The Seduction Challenge. Sarah Morgan

things people said when they were trying to reassure each other.

      Everything was far from fine.

      ‘Here’s your bag.’ The young man was back beside her, looking at her expectantly.

      She almost laughed aloud. Did he expect her bag to contain magic powers?

      Weighed down by the knowledge that everyone was depending on her, she glanced over her shoulder towards the road, desperately praying that the ambulance would arrive quickly, but there was nothing but an eerie winter silence.

      Which meant that the man’s life depended on her and the very inadequate contents of her practice nurse’s bag.

      Lucy glanced down at her hands, which were slippery with the man’s blood. There was no way she could let go.

      ‘Inside the side pockets you’ll find some sterile dressing pads,’ she instructed, noticing that underneath the helmet the injured man was ghostly pale. He was losing a lot of blood and needed some fluids fast.

      And she didn’t have any—what else should she do?

      Elevate the bleeding part—but what with?

      This situation was way beyond her experience. And well beyond a few dressing pads.

      Where on earth was the ambulance?

      Her heart still thudding, Lucy snatched the pads from the young man and pressed down on the wound again.

      ‘There should be a bandage in there, too,’ she muttered. She had to stem the bleeding and she really ought to take another look at the two in the car.

      ‘Do you need help?’

      The deep voice came from behind her and she turned her head, blinking at the raw, male power of the man in front of her. Black leathers outlined broad, muscular shoulders and long, powerful legs. Another motorcyclist?

      He dragged off his helmet, revealing cropped dark hair and a pair of cool blue eyes that took in the situation in one glance. He dropped to his haunches and his face was close enough for her to see the dark growth shadowing the line of his hard jaw. He obviously hadn’t shaved recently. She frowned at her own thoughts and shook herself. Someone’s life was at risk and she was wondering when this man had last shaved?

      Was she going completely mad?

      It must be the shock.

      ‘Did you see it happen?’ His sharp tone brought her quickly back to the present and she shook her head.

      ‘No. But from the damage to the front of the car I guess it must have hit him.’ She tried to stop her teeth chattering. ‘The roads are very icy.’

      Those cool blue eyes flickered to the car, his expression serious. ‘How many in the car?’

      ‘Two.’

      ‘Have you checked them?’

      ‘Briefly.’ Lucy responded without question to the authority in his voice. ‘They were both shouting and yelling so I thought that this man seemed more urgent.’

      Dear God, she hoped she’d done the right thing. Her first aid was very rusty. What if the people in the car died because of her?

      But this motorcyclist would definitely die if she moved her hands.

      She swallowed. ‘This man has got a nasty laceration on his thigh and he’s bleeding from an artery. Oh, God, look…’ She stared helplessly at the pads under her fingers, which were already soaked through with blood. ‘What do we do?’

      ‘You keep pressing while I elevate the limb…’ The man wedged something under the injured leg and then briefly examined the young man with a skill and confidence that left her in no doubt as to his profession.

      ‘You’re a doctor,’ she mumbled with relief, and he gave her a brief smile.

      ‘For my sins.’ His gaze returned to the injured man. ‘This chap needs fluids urgently. How long ago did you call the ambulance?’

      Lucy bit her lip. ‘About five minutes? We phoned immediately.’

      ‘They ought to use the helicopter,’ he muttered, shifting his position slightly. ‘Why don’t you check the couple in the car again?’ He glanced up at the young man, who was still hovering. ‘Can you take over here and press on the wound? That would leave us free to check on the others.’

      Lucy opened her mouth to point out that the man had turned pale green at the sight of all the blood, but the doctor was already halfway through demonstrating the first aid for an arterial bleed, his tone brisk and matter-of-fact as he talked. His cool confidence seemed to have a positive effect on the driver and he was soon nodding agreement and preparing to take over from Lucy.

      Relieved that someone who clearly knew what he was doing was now in charge, she swapped places with the other man and looked ruefully down at her hands.

      ‘There’s a water bottle on my bike.’ The blue eyed doctor had noticed her predicament and she smiled at him gratefully.

      Seconds later she had cleaned up as best she could and was dealing with the people in the car.

      The woman passenger had already dragged herself out through the sun roof and was sitting on the grass verge, blood trickling from a wound in her scalp. Judging that she was obviously not in immediate danger, Lucy turned her attentions to the driver.

      After tugging at the door without success, she climbed onto the bonnet and talked to him through the sun roof.

      ‘Can you tell me where it hurts?’

      The man groaned, his face chalk-white. ‘My legs.’

      Lucy squinted down into the footwell, but the twisted metal stopped her seeing anything. ‘Can you wiggle your toes? Yes or no?’

      ‘Yes.’

      Well, that was something, but there was still always the risk that he’d damaged his spine.

      ‘How are we doing here?’ The doctor was suddenly by her side, his gaze calm and appraising as he looked at her. How could he be so cool about the whole situation? Her insides were totally knotted.

      ‘His legs are trapped, but he’s got feeling,’ she told him, sliding off the bonnet and straightening her clothes quickly. ‘But I’m worried about his neck and I can’t get the door open. The passenger climbed out through the sun roof.’

      ‘We’ll deal with him first, then,’ the doctor murmured, taking a firm grip of the doorhandle and bracing his broad shoulders. ‘Let’s see what we can do about the door, shall we?’

      Planting his foot on the car to give him extra leverage, he gave the door a powerful yank and it groaned open reluctantly. Noting the swell of muscle under his leathers, Lucy wondered how on earth she would have managed if he hadn’t come along. There was no way she could have opened that door.

      Having sorted out the door, he squatted down beside the injured man, asked a few questions and then straightened up again.

      Lucy looked at him anxiously. ‘Wh—what do you want me to do? Should we get him out?’

      ‘No way.’ The doctor shook his head decisively. ‘We need to immobilise his spine. We’ll leave him there until the ambulance arrives and we can get our hands on a spinal board.’

      Lucy’s gaze skidded towards the car and she lowered her voice. ‘What if the car catches fire?’

      His blue eyes gleamed slightly. ‘You’ve been watching too many movies. It does happen, of course, but very rarely, and the car seems OK in this case. We’ll keep an eye on it but I don’t want to move him until we can get some support on that neck. It’s the only part of him that’s really worrying me.’

      Lucy wondered what it must be like to have so much self-confidence. He didn’t seem at all daunted by the emergency situation they were facing. He just assessed each