Kitabı oku: «Baby Chase»

CHAPTER ONE

OF COURSE.

As soon as the legs appeared at the edge of the bed and the bedsprings creaked under the intruder’s weight, Erin realized who he was. She let out a silent breath as the terrified pounding of her heart slowed. Of course there was no burglar in the house; no psychotic killer or rapist. It was Nathan Chase.

The intense relief was quickly followed by embarrassed dismay. The fabled Nathan was here, sitting on the bed in the guest room. And here she was, lying under that bed, clad only in a towel, with another one wrapped around her wet hair.

Erin stifled a sigh, cursing her own stupidity. Her sister-in-law had told her in a hasty last-minute message that her brother would arrive this week and stay overnight. Sally had assured her that she would not even notice him—if true to form, he would arrive around midnight and be gone early the next morning. Erin had hoped that would be true; she had no interest in meeting Sally’s insensitive clod of a brother who didn’t seem to give a damn about his own family.

Nevertheless, she should have been expecting him, instead of panicking when hearing noises downstairs after coming out of the shower. After briefly cursing her brother—it just had to be the one time she was house-sitting that his house was broken into—she had run into the empty guest room and crawled under the bed. Her instincts told her that the burglar would quickly pass the unused, almost empty room, allowing her to crawl from under the bed and escape to the roof through the window.

But there was no burglar. It was only Sally’s brother, stopping for the night before he flew to the next corner of the world suffering war, famine or pestilence.

He still hadn’t moved. Erin stared at his legs: black jeans and black socks. With…She narrowed her eyes. Did the man really have two smiling bunny rabbits on his socks?

She rolled her eyes when she noticed exactly what those bunny rabbits were doing. How typically juvenile. Her first impressions confirmed her long-established opinion of Nathan Chase, even if first impressions were only of the man’s socks. It was time to end this farce, say hello and goodbye to the man and escape.

Still she hesitated. The room was silent. She could hardly make out Nathan’s breathing. What was the best way to alert him to her presence? A polite “Excuse me” from under the bed? A tap on his calf?

Crawling from under the bed, wearing nothing but two skimpy towels and a blanket of dust, would scare the man half to death. Even with her poor opinion of Sally’s brother, she did not want to give him a heart attack. It might not make a great first impression.

He would take a shower, she suddenly realized. After all, he had just flown halfway across the world. At the very least he would go to the bathroom. That would give her ample time to escape the room. She smiled in relief at this easy solution and settled down for the wait, trying to get comfortable on the wooden floor without making a noise. It wasn’t long until Nathan gave a deep sigh and stood up.

With a triumphant smile, Erin was on her side, ready to make her escape, when the jeans were suddenly whisked away and thrown over the foot of the bed. A second later the rabbits had also said their goodbyes. Before she got more than a glimpse of the muscular calves, the door was shut and the light went out. The bedsprings sagged dangerously close and peppered her face with dust.

Erin almost groaned aloud. Nathan was not co-operating. It was just like Sally’s superman brother not to succumb to normal human needs like using the bathroom. She’d have to crawl out, scare the heck out of him and look like a complete idiot in the process. Gone was the opportunity to explain her mistake and escape with some dignity.

Or was it? How long did it take a person to fall asleep? Someone exhausted and jet-lagged? Surely he would be dead to the world in a few minutes. She would wait a while, then tiptoe out of the room—he’d never know she’d been there.

Carefully she stretched her cramped muscles, settling in for a longer wait. This will be a piece of cake, she told herself sternly. All she had to do was ignore the hard floor for a few minutes, and she would be home safe.

Just a few minutes.

Involuntarily, she shivered, goose bumps running up and down her body. A breeze from the window licked her skin with a frigid tongue. She struggled to convince herself it wasn’t that cold, but her body refused to be convinced, pointing out that two damp towels were not helping the situation.

Determined to take her mind off the numerous sources of discomfort, she concentrated on Nathan’s breathing. How much time had passed since her frantic dive under the bed? Was he asleep yet? His breathing was even and regular now, but was it the breathing of a man asleep?

Frustrated, she admitted she couldn’t tell. Not used to sharing a bed with a man, she had no clue on how to interpret the breath patterns of this particular specimen. Was this fast-asleep breathing or just-about-to-fall-asleep breathing, or even can’t-fall-asleep breathing?

The mattress had not moved since he’d lain down. Maybe he snored, she thought, heart lifting a fraction. That would give her a sure indication that he was out.

After forcing herself to count two hundred of his breaths, Erin decided he’d fallen asleep and he did not snore. She refused to even contemplate the idea that he was still awake.

One inch at a time, she pushed herself out from beneath the bed, taking care to bring the towels with her. From her prone position she saw the narrow frame of light from the hall, but nevertheless the door was firmly shut.

Darn! She had forgotten that door.

Knowing this house as she did, she knew that unless Nathan Chase was an exceptionally heavy sleeper she didn’t stand a chance of opening that squeaky door without waking him.

Turning her head to look up at the sleeping man, she could barely make out his head, turned away on the pillow, and the shape of his body under the covers. He was fast asleep. What a relief.

The cold breeze reminded her of the open window. Of course! That escape route was the reason she’d ended up in this mess in the first place. From the roof she would be able to climb back in through her own window.

She rose slowly, freezing when she realized that the light from the full moon on the sleeping man’s face had now been replaced by her shadow. He moved restlessly, turning his face towards her. Erin stood transfixed. She dared not move, fearing he would awaken should the moonlight again touch his face.

Finally, murmuring incomprehensibly, he rolled over on his stomach, turning a broad back to her. Erin relaxed slightly. She would make it after all. In one swift movement she was at the window. She clambered out onto the roof, then paused for a moment to listen for sounds from inside. There were none and she managed to close the window without a single creak.

November in Maine was not the time or place to be prancing around on rooftops wearing a towel, but she’d ignore that for the moment. She was free. With a victorious smile she started towards her own window.

She didn’t get very far. The towel had caught in the closed window. She tugged on it, then was suddenly released as the window opened. With a small shriek, Erin fell on her side and started to slide down the slanting roof, feet first.

A hand shot out and grabbed her arm.

Erin rested her forehead on the cold roof and groaned. This couldn’t be happening. This kind of thing simply did not happen to her. She was lying face down, the towel bunched up under her armpits. The man holding on to her arm was definitely getting a good view of her rear from the waist down.

It was almost preferable to looking him in the face.

Almost.

Erin grabbed on to the window ledge and pulled herself up on her knees, yanking her wrist from his grasp. She quickly tugged the towel back into position and, bracing herself, looked at the man standing inside, his arms crossed on his chest as he stared perplexed at her.

Nathan Chase, hot-shot news photographer, heartless brother of her beloved sister-in-law.

She’d never met him before, but Sally proudly displayed a picture of her brother in their living room, an enlarged but somewhat blurry snapshot of the two of them whitewater rafting. It was too dark for her to see if he’d changed much in the ten years since that picture was taken. All she could see was a silhouette of his torso and sleep-tousled hair hanging down over the faint glint of his eyes.

She took a deep breath of the cool night air before speaking.

“Um. Hi. Hello. Good evening.” She extended her hand. “You must be Nathan. I’m Erin, Thomas’s sister; you’ve probably heard of me?”

Nathan’s suspicious look at her outstretched hand was hilarious and the absurdity of the situation finally got the better of her. Biting her lip, she tried to get a hold of herself, but failed. She collapsed in a fit of giggles.

“Maybe…maybe I could come in?” she managed between fits of mirth, realizing that her giggles were not helping her regain her dignity. But she couldn’t stop laughing.

He must think she was quite insane.

Nathan wondered for a moment if his sleep-deprived mind was playing tricks on him. He had fallen asleep the moment he’d hit the bed, but noises at the window managed to rouse him what seemed like only minutes later. He had expected to find a tree branch or even a bird pecking at the window, not a dusty temptress clad in goose-bumps, moonshine and a nervous grin.

And a towel. There was a towel too.

Cold wind brushed over his bare skin, reminding him that the woman must be freezing. He moved away from the window, holding out a hand to help her in. Her small hand was icy in his palm as she climbed through the window, still giggling as she landed on her feet in front of him. Almost on reflex, he kept her cold hand between his and gently rubbed heat into it.

“You’re Thomas’s sister, Erin?” he repeated at last, finding his voice hoarse from sleep and exhaustion. He frowned as he struggled to remember what little he knew about Thomas’s family and the sister he had known would be staying here. “The…librarian?”

He stared at her with amazement as he continued to rub heat into her hand. Admittedly, it had been quite a while since his last visit to a library, but this woman did not fit his image of a librarian, neither in looks nor behavior.

“My horn-rimmed glasses are in my room, and the bun came loose in the shower,” she said solemnly before pulling her hands from his grasp. “I apologize for my unprofessional appearance.”

OK, obviously she had come across librarian stereotypes before.

She backed towards the door and, to his regret, out of the moonlight that painted such a delicious pattern of colors over her skin. “Sally has told me so much about her big brother,” she chattered. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“I definitely should have paid more attention when she talked about you,” he murmured. “Just what were you doing out there, Miss Librarian? I know my brother-in-law is an innovative man around the house, but even he would draw the line at installing a hot tub up on the roof.”

“Well…” she gestured vaguely “…I thought you were a burglar. It’s a long story. Perhaps we’d better catch up on it later. I’m sure you need a good night’s sleep after your journey.” She began to move towards the door, but Nathan was finally fully awake and wasn’t about to let her off the hook so easily. Not now that he was just beginning to enjoy himself.

“Not so fast.” He stopped her with a hand on her shoulder, turning her around. Her shoulders were icy too, and he promised himself he would let her go in a minute so she could get warm. This was just too much fun to miss.

Telling himself he was simply making up for keeping her out of her bed, he kept his hand on her shoulder, feeling the heat radiate to her cold skin. The contact roused almost forgotten sensations inside him. It had been a long time since he had touched a woman. For that matter, it had been ages since he had even touched another human being.

For too long, his role had been simply that of an observer.

He pushed the thought aside and allowed his usual sense of humor to resurface and drown the heavy musings. He let go of her and crossed his arms on his chest again.

“I think you owe me a decent explanation,” he said firmly, grinning inside. “How do I even know you’re really Thomas’s sister? You could be anyone.”

To his delight she took him at his word and gasped in affronted outrage, her sense of humor about the situation obviously dissipated. “You think I’m a burglar? Why…! Does this look like a burglar’s outfit?” she burst out, waving a hand at her grimy towel.

Nathan bit back a grin, and took a step back. He pretended to examine her attire thoughtfully, watching her face with amusement as she realized with a shock that she was not the most undressed person in the room.

“For heaven’s sake, haven’t you ever heard of pyjamas?” she asked, exasperated, aiming her gaze high on the wall behind his head. With a quick, angry movement she pulled the towel from her head, releasing a flow of damp curls onto her bare shoulders, and thrust it at him, eyes still averted.

Even in the faint light, Nathan could swear she was blushing. How intriguing. How…librarianish. With an amused chuckle he accepted the towel and tied it loosely around his waist. “I didn’t expect to be rescuing nude damsels stuck on rooftops tonight,” he replied. “If I’d known I assure you I would have dressed for the occasion.” He grinned. “A red cape and tights come to mind.”

Her eyes moved to the door again as she inched closer to the escape route. She started shivering theatrically to emphasize her state.

Nathan promised himself he would let her off the hook in just a minute. She needed to get warm, but after all, he could think of better ways to warm up a woman than to send her off alone to the shower. It wouldn’t hurt to run those possibilities by her. Just as food for thought, of course.

He moved closer, trapping her between the door and his body without touching her. “You’re going to leave just like that?”

His red-haired librarian seemed speechless. She was staring up at him like a doe caught in headlights, but her expression was one of surprise and suspicion, not of fear. It could be a trick of the moonlight, but he even thought he detected a flicker of awareness in those large eyes.

This had definite potential.

Nathan disregarded the little voice telling him to stop teasing her. His life had been savage lately, but he was still too much a gentleman to seduce his sister’s friend in this situation. But she intrigued him, and for some reason he felt himself craving a taste of her. He wanted to feel those red curls against his face, wanted to entangle his fingers in them as he kissed her senseless and pulled that towel away…

It’s been too long. OK, but don’t take it out on a librarian!

Ignoring the stern voice of his own conscience, Nathan let his hands rest on the door on each side of her head, forming a tiny prison for his prey. He shook his head and tsked.

“I’ve never let a babe leave my bedroom without a goodbye kiss.”

“What?” she croaked. “A babe?”

“A goodbye kiss,” he repeated. “How about it?”

Erin swallowed nervously, clutching her towel with a death grip as she leaned back against the door. The glint in his eyes told her he was teasing her, and she was pretty sure she should be furious at his audacity. Something was stopping her fury from erupting though. Although he still wasn’t touching her, he was close enough for his body heat to reach out and warm her. That was why she felt this pull towards him, she told herself, ignoring the insistent little voice that pointed out that she didn’t really feel all that cold any more. Simple survival instincts. Being cold, she would naturally gravitate towards heat.

It certainly did not mean that she would let him kiss her, even when he made the offer in that low, sexy voice. It was bad enough that she was actually tempted to take him up on it. And for one thing, nobody had ever accused her of being a babe before.

The whole situation was surreal. For once she was grateful for Nathan’s absence from his sister’s life. She would never live this down.

“I don’t think so, Mr Chase. I’m not one of those ‘babes’, and I’d appreciate it if you stopped blocking the door and let me get back to my own room. It’s very late and I’m cold and tired.”

“Call me Nathan,” he said smoothly, ignoring her outburst. “After all, you’re standing naked in my bedroom. Plus, you claim you’re family.”

That did it. At last her long-repressed anger at the absent Nathan Chase came to the fore. She took a deep breath, and then the words erupted. “I am family, you inconsiderate bastard!” she hissed. “If you’d cared enough to come to your sister’s wedding or to the baby’s christening or to any of the Christmas gatherings, or even a single family barbecue, you’d know who I am.”

She had been venting her anger at him for years in her mind. It all came pouring out now. “Do you know that your sister almost canceled her first holiday in three years, just because you’d be staying here for, what, all of six hours? It took all of mine and Thomas’s persuasive skills to convince her to go.” She jabbed her finger into his chest. “And your father’s funeral? No, you were too busy taking snapshots and picking up babes on the other side of the world. And your sister’s wedding? She so wanted you to give her away. Until the last minute she hoped you’d suddenly show up. When you didn’t she walked alone down the aisle and spent half the reception making excuses for you!” She stopped for a breath. “Half her friends think you’re a myth! You didn’t even attend the baby’s christening. Your sister named her daughter after you, but you couldn’t even spare a few hours to visit! She’s almost a year old and you’ve never even seen her! And then you dare show up here, wearing a pair of perverted rabbits, and of course you pick a time when they aren’t even here!”

Nathan was standing still in front of her, body tense, his features stony. Erin closed her mouth, then her eyes. There was silence for a long moment, but she kept her eyes closed, hoping the scene would just vanish and she’d wake up sweating in her bed. This had to be a nightmare.

At last he spoke.

“Perverted rabbits?”

She let out a heavy breath. Obviously, and perhaps unfortunately, her speech hadn’t hurt his feelings. His voice reflected no emotion other than amusement. Nothing she had said meant anything to him. Of course not. If the man had feelings, he wouldn’t behave the way he did towards his own family.

But she had no right to betray Sally’s feelings like that. Her sister-in-law never complained about her brother’s behavior or questioned the validity of his excuses.

She felt something touch her shoulders and realized he had draped his shirt over them. Defeated, she accepted the gesture, and put her arms one at a time in the sleeves, but gave up trying to fasten the buttons while still holding the towel in place.

“Are we discussing the moral message of my socks now?”

The humor in his voice tugged at her mouth, threatening to pull up its corners. She resisted. He would not charm his way around her even if he did everyone else.

“Actually, Erin, you know nothing about me, or my rabbits. And, you know, I believe those creatures are engaging in perfectly normal conduct for the rabbit species.” He began buttoning the shirt for her, without, she conceded, even so much as brushing a finger against her body.

“Nothing perverted about them. There,” he added, fastening the last button. “You’re decent now, Librarian.”

“Right.” She couldn’t believe she had allowed him to dress her like a child. This night had to be the weirdest one of her life. Shaking her head in disbelief, she turned the doorknob. Once again, he stopped her, this time with his fingers circling her wrist.

“You were in my room before I went to sleep, weren’t you? You saw my socks when I was getting undressed.”

She nodded.

“Did you enjoy the show?”

“I was hiding under the bed,” she snapped. “I didn’t see anything except those darn socks!”

“Too bad,” he muttered, “I’ll have to give you a repeat performance some time.” He released her wrist, only to put a finger to her cheek and turn her head so their eyes met. His smile was wicked. “Next time I strip for you, I’ll put more feeling into it.”

Once again, Erin opened her mouth, only to close it again, firmly banishing the tempting mental images to the basement of her mind. He reached towards her again and she jumped. Raising an eyebrow, Nathan reached past her to the door and pulled it open.

“Goodnight, Miss Librarian,” he murmured. “It’s been a pleasure. I’ll take a rain check on that kiss.”

Erin’s anger surged again as she escaped from his room. His door shut quietly behind her a second before she slammed her own door shut and collapsed on the bed.

What a bastard! She slapped her pillow a few times, then grabbed her hairbrush and brushed her hair into shape with quick, angry movements. What an unfeeling bastard! He didn’t care how he hurt his little sister. And grinning all the time, as if this was all one big joke. She threw the hairbrush on the nightstand, the towel across a chair, and crawled into bed. Grateful for its warmth and softness, she pulled the covers up to her chin.

As her anger slowly subsided, that insistent voice in her head reclaimed center stage. Never before had she experienced such an instant attraction to a man. And that to someone she had disliked from afar for years. She groaned, and pulled the covers over her head as she began to wonder what would have happened if she had agreed to that kiss. The kiss that might have happened, she admitted, if he hadn’t roused her fury with that conceited crack about babes.

With a sinking feeling, she refused to let herself wonder. They had not kissed. They never would. Nathan Chase would be gone in the morning, and good riddance.

She turned on her side and punched her pillow into submission, then closed her eyes, determined to put the whole ridiculous episode behind her. He would be gone by the time she woke up and who knew when she would see him again? With any luck she would wake up thinking he was just a dream.

A bad dream.