by Lauren Canan
“Thank you.” Holly sat on the edge of her bed and stared at the baby. If he had a guess, he’d bet she wouldn’t sleep tonight.
Chance nodded, closed the bedroom door behind him and headed for the stairs. He wanted to take another look at the clinic and see if he could pick up on anything he may have overlooked the first time when he was hurrying to try to catch the perp. The clinic might be a target for whatever drugs she kept on hand, but the damage done was far and above just someone looking for drugs. Somebody wanted to do damage. A lot of damage.
Nodding to the deputy standing guard at the front entrance of the clinic, Chance again looked at the damage covering the counters and floor.
“Have you checked the fridge?” he asked the deputy. “I was thinking this might be about narcotics.”
“Yes, sir,” the officer respectfully replied. “We haven’t checked each item off a list but it appears that area of the lab was about the only part untouched. I had the same thought that it was somebody looking for drugs, but apparently not. This whole thing is really strange.” He looked at Chance. “I’ve known Kevin most of my life. Both he and Holly were very organized. In the drawer containing sedatives and pain relievers not one vial was out of place, no bottles turned over. So more than likely this wasn’t about pharmaceuticals or theft. That narrows the suspects considerably.”
Yes, Chance thought as he bid the officer good-night. It certainly did.
When he returned to the ranch house, he reset the alarm and went upstairs to check on Holly. When a knock on the bedroom door didn’t get an answer, he opened it. The room was dark. The ambient light let him see that the baby was again sound asleep. Holly had removed her jeans and boots, but she still sat on the side of the bed, clad in a T-shirt, her hands folded in her lap. He couldn’t see her face, but he would bet she was crying. For someone who had worked so long and hard to accomplish her dream, to find it trashed must have been devastating.
“Holly?” He walked toward the bed.
“Who would do that, Chance?” Her voice was so soft he had to strain to hear. “They weren’t hurting me. They were taking away medical care for dozens of innocent animals. Who would do that?”
“I don’t know, but eventually the sheriff will figure it out.”
She couldn’t sit like this all night. She’d had a shock and needed to get some sleep. He walked to the far side of the bed and pulled down the covers.
“Come on. Climb in and try to go to sleep.”
As though hypnotized, she stood and walked around to that side of the bed. He covered her with the comforter and turned to leave.
“Will you stay?”
Chance hesitated. “I’m not sure that would be a good idea.”
Holly nodded and looked down at her hands. Shit. Under the circumstances, how could he say no?
“Scoot over next to Emma’s bed.”
When she complied, he removed his boots and lay down on top of the bedding. He understood her need for his presence. The break-in made her feel as though she herself had been attacked. She felt unsafe and vulnerable.
For maybe the first time in his adult life, he stretched out on a bed next to a beautiful woman and sex never entered his mind.
Nine
Mondays were always busy. This one was insanity. The pet owners she couldn’t reach showed up with their dogs and cats and iguanas and pigs to be told the clinic was closed. The more severe cases were referred to the clinic in the next county.
By nine o’clock the police were doing their follow-up inspection, inside and out. Holly sat outside under a tree answering the phone while Kevin spoke with the officers and tried to wrap his mind around the destruction. Amanda, bless her, was at Chance’s house with Emma after Chance assured her there was cable and a couple of flat-screens and she could help herself to anything in the kitchen.
A little after two that afternoon the claims adjuster arrived and began the process of assessing the damage so a dollar figure could be determined.
By the end of the day, Holly was exhausted. But Chance had once again stepped into the role of protector and became her rock, just as he had when she was ten and a bully had tried to take her lunch. She noticed even Kevin asked for his opinion several times.
Dinner that evening was prepared by the Masterses’ chef on the outdoor grill. It smelled heavenly, making her realize she hadn’t eaten all day. But at least the worst was over. New equipment had been ordered and would start arriving tomorrow, again thanks to Chance. Holly had argued vehemently against taking money from him but finally agreed on behalf of the animals and Kevin, whose family depended on the business’s income. She did, too, but she also had a small inheritance from Aunt Ida and only Emma to care for, versus three kids and a mortgage. She and Kevin would just sign the insurance check over to Chance when it came. The clinic, while strangely bare, was clean and ready for the new equipment to be installed.
Emma was fretful for the first time Holly could remember.
“What’s wrong with her?” Chance asked. “Is she sick?”
“I don’t think so,” Holly said. “I think it’s because she’s in strange surroundings. Maybe she’s picking up on my emotions.”
“You look dead on your feet.”
“Yeah. That’s pretty close.” She tried bouncing Emma on her knees, but to no avail. “I want to thank you for all you’ve done, Chance. I don’t know how any of us would have gotten through it were it not for you.” Especially last night, but she wasn’t going to bring that up. She wished the circumstances could have been different.
“You would have been fine.”
She shook her head but was too tired to argue. “I’m going to take Emma upstairs and see if I can get her to sleep.”
“All right. Get some sleep yourself. See you in the morning.”
Because of Emma’s fussiness, Holly let her play longer than usual in the big bathtub of the en suite where Holly was staying. Story time followed, and finally with a warm bottle of comfort milk, Emma fell asleep.
Holly ditched her dirty clothes and headed back into the bathroom. That jet tub had her name written all over it. Lying back, she let the jets massage away the weariness. An hour later, dressed in clean clothes and feeling a lot better, she jumped in the big bed, hoping tonight she could sleep. But sleep didn’t come easy. Chance wasn’t here tonight and there was no reason to ask him to be.
Still, the silk sheets felt amazing, especially compared with her sturdy cotton bedding at home. The thick silk comforter made a soft rustling sound when she moved; the fragrance in the room was a beautiful blend of cedar and honeysuckle. All of it served as a heady reminder that she was in the ranch mansion with Chance sleeping steps away.
She must have slept a while but before long, she was again wide-awake. The large house was quiet. Feeling thirsty, Holly slipped out of bed, checked on Emma, who was sleeping peacefully, and headed to the stairs. She should have thought to bring a glass into the bedroom before retiring, but then she rarely became thirsty during the night. It was nerves. Had to be.
The large timber joists crossing the top of the den and on the staircase were amazing from this elevated angle. At the bottom of the stairs she padded into the kitchen, found a glass and filled it with cool tap water.
Sipping the water, she meandered toward the huge den and the French doors that opened out onto the flagstone patio with the giant columns bordering the outside dining area, the lagoon-style pool and the large waterfall in the background. A splash drew her attention. Minutes later Chance’s head broke the surface of the water. He began to swim the length of the pool, back and forth, his powerful arms and his muscled legs propelling him at a fast pace. Curiosity got the better of her and she walked up next to the glass panes of the French doors.
He was magnificent, so powerful. Put all the sexier-than-hell ingredients i
nto a bowl and stir. The final product was right in front of her. And his apparent unawareness of how he affected the female species just made it worse. Or better, as it were.
She set her glass on a nearby table, careful to make sure it wouldn’t leave a ring. When she looked again, Chance was coming out of the water.
Without one stitch of clothes on that hard, muscular body.
He grabbed a towel and began to dry himself off. Holly realized he was headed for the door, directly in front of where she stood. He was coming inside and she was standing there gawking. He hadn’t seen her yet. She turned, intending to make a break for it. But where? She’d waited too late to run up the stairs. There was no place to hide in the kitchen. She spun around and folded herself into the linen draperies framing the French doors.
Holly listened as Chance pulled open the door and closed it behind him. The lights came on in the kitchen. She heard movement. Then the lights went out and all was quiet. Peeking through a slit between two drapery panels, she saw him walking toward the stairs, one thick white towel fisted in his hand. His body was incredible. The muscles in his back moved beneath the tanned skin; his legs were equally well defined.
When he made it three steps up the stairs, he stopped. Holly held her breath. She didn’t want to be caught lurking, ogling a naked man, even if it was Chance. Especially if it was Chance. She snapped her head back, closing the tiny gap in the blinds, and made like a statue, barely allowing herself to breathe. After what seemed like hours, she again cautiously moved the panel aside. No sign of him on the stairs. No indication he was in the kitchen. She strained to listen and heard nothing. Feeling assured he must have gone on to another part of the large house, she stepped out from behind the drapery.
“Well, well,” he said, standing right next to her, one bulging arm braced on the wall. His gaze held her motionless. His lips pursed as he hid a smile. “It would appear we have a Peeping Tom.”
She could feel the deep blush run up her face and back down her neck. “No...no, you don’t. Me? You mean me? I was just going to the kitchen to get some water.” She knew her eyes were as big as saucers. “See?” She pointed to the small occasional table and the glass of water sitting on top.
A few droplets from his hair dripped onto his broad shoulders. She watched them trickle down over his chest.
“The kitchen is over there.”
“I know where the kitchen is,” she snapped back at him. “You scared me, that’s all.”
“I scared you? How exactly did I do that?”
“You were in the pool.”
“Oh. People swimming frightens you.”
“Nobody goes swimming at two o’clock in the morning. Especially without any... Especially outside.”
“Especially buck naked?” Yet again, those sexy dimples cracked the surface and that devilish bad-boy look danced in his eyes.
“I didn’t say that.”
He frowned and sidestepped until he was in front of her, placing his other hand against the wall on the other side of her and leaning in. He tilted his head, as if trying to figure something out. “You’re twenty-four. And you’re a doctor.”
“Almost.”
“And you know more about sex than I do. Isn’t that what you said? That first night in the barn?”
“I really don’t remember.”
“Uh-huh. So seeing a naked man cooling off in his own pool is no big deal. Right?”
She shrugged her shoulders, acting nonchalant. “Right.” Her chin jutted out as though daring him to contradict it. “So why are you making this such a big deal?”
“Me?” He adjusted his stance. “Sweetheart, I’m not the one hiding in the draperies.”
With an unhurried motion, he shook out the towel and draped it around his hips, tucking in the corner. “Better?”
“It doesn’t make any difference to me.”
“I wouldn’t have thought a grown woman—a doctor, no less—would be embarrassed by a little nudity.”
“It wasn’t a little nudity.”
He raised his eyebrows and tilted his head once again, suggesting she might want to explain that remark. The devilish light danced in his eyes.
“That’s not what I...I mean...” The blush returned, this time twice as strong, covering her face and neck. She even felt her ears burn. “You’re twisting what I say.”
“How am I doing that?”
Chance ventured closer to her and she couldn’t breathe. The awareness overwhelmed her once again, making little prickles dance over her skin, her senses excruciatingly acute.
Placing her hands against his broad chest, she attempted to push him back. Granite boulders the size of her house would be easier to move. His bare skin was cool at first touch but heated to a sweltering glow beneath her hands. “You’re in my space,” she snapped. “Please move back.”
“Why? I like being in your space.” A wicked smile turned up the corners of his mouth. “I’ll share mine if you’ll share yours. Tit for tat. How about that?”
“This is ridiculous. I’m not having this conversation. It’s pointless and stupid.”
She heard his masculine chuckle as she spun on her toes, ducked under his arm and headed for the stairs.
“Maybe ridiculous is not what you’re feeling. Maybe frustration is a better description?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Then she caught herself. She was walking into his web. She raised her hand in a signal of stop. “You know what? I don’t want to know. Forget I asked. I’m not having this conversation.”
She paused at the bottom of the stairs, feeling a little bit safe now that she was a few feet away from him. “But if it was frustration—and I’m not saying that is true at all—you caused it. You probably did it on purpose.”
“So hiding in the drapes gawking at a naked man is my fault?” He barked out a laugh.
“You’re the SEAL, not me.”
Chance frowned and raised his hands to his hips. “You’re going to have to explain that one.”
“If you weren’t a SEAL you would never have known I was in the drapes and none of this would be happening.”
With a flip of her hair she again turned toward the stairs. She almost made it to the fourth step before she was scooped into his arms. And as soon as he turned around and crossed the threshold of the French doors, she knew where he was going.
“Don’t you dare. Don’t you dare even think about it.”
He stopped at the edge of the pool. It appeared he was still struggling to contain a smug grin. “Don’t you know a SEAL can’t resist a dare?”
His face was so close, his handsome features so charismatic. Chance was the epitome of an adult alpha male in every sense of the phrase, by anyone’s definition. To be held in his arms, so close she could smell the essence of his body, was a heady sensation.
“Chance. Put me down,” she said, choosing her words carefully. “Please.”
“Just put you down? That’s all you want?”
“Yes.”
The grooves on either side of his mouth deepened and the dimples made another appearance. “Bribe me.”
The breath caught in her throat.
“What do you want?” she asked, afraid he would say what she wanted to hear.
“You.”
A shiver that felt very much like anticipation crawled over her skin. His voice was deep and coarse, sounding as though he was as affected by their closeness as she was.
Her gaze drifted down to his lips. She couldn’t stop it.
“But for now, I’ll settle for a kiss. It would be a shame to get you wet before you’re ready for bed. But—” he frowned in contemplation “—maybe I could help with that, too.”
“Put me down.”
“Do it, Holly.”
“I’ve already kissed you.”
“No. I’ve kissed you. There’s a difference. My arms are getting so tired. Hope my strength doesn’t give out.”
His strength wouldn’t give out if he stood here like this for a week. But with her arms already around his thick neck, she leaned toward him and pressed her lips to his.
“There. Happy? Now please put me down.”
The light in his eyes danced wickedly.
“I’ve had handshakes that were more enticing than that kiss. That wasn’t a kiss. It was... You know, I’m not sure what it was.” Then in a softer, absolutely mesmerizing whisper, “Let’s try it again.”
Holly’s lips found his like a magnet pulled to a giant piece of steel. It was a hot, intense sensation and she wanted more, especially when the master took over and provided another lesson on how it was done. A small moan escaped and Chance responded, taking her mouth, taking what he wanted.
She knew an instant of breathless elation before he lifted his mouth.
“I think it needs some work.”
She was stupefied. “What do you mean it—”
Before she could finish her sentence, she was flying through the air, her mind trying desperately to catch up before she hit the chilling water with a splash. She went down like a floundering goose with a bowling ball tied to its feet. Kicking off from the bottom, she broke the surface sputtering and spewing, still not able to believe what he’d just done. If looks could kill, he would be a dead man.
A large hand reached down to her. With a glare she brushed it aside.
“I would offer you my towel but...”
“Shut. Up.”
“Tomorrow night? About the same time?”
Holly made no further remark. She didn’t open her mouth. She marched past him, not stopping until she was up the stairs and headed to her room.
“Do you still want something to drink?” Chance called from below.
She stomped down the hall, slinging water as she went. She slammed the door, belatedly remembering the baby. She hoped it didn’t wake Emma.
