to shoulder, she lightly hand-tapped him back, and tried not to think about that large hand making hers look tiny and feel...? Just feel. It had been too long since the last foray into men and sex, and not once had she known this sense of the ground slipping out from under her. More likely that came from her precarious position perched on a steep hillside. ‘You didn’t agree just to keep your patient happy?’ She’d be gutted if he said yes.