understood…something.
She half turned her head, still studying Mitch. He’d worn a brown sweater and dark flannel pants tonight. Even in the shadows of the car, she could see his strong profile, the deep-set eyes, the slash of a lazy smile when he felt her eyes on him. He was really an incredibly handsome man, yet those deeply etched lines on his forehead were more than just marks of character, and as she looked at the streak of white hair she wondered suddenly how she could have been blind for so long.
Mitch had been ill. Really ill.
The scar, the white hair, the lines, his unwillingness to talk about his recent past, and maybe even the pool had something to do with it. As she continued to look at him, she could excuse herself for not guessing before. He seemed so vibrant, so healthy and dynamic. The Marlboro Man was a sissy compared to the special brand of virility that Mitch so naturally radiated.
“Why so quiet?” he said softly.
“I thought you had enough to do just driving on these icy roads.”
“Nothing to worry about,” he assured her.
She shook her head. “I wasn’t.” Not as long as he was at the wheel. It was Mitch who had something to worry about, she thought wryly. Because his plan to leave her at her door like a gentleman was about to go awry. She had her own plan.
An hour later, Mitch pulled into her driveway. Tension played at the back of his shoulders and arms. The roads had turned increasingly glassy, not that he would have pointed that out to Kay. It hadn’t been the easiest of evenings as it was. After two mentions of Kay’s name, his mother had started pushing to meet her; he’d
Perhaps he should have been easier on that score. His mother might be gregarious, but she had respected his desire to keep his heart problems a family secret from the day she’d learned it mattered to him. Still, he was relieved that the evening was over. Shutting off the engine, he glanced at Kay.
She was sleepily curled up on the passenger seat, his temptress. Her lashes curled on her cheeks, all delicate shadows, and her lips looked red and invitingly soft against her white face. She was buried in clothes, her collar tucked up against her chin, not even her soft angora sweater showing beneath the coat. Considering he could barely see an inch of exposed flesh, he wasn’t quite sure why just the look of her turned him on like a power switch.
He’d done his level best to keep his physical distance in the past few weeks. His level best was a failure. Not touching her was impossible…yet the more he touched, the more he felt that barrier of inhibition at the thought of making love to her. Time
He wanted Kay. He’d rather do without sunlight than stop seeing her; he could barely remember what his life had been like before he knew her. She warmed the wintry places, lit up the darkness, filled the big, empty spaces.
The touch of her inflamed him; even the simplest kiss set off a driving ache that clawed at his stomach and shuddered through him like a demon. He knew if he made love to her that it wouldn’t go well. He’d lose control, because he came so damn close to losing control as it was. She’d find herself with a fumbling, inept lover who would utterly fail her… He couldn’t stand the thought of failing her.
He leaned over, softly nudging her chin up with his curved fingers. His lips brushed hers like a whisper, and she smiled.
“I thought you’d fallen asleep,” he teased.
“I…nearly did,” Kay murmured.
He kissed her again, unable to deny himself that contact, wondering exactly why he was asking for more torture yet inviting it anyway. Her head tilted back so temptingly; her lips parted under his. He couldn’t prevent his arms from tightening around her when he felt her fingers glide up into his hair, drawing him back in and closer.
Gently, his tongue stole inside her parted lips. He made love to her mouth as he wanted to make love to her body. An infinitely gentle probing, a stroke into her soft, moist hollows, a withdrawal to taste and tease and that insistent intrusion again, less teasing this time, but a claim, a fierce, sweet possession…
He drew back, his breathing erratic, every muscle in his body so tense with frustration that he had to suppress a groan. He traced a gentle finger on her cheek. “I intended to have you home early tonight. We’ve been up late every night for how many nights now?”
“Four out of five,” she murmured, but she certainly didn’t sound as if she minded.
“Tomorrow-”
“You promised to take me skating,” she reminded him.
As if it mattered what they did. He tried to smile, drawing back. “Nine o’clock, wasn’t that your idea?”
She nodded.
“We’d better get you in so you can catch a good night’s sleep.”
“I do need,” Kay murmured, “a good night’s sleep.”
There was a strange little inflection in her voice. Mitch’s eyes flickered swiftly on hers. Then he got out of the car, the wind whipping around him abruptly, and hurried over to her side. He tried to shield the wind from her as she stepped out. “Turning into a regular gale,” he said gruffly. “If we don’t hustle, you’ll be an icicle.”
He had her protectively tucked into his shoulder, yet she barely took three steps before she suddenly stumbled.
He grinned, tightening his arm around her as they moved toward the front door. “My mother’s port?” he whispered teasingly.
Her fingertips suddenly brushed her temples. “Mitch?”
Her voice sounded oddly weak, not at all like Kay. Alarm pulsed through him as he hurried her the rest of the way to the door. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Really, nothing.” She fumbled for the key in her purse, then suddenly leaned against the house, her face in the shadows so that he could see only her big dark eyes. “Mitch, I don’t feel well. So…dizzy all of a sudden.”
“All right. Just take it easy.” His voice was soothing, yet he instantly took control. With one arm firmly around her, he groped for her key, unlocked the door and propelled her into the warm house.
“I’m so hot…” She swayed in the doorway.
Not wasting a second, Mitch shoved the door closed behind them and groped for a light switch. Rapidly, he unbuttoned her coat, trying to get a good look at her. Her face was tilted down; he couldn’t see her eyes, but her cheeks looked flushed. When he’d tossed her coat on the chair, he half carried her to the couch. “Okay, now, honey, just sit down.”
“I keep seeing double of everything…”
“Head down.” She resisted the ignominious position of her head between her knees, but he insisted. “I’m going to get you a drink of water, Kay. Please stay there a minute.”
“No. I just… Stay with me, Mitch. I don’t want any water. I feel so…cold.”
A moment before, she’d said she was hot. Mitch frowned and hesitated a moment. Stay calm, ordered a rational voice in his head. Everyone got sick once in a while; Kay was entitled to feel ill, occasionally.
Only she wasn’t entitled. Not Kay. He couldn’t stand the thought of anything being wrong with Kay; he’d had too much pain in his own life and wasn’t about to let her suffer any. Aware that his reactions were both emotional and irrational, he scooped her up in his arms. “We’ll just get you into bed,” he said firmly. “And I don’t want any arguments. If you don’t feel better in a few minutes, I’m going to call a doctor.”
Her head abruptly jerked back against his shoulder. “There’s no need for that.”
He would have smiled at the sudden anxiety in her eyes, if he hadn’t been frantically worried about her. “You’re not scared of doctors, little one?”
“No. I just…my doctor doesn’t make house calls. In the morning, I can call him-if I still feel ill.”
“Who said anything about your doctor?
