Healing Hands Read online

  Sophie led him to her living room and sat herself on the comfy leather sofa placing her foot delicately on the foot stool for him to examine, she watched him as he expertly dressed and wrapped it not once causing pain, she studied him whilst he worked, she guessed age late twenty's he must work out other than riding as although his bottom was definitely a riders shape, his shoulders were broad and his arms very defined she started to imagine his torso but stopped herself and instead ogled his gorgeous thick brown hair instead, she would love to grab handfuls of it with him riding her. Eek this was bad and quite surprising for Sophie had not let a man so much as touch her since Jasper, the man had violated her in unimaginable ways and she couldn't ever contemplate allowing a man that close to her again so it made her feel quite optimistic that someone had penetrated her barriers enough to think it a possibility.

  Marcus sat back and admired his efficiency and handiwork “there, you are done, I am going to give you some tablets to ease the swelling and you need to take some more before bed and then again first thing tomorrow, you need a drink to wash them down so point me to the kitchen and after that I will make us both a coffee if that fine with you?” Sophie nodded at him and pointed to the door on the right, he walked into a cosy and cute country style kitchen and saw straight away she was a women with good taste in coffee as she had a state of the art machine on the counter. “ the coffee beans are in the freezer Dr Taylor, top drawer do you know how to work those machines as I will make it if not” Marcus had the exact replica at home so got to work.

  Ten minutes later they were both sat opposite ends of the sofa chatting happily and enjoying their drinks, “you did well Dr, this is as good as I make” Marcus confessed then to owning the same model at home. “where do you live Doc?” she asked politely “just over Menai Bridge close to Bangor” he replied,” but along the water’s edge, its handy to get to the Hospital for work” Sophie found herself wondering if his home was opulent or homely, she sighed knowing she would probably never get to find out as he was just a good Samaritan and she may never bump into him again. “and please call me Marcus” he said kindly “we may run into each other on the beach again and Dr makes me feel old , how often do you ride?”

  “every day usually unless its too windy or wet” she replied “I saw your horse being delivered yesterday” Marcus then explained he had just bought Jewel up from his mum's place in Cheshire as he never got home often enough to ride him it was Jewells first time on sand and he had not taken to it well but that now he was settled he hoped to ride more often “especially now” he thought. Sophie was sorry when he stood to leave “thank you for the house call Marcus, it was very considerate and well beyond the call of duty” he smiled at her feeling an emptiness at the thought of walking away she had a certain sadness or hurt in her that he wanted to mend somehow, he turned and let himself out “ bye Sophie I have left my card on your worktop if the swelling gets worse or you are at all worried just phone me and I will see about getting you in for an x ray” he sort of hoped she would but for purely selfish reasons as just being near her seemed to awake parts of his body he had thought were long devoid of feeling.

  The door closed behind him Sophie wanted to run to the door and ask him to stay for a while but as she couldn't run anyway it was a silly idea, she heard his car drive away and closed her eyes with a sigh, until next time Dr Taylor she thought. Marcus drove away determined to see her again he needed to see what her story was and why such a beauty was so forlorn and living in such a remote place, Sophie Sophie he thought what are you doing to me....

  Chapter 3 It was Friday and Marcus sat in his office at the hospital waiting for his shift to end it had been a long 12 hours since lunch time and all he wanted was a hot bath and a very long sleep, his mind wandered back to the events of Monday morning he had been riding twice since then and although he knew she wouldn't be there as her ankle would not be up to a ride he still half hoped to see her, Marcus had a sudden flutter inside wishing the weekend away so he could hopefully get to see her again.

  Tucked away in bed Sophie was just recovering from one of her crippling panic attacks brought on by the nightmares that persisted to haunt her daily, she sat up but for some reason this time she just wasn't recovering her breathing and she was beginning to feel dizzy and nauseous she jumped out of bed to get to the bathroom before she threw up but tripped on the rug next to her bed she fell hard and whacked her head on the bedside table darkness swallowed her up. Sometime later Sophie opened her eyes she knew she didn't feel right her head was thumping and she felt a sticky patch where she had hit her head , crawling to her phone she wondered who to call, she didn't want an ambulance as her records would reveal exactly who she was and it held all her history of mysterious injuries and would raise questions, she only knew Charlotte and Marcus and it was a bit late to phone Charlotte so she dialled her good Samaritan hoping he wasn't on night shifts his tired but gruff voice answered “ Dr Taylor” he snapped Sophie hesitated unsure she should bother him as he didn’t sound very happy but she was feeling really strange and was struggling to stay awake “hi Doctor I am sorry to bother you its Sophie here I didn't know who to ring, I don't know anyone else, I feel totally stupid and you are going to think I am the clumsiest idiot around but I fell over and banged my head I must have passed out and have just woken up but I’m struggling to keep my eyes open now” before she could say any more he told her he would come straight away as he was on his way home after his shift so he could be with her in 20 minutes, she told him where the spare door key was hidden under the plant pot and before she hung up she felt the blackness descending again.

  Marcus was suddenly wide awake all thoughts of hot baths behind him as he raced to Sophie’s house he had shouted down the phone when she didn’t hang up properly and knew she must have passed out again, he contemplated calling an ambulance but he was nearer and sould call from the house if she needed to be airlifted or anything so he drove like a maniac and arrived faster than he had planned, he grabbed his bag and he retrieved the key from its hiding place and shot up the stairs to find Sophie curled up on the bedroom floor he had no time to take in the fact she was wearing nothing but a t shirt and panties before he scooped her up and lay her on the bed he could tell she was breathing and her pulse was strong, he shone his light into her eyes and the pupils showed good reactions, it didn't look like a fracture but she had a lump and small cut just above her eyebrow, he used a cooling pad he had in his bag and held it gently to her head trying to coax her awake. The cut was not deep enough for stitches so he just cleaned the wound with antiseptic wipes, as he studied her more closely he noticed she had scars that were quite new around her wrists that looked to be from some type of restraint he ran his eyes over her exposed flesh and noticed that at the top of her thighs she had small scars that looked like burn marks he desperately wanted to examine the rest of her but resisted the urge as he felt a sudden burst of rage as he was starting to work out the reasons that this beautiful girl was so frail and isolated someone close to her had abused her at some point, he wanted to snap them in two as the anger began to overpower him he noticed her eyes were fluttering so he swallowed his emotions back as he didn't want to startle her.

  As Sophie opened her eyes she looked into those of her Good Samaritan “another house call Dr you must be an angel” she knew she was still feeling odd as he seemed to have two heads, he was so gorgeous she was enjoying seeing both of them. “What happened how did you fall?” Sophie tried to explain without going into detail about the cause of the panic attack and the need to vomit. Again Marcus had to fight back the anger as he imagined the abuse that would drive her to suffer with panic attacks to the point of throwing up, he wanted to wrap his arms around her but instinctively Sophie drew her hands to herself and huddled into a ball pulling the covers over her as she was suddenly acutely aware of her partial nudity and the range of emotions she saw crossing Marcus face was disturbing her, Marcus pulled himself together sensing her unease with his
mood,“ You don't need stitches Sophie but I need to sit with you for a while to make sure you don't fall asleep or vomit, just to be sure you don't have a serious concussion.”

  Sophie relaxed a little as Marcus kicked off his shoes and lay back against the headboard keeping a polite distance from her physically, he chatted amiably with her for the next hour or so, he discovered Sophie was 24 years old she had grown up around the Manchester area she spent every year holidaying here, she was a good student and had achieved an MBA in business studies, he wondered what happened during the gap between her graduation and living here, she seemed to have plenty of money but no career? He didn't push for an answer but those missing two years were puzzling. Marcus was quite surprised to discover she had been raised by a single mum who was a successful business woman whom he knew of in the world of media she had obviously been a huge influence on the direction Sophie had taken in her studies.

  Sophie watched Marcus as he talked about his medical studies and his swift rise to become a renowned surgeon from a middle class background, he was 29 years old and had transferred from a small hospital in Cheshire for the larger Bangor Hospital she could have listened to him talk all night but her eyes were failing her.

  The next thing Sophie knew she heard her mobile trilling next to her bed she sat up too quickly and the pain thudded through her head, she was suddenly aware of the sound of her shower rumbling away, Marcus must had fallen asleep next to her on the bed, typical the most sexy man she had seen in her life had spent the night in her bed and she had been oblivious to the whole thing! She grabbed the phone “mum hi how are you?” Diane Merchant was a formidable woman hardened by her time in the city of London battling her way through sexist red tape and male ego's to become a respected individual and she loved her daughter to death she checked on her every day since the attack. “Sophie did I wake you up? I have been in the office for 2 hours already, I hope you are not wallowing honey you need to start living now do I need to come and visit?” “Mum I'm fine really I had a night out with friends and it was late when we got in that’s all” Sophie’s mum was thrilled she was making new friends at last, oblivious to the lie she was just so happy to have her daughter back in her life, the trauma Sophie had suffered shot pains in her heart every time she thought about them she hated Jasper from the start but not once since did she say “I told you so” she had dropped everything on that awful day she had got the call to say she was in hospital recovering from a near strangulation at his hands and ever since she had been there for her recovery and had been the one to suggest Anglesey as it was a place they both loved she resisted the urge to go with her as she knew Sophie had the inner strength to beat this but being mollycoddled would not do her any favours.

  Marcus stepped out of the bathroom and was immediately stopped in his tracks at the sight of the tiny beauty staring straight into his eyes blushing profusely, she was on the phone and it sounded like she didn't want to have to explain the presence of a man in her bedroom so he went back in the bathroom discreetly.

  “Yes mum I am making friends no job yet but I will keep you posted, and no I don't need you to sort me out I will speak to you later bye love you”

  Marcus tentatively stepped out again “is it safe?” he asked amused at her expression Sophie relaxed visibly and smiled at him shyly “mother!” she got up carefully as her head still pulsed and held on to the headboard as she felt a little dizzy, Marcus handed her two painkillers and a glass of water “thank you Doc I really need to shower I think I shall manage it without incident hopefully, if you need to shoot off its fine you have done enough looking after the disabled person now” Marcus smiled at her sarcasm and when she was safely in the bathroom he dressed, he had struggled to keep his erection hidden from her, a sign of his appreciation of her in panties and her very delightful derrière. “Coffee is required “ he decided and went down to settle his emotions and hopefully settle his obvious arousal.

  Chapter 4 Sophie stood under the warm water letting it wash away the rest of the dried blood from her hair line, she was still in shock that a man had slept the night on her bed she hardly knew, yet it didn't disturb her at all, there was something lovely about her guardian angel he had eyes you could not only drown in but that seemed to command trust immediately, she had never felt safer than she did at this moment.

  Drying herself she raked through her drawers for some matching underwear, thanks to Jasper she had a substantial array of sexy lace underwear and the largest selection of designer clothes she could ever desire, she made sure she took all her favourites with her when she fled it would have been a shame to leave them behind. The most revealing and fetish style underwear she didn’t of course bring with her too many painful memories attached to those and she vowed that she would never degrade herself for a man that way again no matter how much he begged. She settled on her favourite pink set that gave her unrequired uplift, when she was a teenager she hated her breasts as the boys always spoke to them rather than her face, she knew despite her above average intellect men would always prefer a fondle than a conversation. Tugging on her best jeans and a snug v neck navy sweater she combed through her hair and roughly braided it to the side pulled on her vans and trotted downstairs following the aroma of coffee.

  As she entered the kitchen Marcus took in her snug jumper that clung perfectly on her tight body the bottom of the v showed enough of her delectable cleavage that his hard work of calming his arousal was all but lost and the effect was making him twitch on the stool, her jeans showed off her toned legs and perfect behind and her hair pulled back showed off her glorious bone structure and edible neck, a pair of inquisitive stunning green eyes smiled sweetly at him she seemed aware of his approving perusal and came to sit on the stool next to him where her coffee awaited. “I need to thank you for all your help this past week you have done way more than necessary please allow me to repay you somehow maybe I could cook something for you one evening?” Marcus was thrilled she wanted to spend more time with him he knew she was not the type to be swept off her feet this was a girl who needed slow careful baby steps to develop the relationship he was hoping for with her.

  “I am back on day shifts from Monday so my evenings are free, but it is possible you could repay me with a huge favour, I would end up owing you until eternity if you agreed” Sophie was intrigued “fire away doc”

  “my sister Beatrice is getting married next weekend July 20th and they gave me a plus one invite I have nobody to take and rather than sit through endless digs at my persistently single status, you would shut them up and impress them at the same time, what do you think?”

  A wedding was probably the last thing she needed at the moment, seeing people happy and in love made her very aware of how her innocence had been taken and she would never be able to find that fairy tale after she had been scarred so badly, still she really did owe this man for saving her a very tricky hospital trip not once but twice. “OK doc when and where?”

  The wedding was going to take place at a stately home in knutsford Cheshire, the ceremony would be at 3pm then a dinner and dance in the evening they would need to stay over but his parents had booked out a hotel and he could ask for two rooms, it sounded amazing although Sophie was worried about spending a whole weekend with a man she barely knew but she loved the idea of it at the same time. Marcus took her hand and looked serious for a moment.

  “I have to confess something before we go that may be mentioned to you and I wouldn't want you to feel awkward and unprepared,” he paused took a breath “ I was married to my sisters best friend Livvy up until 5 years ago, we were very young very much together from the age of 14 and we married as soon as we could both aged 19” he paused again and seemed to struggle to continue Sophie in the meantime had started to hold her breath waiting for him to tell her they were in trial separation and still had feelings for her but what came out was unexpected. “she was taken from me “ he stopped again and looked at her with a tormented expression, “we had a row during her
birthday party she accused me of flirting with a fellow student which I of course wasn’t, she stormed off straight to my brother and in an attempt to make me jealous she kissed him, my brother and I had a strange relationship we were very close but he was a troubled teen and had some bad times, according to him I was the golden boy and he always resented me so of course he took the opportunity she gave him and thoroughly enjoyed the kiss. My temper just blew and we started fighting while we were distracted Livvy panicked and raced off in my sports car and wrapped it round a tree” Sophie found it hard to resist reaching out to comfort him as his anguish was palpable she stroked his hand “we heard her roar away and I jumped in Duncans car to follow her knowing she was well over the limit but I was too late by the time I got to her she was dead”

  Sophie was horrified he obviously held himself responsible “Marcus you had no way of stopping that everyone rows she chose to run off you can't blame yourself” she held on to his trembling hand and stroked it rhythmically. Marcus was taken aback by the contact and surprised at the depth of emotion she had in her eyes “it was my fault I should never have let him get to me like that” he was in a flood of emotion at this point, Sophie stood up went round to him and held him gently he lay his head in the crook of her neck relishing the much needed intimacy, he looked into her eyes then and she gasped her lips parted and he couldn't stop himself he thrust his mouth on to hers and they began to kiss tenderly their tongues delicately tasting each other, Sophie pulled away gasping for breath “Jesus Christ” she stepped back grabbing the breakfast bar to steady herself, she was slightly mollified when she noticed he was just as badly effected. He shook himself off “wow that was unexpected” he downed his drink and stood up, he stepped closer to her and brushed his fingertips along her cheek and then lips, he wanted to grab her throw her over his shoulder and carry her up to bed but that would have to wait, and after his revelation he didn't think now was the right time to get amorous, she was receptive to him of that he was sure but he knew she was special and required restraint on his part if he was to break down her barriers. “ I need to get back home I need a fresh change of clothes and people will be wondering where I have got to, I will phone you later with details for next weekend ” he had slipped back into formal mode panicking that he had been too forward and had scared her off but she was looking at him as if he was a miracle, “Marcus I know you need to go that was bad timing but I hope that will happen again one day” she leant forward kissed his cheek and went back upstairs to lie down and recover, the door shut quietly as he left she hugged herself , maybe she wasn't ruined for life after all because at that moment she would have done anything he asked and longed to feel him all over and inside her, “ a miracle “ she thought and closed her eyes as the tears came, happy ones for a change.