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

Claire was a nun!

CHAPTER FOUR
    C LAIRE COULD FEEL Jude Slater staring at her although she didn’t look at him. Seeing him standing in the changing room had awoken feelings that she had never imagined she would experience again. She had honestly thought that she was incapable of feeling desire after what Andrew had done, but there was no point pretending. The sight of Jude’s leanly muscular body had unlocked a whole host of emotions and now she just wanted to forget about them.
    When Javid Khan asked her what had happened on the way back from the airfield, she sighed under her breath. She would have preferred not to talk about what had gone on but she could hardly say so in case it started people speculating. The last thing she wanted was everyone thinking that she had a problem with Dr Slater even if it were true.
    â€˜It was a bit of a rough ride,’ she said lightly, trying to avoid going into detail. ‘Basically, the rebel fighters had set up a trap and we walked straight into it. We were lucky to get back here.’
    â€˜That’s an understatement if ever I heard one.’ Javid grinned at her. ‘I saw the state of that truck. There were so many bullet holes in it that you could have used it as a colander!’
    Everyone laughed, although Claire noticed that Jude didn’t join in. She shook her head when Kelly asked her how the driver was doing. ‘I wasn’t there during surgery, so you’ll have to ask Dr Slater.’
    Kelly repeated the question to Jude and Claire felt her heart skip a beat when she heard the edge in his voice as he explained that although the driver had come through the operation, the next twenty-four hours were critical. She shot him a wary glance but for some reason he seemed reluctant to look at her. Claire frowned as she studied the rigid set of his jaw. He hadn’t looked this uptight when they had been fleeing from their attackers, so what was wrong with him?
    The question nagged away at her for the rest of the journey. When the driver pulled up in front of the college, Claire realised that she wouldn’t be able to rest until she found out the answer. Maybe it had nothing to do with her but the least she could do was to ascertain if Jude had some sort of a problem. After all, she was supposed to be helping him settle in and, so far, she had done very little towards that goal.
    She told the driver that she had decided to spend the night at the college and followed the others out of the truck. She had stayed there many times before, mainly when there had been a problem getting back to the convent. There was no real reason why she should continue living there, in fact. Her role as an observer for the WHO had long since ended but it had seemed easier to stick to the arrangements. She knew that the nuns had come to rely on her. Most of them were elderly and she helped out as much as she could with the children they cared for. What would happen when she left Mwuranda was open to question but she knew that the nuns wouldn’t be able to continue running the orphanage if they didn’t get extra help.
    â€˜Oh, great! You’ve decided to stay over, have you?’ Lesley looped her arm through Claire’s as they walked into the building together.
    â€˜I thought it’d be easier than asking the driver to take me all the way back to the convent,’ she explained, skirting around the real reason for her change of plans. She glanced round when Jude and Sasha followed them inside and couldn’t help noticing that once again he avoided looking in her direction.
    â€˜I don’t know why you don’t move in with us,’ Lesley declared. ‘Oh, I know you like to help the sisters, but they’re going to have to do without you at some point, Claire. You’re due to return to England soon, aren’t you?’
    â€˜I suppose so.’
    â€˜Don’t you want to go home?’ Lesley demanded, frowning. ‘I’d