He became still. 'Georgie?' His eyes glinted down at her. 'You're not sure? It's okay. We don't have to.'

She shook her head and pressed a finger against his mouth. 'Could we put the lights out?'

He looked bewildered. 'If you like. But why? I want to look at you. Every sc.r.a.p of you.'

'Baby weight,' Georgie muttered, feeling ridiculous.

He threw back his head and laughed. 'But don't you know how gorgeous you are? I love your curves. Your s.e.xy, womanly curves.' He dropped kisses on her shoulder as he slid the dress from her shoulders.

Slowly. Ever so slowly, his eyes not leaving hers, he undid the ties of her dress, and she let it slide to the floor.

She shivered again as he dropped a kiss on the swell of each breast.

Then he slid the straps of her bra down her shoulders and unhooked it. As her b.r.e.a.s.t.s sprang free she resisted the impulse to cover herself with her arms, feeling shy again. She had never made love to anyone apart from Ian and no other man-bar her doctor-had ever seen her naked. What if she didn't know how to please him? What if he was put off by her post-baby figure?

He sat down on the bed and pulled her closer so she was standing between his legs. Then he peeled off his T-shirt, revealing a tanned, muscular chest. Every muscle was clearly perfectly defined, his upper arms evidence of a man whose body was used to daily hard physical activity.

Finally he eased her satin slip over her hips. It slithered onto the floor. Now she was standing before him naked except for her panties. Any reservations she'd had melted away when she saw the look in his eyes and knew he found her beautiful.

His thumbs followed a lazy path over her hip bones and his lips traced a path along her abdomen until eventually they found her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. He took each nipple in his mouth in turn, teasing with his tongue until Georgie moaned with the pleasure of it.

'You take my breath away, Georgie McArthur,' he said against her skin, and she knew it would be all right.

As if unable to stop himself, he gathered her onto his lap and, falling backwards on the bed, rolled her beneath him, raining kisses on her face and body. She ached to be closer to him. She fumbled at the b.u.t.ton of his jeans but her fingers couldn't get a grip because she could not stop herself from pressing against him. Reluctantly, it seemed, he tore himself away from her and slipped a hand into his jeans pocket and pulled out a condom.

She drank him in, admiring the long, lean length of his legs as he yanked off his jeans and boxers. Seconds later, he was beside her again. His legs were long with powerful thighs, his desire for her evident.

Teasingly, he brushed his hands up the inner part of her thigh until every nerve ending was on fire. Then at last, almost when she couldn't bear it any longer, he hooked his fingers under the lace at the top of her panties and eased them down.

Georgie closed her eyes. She heard him groan as he lifted himself off her again for a few agonising seconds. When she heard the wrapper rip, she knew he was protecting them both.

Then his hands were all over her again and she responded, revelling in the hardness of him under her fingertips, his male scent. Just when she thought she could bear it no more, that she would explode with her need for him, he parted her legs and was inside her.

Much later they lay in each other's arms, sated. The rain lashed outside, but lying in the circle of Logan's arms Georgie felt safe and at peace. She trailed her fingertips across his chest and down towards his abdomen to where the dark hair was thicker. Propping herself on her elbow, she followed the touch of her hands with small kisses, ever downwards.

He moaned and wrapped his hand in her hair. Then once more they lost themselves in each other.

Later still, as they lay listening to the rain in a tangle of sheets, Georgie started to talk.

'It happened three years ago,' she began. Suddenly she was back in that dreadful, horrific night.

Logan stroked her hair, waiting for her to continue.

'Ian, Jess's father, my husband...' she swallowed hard '...was a member of the mountain rescue team based in Fort William. We both were. That's how we met.' She smiled, remembering Ian's cheeky grin and how he'd refused to take no for an answer when he'd asked her out. 'We both loved the mountains. Both of us had spent most of our lives climbing and there was nothing either of us loved more. We often went on rescues together, kind of watching each other's backs, you know. Kirk didn't really like it that we were both on the team. He thought it might cause one of us to make a bad decision to protect the other.'

'Go on,' he said gently.

Georgie wrapped herself in the sheet and perched on the end of the bed.

'Ian just laughed. He told Kirk that it was more likely I would have to rescue him than the other way round. He said I was like a cat on the mountains.' A familiar stab of loss jarred her heart, but as he tugged her gently back down beside him and cradled her in his arms, the telling became easier.

'We were together for a few years before we got married-we were busy with our careers. He was a doctor at the hospital at Fort William where I worked as a nurse and we continued to climb and go out with the mountain rescue team. We had some scary moments but we always managed, with the rest of the team, to come through. There was something very fulfilling about helping people who shared our love of the mountains. But we didn't-couldn't-always save everyone. People always underestimate the mountains in Scotland. There is at least one death every winter, sometimes more. And sometimes in the summer too. The days can seem so benign that climbers and walkers don't recognise the danger. Of course, we understood the risks involved in the rescues, but we had confidence in our ability and each other. And loving the mountains as we did, we could never blame folk for wanting to be out there. I guess it must be like that for people in the army too.'

A shadow crossed Logan's face. 'I know what you're saying,' he said heavily. 'Most join the army because they love the life. They know they put their lives in danger everyday when they are in a war zone and they do it without hesitation to help their fellow soldiers. The bravery and courage of these men is humbling. But there are some who don't really appreciate the danger until they are out there. The reality of shooting at live targets and being shot at. And even when they do, they stay because they feel it is their duty. Then there are the NHS volunteers, ordinary men and women who put their lives on hold for months so that they can be there to help wherever they are needed. I have met some of the bravest men and women I know in the army.' The desolate look in his eyes was back. Georgie wanted to banish it, the same way he had banished her loneliness.

'It must make my fear seem very trivial,' Georgie said feeling a little ashamed.

'As I said earlier, the really brave people are those who feel fear yet face it anyway. Those who never feel fear are a rare breed-or crazy.' He touched her arm, letting his long fingers trail down to her hand. Her skin burned where he touched her. She smiled at him.

'Like you? I can't imagine you being scared of anything.'

Logan grinned. 'Believe me, there are situations that frighten the h.e.l.l out of me. But we were talking about you.'

'Jess came along after we'd been married for a couple of years. Obviously when I was heavily pregnant I had to stop climbing, let alone going out on rescues. In fact, Kirk and Ian stopped me going out on rescues as soon as they knew I was pregnant.' She shook her head, remembering well how cross she had been at first, until she'd realised that they were right. The more the other members of the team worried about her, the more she'd be putting everyone's life at risk.

'Then, of course, having a small baby made it equally impossible. And strangely enough the first time I climbed after Jess's birth, I began to feel nervous. I think it must be something to do with being a mother. It's as if you know your child needs you alive or something.'

Logan pulled her down beside him and turned on his side. There faces were barely inches apart and she could feel his warm breath on her skin. He looked at her intently. It was as if he knew she was coming to the hard part.

'One winter, just before Jess's first Christmas, the team got a call. Two ice climbers hadn't returned from their climb. It was dark and there was a weather front moving in. They had been advised against the climb by locals earlier in the day, but they didn't listen.' Her eyes closed as the memory of that day rushed back in excruciating detail.

'To cut a long story short, Ian went out with the team. Kirk was leading, of course. Although the weather had worsened they thought they would have enough time to get to the ice waterfall where the men were climbing.' Georgie sucked in a painful breath.

'But the weather turned to blizzard conditions much sooner than anyone expected. Ian lost his footing, no one knows how, and went over the side. Kirk and the rest of the team tried to reach him, but no matter how they tried they couldn't even see him. The weather was too bad for the RAF to help. There was nothing else for it but to wait until daybreak to try again.' Georgie's throat felt as if it was being sliced with razor blades. She remembered every minute of that long night. The slow ticking of the clock. Wondering if Ian was injured, alive even and slowly freezing to death. Kirk had refused to leave the mountain, saying he couldn't leave Ian alone, and she and her mother had worried about him too. That night Georgie hadn't known whether she was going to lose a husband and a brother.

'The waiting was the worst part. As soon as it was light, the team went out again, and the weather had cleared sufficiently for the RAF to send a helicopter. They wouldn't take me, so I made someone I knew take me out in their light plane. I think I swore and screamed. Anything to make him take me.' She paused, taking a moment to moisten her lips.

'As soon as I could, I was on the plane, searching along with everyone else. Hoping to catch a glimpse of his red jacket in the snow. But a couple of inches had fallen overnight and if Ian was out there, we just couldn't find him.' This time she couldn't help the tears from falling as she remembered those desperate hours, knowing that every minute that pa.s.sed made the possibility of finding him alive more remote.

Logan watched her steadily, not saying anything. Only the pressure of his fingers on the small of her back told her he was aware of her pain.

'We found him eventually. Two days later. Dead. The only consolation was finding out his neck was broken. He must have died instantly, so even if we'd got to him straight away, it wouldn't have made any difference.' She laughed bitterly. 'Some consolation, huh? My daughter would never know her father. And as for the climbers he had set out to rescue, they were found alive and well, having taken shelter in a bothy. Oh, I don't blame them, I don't blame anyone. I was mad with grief and mad with the world at first, but Mum made me realise I owed it to Jess to pull myself together so that's what I did. I guess my fear of small planes is rooted in the fear I felt as we looked for him. It just became a.s.sociated with small aircraft, the way these things do.'

He hugged her closer. 'I am so sorry, Georgie. That must have been hard.'

She managed a smile. 'The toughest couple of years of my life. I still miss him. I miss him when Jess is sick, or when she does something new. I find myself thinking, I wonder what Ian will think? Then it hits me all over again. But it is getting easier. People tell you when it first happens that time will heal and you can't believe them, but it does. I find myself remembering the good times and smiling. I'll never forget him, but it's time to move on. In many ways the new service we've been setting up has been a G.o.dsend. It's given me something to look forward to.' A ring of ice circled her heart as she said the words. What if Logan took her off the team? What if he decided her fear was too much of a risk?

'And now? How do you feel about being in a small aircraft now?'

'I think the fear of the fear was worse-if that makes sense?'

Logan nodded slowly. 'It will probably take a few trips before it goes completely, but I reckon you'll be okay.'

Georgie relaxed, not even realising she'd been holding her breath.

'Does that mean I'm still on the team?'

'I can't think of anyone else I'd rather have.' But as she smiled her relief he held up a hand. 'But I'm warning you, if at any time I think your fear is getting the better of you, you're off. I wouldn't want to do it, but if I thought the safety of the team was being compromised, I'd do it in a flash.'

Georgie nodded. Then she held out her hand. 'It's a deal,' she said.

Logan listened to the rhythmic sound of Georgie's breathing. He was shocked at the way this woman had crept under his skin. He had meant it to be a casual affair, something to pa.s.s the time until he was called back to the army, but now he knew he had been fooling himself.

She wasn't his typical woman. Mostly he sought women out who wanted as little from him as he was prepared to give, and that suited him fine. But Georgie was different. She had opened her heart to him, let him see her vulnerability, her fear and, ultimately, her courage.

He suppressed a groan. This wasn't what he had intended. To become involved with a woman who could no more pretend to be something she wasn't than he could walk on water. This was no casual affair for her. He was the first man she had slept with since her husband and that meant responsibility. What was he going to do?

He knew one thing for sure. He didn't want to let her go. Maybe Georgie could fill that missing place in his heart? The place that had been empty since he'd been two years old and his mother had left him. Maybe Georgie was what he had been waiting for all his life, without even knowing it?

He recoiled from the thought. Marriage. Responsibility. A ready-made family. Could he do it? Did he even have it in him? He hadn't been joking when he had told her that he was frightened of certain things. What she didn't know was that it was commitment. Family life. Settling down. There wasn't anything physically that frightened him as much as these words. What if he couldn't stick it? What if he was like his mother?

A couple of days ago she had rung him back. She had been polite but distant. She was glad to hear he was okay, but she had married and had a new family. None of them knew about him, and if he didn't mind, could they keep it that way? She was sorry she'd had to give him up, but she had been young and unable to cope. She was sure he would understand.

It hadn't been the conversation he had imagined in his head, but somehow it had helped. How could he really blame her for giving him up? She had been young and alone. He was different. Georgie was different. And there was no way he was going to walk away from Georgie the way his mother had walked away from him. Not now. For once he was going to open his heart and see where it took him. He had to try. For better or for worse.

CHAPTER EIGHT.

WHEN Georgie woke up she had no idea at first where she was. Then it all came flooding back. She was here on an island with Logan. And they had made love. Several times. She blushed as the images played out in her head. Turning her head, the empty expanse of the bed told her Logan had already risen.

She slid out of bed, wondering where he had got to. Seeing his discarded shirt on the floor, she slipped it over her head, inhaling the now familiar scent of him, and crossed to the window. Pulling the curtains open, she gasped with pleasure as the bright cloudless sky revealed a snow-white beach that seemed to stretch for miles. She flung the windows open and breathed in the smell of the sea. Waves lapped invitingly on the sh.o.r.e. Perhaps they would have time for a swim before they had to leave?

Making herself a coffee from the hospitality tray, she returned to the window. How would Logan be feeling this morning? Would he already be regretting taking her to bed? Would he be thinking that it compromised their working relationship? She would put him at ease. Right now, this was all she wanted. An interlude in her life. He would leave, she knew that, and that would be okay. She would miss him unbearably, but what was the alternative?

She caught sight of a figure on the beach. It was Logan running, bare-chested and barefoot. Her breath caught in her throat. Who was she kidding? She had fallen hook, line and sinker for this enigmatic man. It was as if she had, since Ian's death, being daydreaming her way through life. Now every fibre of her being tingled with excitement and a heady joy, and she didn't ever want to lose that feeling again. She would take every day with Logan as it came. And if it ended? Well, she would face that too. Sarah had been right. Far better to experience another wrenching loss than never to have experienced what the two of them had had last night.

Logan opened the door. His chest was gleaming with perspiration, highlighting each individual muscle, and Georgie felt her abdomen clench. Forcing herself to remain casual, she smiled at him, nodding towards the kettle.

'You were up early. Can I get you a coffee?

Logan was looking at her, his dark eyes alight. Self-consciously she tugged the shirt down, but Logan took a step towards her and slipped his hands underneath.

'I'm kind of sweaty after my run,' he murmured in her ear. 'How do you fancy taking a shower with me?' And then, laughing, they were moving, still clinging to each other, towards the bathroom, tugging feverishly at each other's clothes.

Much later, it was time for them to leave. Georgie phoned home to check Jess was okay and to tell her mother they'd be back for lunch.

'Did you have a good time, darling?' her mother asked softly.

Conscious of Logan watching her, a half-smile on his face, Georgie blushed to the tips of her toes.

'Yes,' she said softly. 'I'll tell you all about it when I see you.' Perhaps not all about it.

While Georgie was talking to her mother, Logan studied her. Her red hair was still damp from their shower and her cheeks glowed after their love-making. Something shifted inside him. He hadn't planned this. Oh, he had wanted to make love to her, almost as soon as he had met her, but he hadn't expected to feel this way. He had never imagined that she would take a hold on his heart. He closed his eyes. Images of their love-making flooded back. The way her body had responded to his, as if they were involved in a dance that only the two of them knew the tune to. And it wasn't just physical attraction either. She was brave and funny and vulnerable and dedicated. Unlike any woman he'd had a relationship with before-if you could call what he'd had before in his life relationships, that was. None of the other woman had made him feel this kind of connection. Not to the extent he felt connected to Georgie. It was as if he'd been looking for her all his life. That she was the missing half of his soul.

What now? This wasn't what he had intended or expected. Last night he'd thought that he would be able to take a chance, open his heart and see what happened, but had that just been the after-effects of the closeness they'd shared? After all, he wasn't into playing happy families and he knew without a shadow of doubt that Georgie wasn't into anything less. He groaned under his breath. Already he was in deeper than he had been before. Perhaps he should call a halt now before he was in over his head? But as Georgie finished her phone call and looked at him mischievously from those spectacular grey-blue eyes, he knew it was too late.

The sun was shining brightly by the time they were in the plane again and Logan was making his preparations for takeoff. Out of the corner of her eye, Georgie studied him as he concentrated on his final checks. A rush of happiness flowed through her, followed closely by a shiver of apprehension. What had she done? She could tell herself that it was just a casual fling until the cows came home, but she knew she'd be kidding herself. Somewhere along the way, she had fallen for this man. Fallen hard. And that definitely wasn't in the plan. She had to remember that he was everything she refused to have in her life...No. She was getting way ahead of herself. One night. That was it. And she would have to make sure it stayed that way. Far better to have some pain now then go through heartbreak later on.

As the engines whirled into action, Logan turned to her and flashed his heart-stopping grin.

'Nervous?' he asked, his eyes turning serious 'Not at all,' Georgie replied truthfully. And it was the truth. Her fear of planes had left her, almost as if it had never existed, and in its place was a much deeper fear. Fear of losing someone all over again.

As they drew up in front of her house, Georgie paused, her hand on the pa.s.senger door. Would he say anything? Or would they both pretend the night hadn't happened?

'Thank you for coming,' he said formally. 'I had a cool time.'

'So did I,' Georgie replied equally formally.

'Will you come to dinner with me tonight? I hear there's a new restaurant in merchant city that's getting rave reviews.'

Georgie shook her head regretfully. 'I don't think that's a good idea. Apart from anything else, I've just spent a night away from my daughter. It wouldn't be fair to ask Mum to look after her again.' She licked dry lips. She was being evasive when she owed it to him to be direct.

He frowned. 'What about tomorrow night? Or the night after that? Or I can wait until the weekend if you'd prefer? It will be a long week, but I'm a patient man-when I need to be.'

'I don't know. This has taken me by surprise. It's all happened so fast. I think we should step back for a bit.' She touched his hand. 'Give me some time, okay?'

His eyes locked on to hers. She saw surprise there, and determination.

He brought his hand to his forehead in a mock salute. 'Sure thing, ma'am,' he said lightly. 'But I'm not going to give up easily. As long as you understand that.'

CHAPTER NINE.

BACK at the hospital, the days pa.s.sed much as they had done before. To her chagrin-and hurt-Logan treated her as if the night on the island never happened. He was friendly, but no more or less than he was to his other colleagues. What else did she expect? She had told him she didn't want to be rushed, and all he had done was take her at her word. However, she couldn't quite convince herself. Perhaps he was relieved she had pulled away? Perhaps, having had time to reflect, he was glad she had been the one to call a halt?

Whatever. It was better this way. She would get over him. He would move on and she would return to her predictable, happy, safe life.

One afternoon, Lizzie asked if she could have a private word. She took her into the office and closed the door. She waited until Georgie had sat down.

'I haven't really told anyone yet, apart from close friends, but I'm pregnant, Georgie,' Lizzie said, smiling widely.

Georgie jumped up and hugged her. She had guessed that Lizzie would be hoping to start a family sooner than later. 'That's wonderful news! You must be so excited!'

Lizzie's grin grew wider. 'If you think I'm excited, you should see Stewart. He's already bought the cot.'

'How far on are you? Are you feeling okay?'

'I'm just past the twelve-week mark. And, yes, I'm feeling fine. I had a bit of morning sickness early on, but it's settled down now. Obviously I'm going to be taking time off-at least a year, maybe more-and that's why I wanted to talk to you.'