Reawakened by the Surgeon's Touch by Jennifer Taylor Read Free Book Online

when she didn’t reply. ‘Look, I don’t want to rush you but I would like to take a shower this side of Christmas, if it’s all right with you.’
    â€˜Yes, of course. Sorry.’ A rush of colour swept up her face as she hurried on. ‘You need to sign in every time you come into work and sign out again each time you leave. The sheets are kept in the office, so if you could sign out after you finish up here that would be great.’
    â€˜And what do I do after that?’ He shrugged when she looked blankly at him. ‘Am I supposed to stay in the hospital, or what? I’ve no idea about our living arrangements.’
    â€˜Oh, I see. I should have explained it all to you before, but things got a bit hectic after we found the truck—’ She broke off, obviously reluctant to talk about what had gone on earlier.
    Jude sighed as he realised that his assessment had been spot on. She did harbour a grudge about the way he had railroaded her and it was going to make life extremely stressful in the coming weeks if she didn’t get over it. He was just debating whether he should rustle up some sort of apology when she continued.
    â€˜The Worlds Together team doesn’t actually live in the hospital. They use the old college as their base, so you’ll be staying there.’
    â€˜I see. And how do I get there? Do I walk, in which case I’ll need directions. Or is there transport available?’ he asked, deciding there was no point worrying about what might happen. He would just have to take each day as it came and hope that she would do the same.
    â€˜You’ll be ferried to and from the hospital in one of the trucks. It not only saves time but it’s safer.’ She glanced at her watch and frowned. ‘In fact, the day shift should be leaving in about ten minutes’ time, so you can catch a lift back to the college with them.’
    â€˜It doesn’t sound as though it’s going to be a whole lot of fun working here if we have to sign in and out, and use only the official form of transport,’ Jude observed dryly. ‘The last time I had restrictions like these imposed on me, I was at boarding school.’
    â€˜We aren’t here to have fun, Dr Slater. We’re here to help the people of this country. It certainly won’t help them if you get yourself killed.’
    â€˜It wouldn’t be too great from my point of view, either,’ Jude retorted. She had the knack of making him feel as though he was lacking in some way and it wasn’t a feeling he enjoyed. ‘Anyway, I’d better take that shower,’ he said, swinging round. ‘I’d hate to blot my copybook again by keeping everyone waiting.’
    â€˜You’ll be picked up outside the main doors. I’ll let the driver know you’re coming,’ she said shortly, ignoring his final comment.
    Jude sighed as she left, aware that it had been extremely childish to say that. There was no point antagonising her when they were going to have to work together. It was just that he wasn’t used to people taking such an obvious dislike to him and definitely not a woman. Despite the fact that he made no bones about the fact that he wasn’t interested in commitment, most women seemed to enjoy his company and were eager to spend time with him, but not this woman. He’d got the distinct impression that she had only come to find him out of a sense of duty and the thought rankled. He turned on the water, wondering why he was so bothered about her opinion. It shouldn’t have mattered a jot what she thought of him but it did. He wanted her to like him—how pathetic was that?
    Jude finished showering and dressed then made his way to the front entrance. There was a group of people sitting on the steps, obviously waiting to be collected, so he went and joined them. One of the women grinned at him as he sat down.
    â€˜So you’re the new guy, are you? I