Free Sydney Harbour Hospital: Lexi's Secret by Melanie Milburne Page A

few moments each day. I wanted to do well but she wasmore important. So don’t talk to me about my lack of ambition. Sometimes there are situations that require sacrifice, not ambition at the cost of those you love. I chose the former, so shoot me.’
    It was a great exit line and Lexi used it. She pushed past the knot of people blocking the exit and stumbled out into the street. But home was the last place she wanted to be. She wasn’t ready to face her father after this evening’s revelations.
    Right now she desperately needed to be alone.

CHAPTER FIVE
    S AM was walking along the corridor after finishing a ward round on the following Monday afternoon when he saw Lexi coming towards him. As soon as she saw him she swiftly turned on her heel and started walking quickly back the way she had come.
    ‘Lexi, wait,’ he said, increasing his strides to catch up. ‘Can I have a quick word?’
    She stopped and turned, sending him a hard little glare. ‘I’m on my way to visit Bella.’
    ‘Bella’s resting,’ he said. ‘I’ve just been in to see her. She’s having some oxygen to boost her levels. Just give me a couple of minutes, OK?’
    She let out a long hissing breath. ‘All right, if you insist.’
    ‘I insist,’ Sam said. ‘But not here in the corridor.’ He pushed open the door of the on-call room and waited for her to go in.
    Lexi brushed past him with her head at a haughty angle. ‘This had better not take long,’ she said.
    ‘It won’t, I promise.’
    Sam closed the door and allowed himself the luxury of sweeping his gaze over her. She was breathtakingly beautiful, dressed in corporate wear that on another woman could have looked conservative and boringbut on her looked absolutely stunning. The prim white blouse hugged her breasts and the narrow skirt teamed with high heels gave her a sexy secretary look that was distinctly distracting. Her perfume drifted towards him as she folded her arms across her body and a tendril of hair escaped from the neat chignon she had fashioned at the back of her swan-like neck. Everything about her fired his blood to fever pitch. It was impossible to be in the same room as her and not want to take her in his arms and kiss her senseless.
    His body remembered every contour and curve of hers: her sensual mouth and the way it had fed so hungrily off his; her soft hands with their dancing fingertips that had set his skin on fire; the way her long, slim legs had wrapped around his waist as he’d plunged into her hot moistness; the way her body had gripped him tightly as if she’d never wanted to let go; the way her hips had moved in time with his, her breathing just as frantic as his own gasps; the way her platinum-blonde hair had spread like a halo around her head in the throes of passion; and the way she had gasped his name, her body convulsing in ultimate pleasure, triggering his own cataclysmic release. No matter how hard he tried he couldn’t remove the memory of her touch from his mind, much less his body. She wore another man’s ring but, heaven help him, he still wanted her.
    She tapped her foot on the floor impatiently. ‘Well?’
    Sam let out a long breath. ‘Lexi, I owe you an apology. I should’ve come to see you before I left for the States. It was wrong of me to just up and leave like that. I didn’t think about your end of things at all. I just believed what your father said about you and left it at that. I realise now that I should’ve at least listened to your side.’
    Her blue eyes were still hostile, the set of her shoulders stiff with tension. ‘Is that all?’
    ‘No, it’s not all,’ Sam said. ‘I took on board what you said about the sacrifices you’ve made to protect Bella.’
    She didn’t move or speak, just stood there watching him silently, accusingly.
    Sam took another breath and slowly released it. ‘I should’ve realised the adjustments you’ve had to make,’ he said. ‘I know more than most how the squeaky wheel gets the oil