Reawakened by the Surgeon's Touch by Jennifer Taylor Page A

friend would lend her something to wear.
    She sighed as she pulled the clip out of her hair and shook it free. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had anything decent of her own to wear. Normally she wore scrubs in work and either overalls or one of the nuns’ dresses after she finished her shift. It was safer not to draw attention to herself when she was travelling to and from the hospital and the plain grey dresses the nuns wore allowed her a certain anonymity. However, all of a sudden she found herself wishing that she had something pretty to wear that night, something that would make her feel like a woman. And it was such a shock to want to proclaim her femininity that she felt fear sweep through her. She had honestly thought that she would never feel this way again, so what had changed? Was it the fact that the scars had started to heal and she was feeling more confident, or was there another reason?
    Unbidden a face sprang to her mind and her heart began to pound when she recognised Jude Slater’s handsome features. Did she want to look pretty and feminine for his sake? Hadn’t she learned her lesson, learned how foolish it was to allow a man that much power over her? Obviously not. However, there was no way that she was going down that road again. No way at all!
    * * *
    Jude collected his bag from the porch and made his way upstairs, pausing when he came to the first-floor landing. Sasha had told him that he could choose whichever bedroom he fancied but he didn’t want to invade anyone else’s territory. He had made enough gaffes for one day.
    Jude’s mouth thinned at the thought as he made his way along the landing. The doors to most of the rooms were standing open and it was obvious from the clutter lying around that they were in use. He came to a room halfway along the landing and glanced inside, pausing when he spotted Claire sitting on one of the beds. She had removed the clip and her blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders like a silken waterfall. Jude’s palms began to tingle as he stared at the shimmering mass of gold. How he ached to touch her hair, to bury his face in it and savour its softness...
    He forced himself to move on, feeling like the lowest kind of lowlife. She was a nun, for heaven’s sake! A woman who had taken a vow of chastity. Thoughts like that were totally abhorrent and needed to be nipped in the bud yet it was far more difficult than it should have been. Crazy though he knew it was, he couldn’t help wondering if she might be persuaded to change her mind about her chosen vocation...
    â€˜Idiot!’ Jude didn’t realise he had spoken out loud until a head poked round a door further along the corridor.
    â€˜Far be it from me to disagree with you, but that seems a tad harsh. Who or what is the idiot in question?’
    â€˜Me.’ A couple of strides took Jude to the room and to the owner of the head who turned out to be a man roughly his age with dark red hair and what looked like a million freckles on his face. Jude held out his hand and grinned ruefully. ‘I’m the idiot. I’m also Jude Slater, the new recruit. How do you do?’
    â€˜Nice to meet you, Jude.’ The man uncoiled himself and straightened up, towering over Jude’s not inconsiderable six-foot frame. ‘Matt Kearney at your service. As well as being one of the doctors, I’m the general dogsbody around here—I do a bit of this and a bit of that, plus a lot of the other. If there’s anything you need then I can usually get it for you. Within reason, of course.’
    â€˜That’s good to know.’ Jude laughed, taking an immediate liking to the other man. He glanced into the room, taking note of the colourful rugs on the bare floorboards and the bright cotton throw on the bed, and nodded. ‘Hmm, not an idle boast from the look of it. You’ve made it very cosy in there, I must say.’
    â€˜It all helps,