saw you in that alley, remember?
I know very well you must still be hurting in any number of spots! And it’s undoubtedly time you were in bed. You know what the doctor said, lots of rest.”
Aware of where her duty lay, Tabitha stepped back out of his arms and took his hand in hers.
Deliberately she started toward the entrance to the lower decks.
“Are you going to tuck me in tonight, Tabby?” Dev asked as he obediently followed.
She tried to analyze his tone, wondering if he sounded hopeful or was simply making a small joke. Then it occurred to her that his head might be aching. Perhaps he was obliquely asking her for another massage. “Have you got a headache?”
“No, I don’t,” he answered automatically and then blinked as she looked back at him inquiringly. His voice trailed off abruptly as if he had said something he wished he hadn’t. Then he essayed a crooked little smile. “But it was very pleasant having you stay with me last night until I fell asleep.”
“No one likes to suffer alone.” She smiled as they headed down the long corridor lined with stateroom doors. “I was very happy to stay with you.” At least he seemed to think she had left him after he’d fallen asleep. It was nice to have that confirmed. It made everything so much more comfortable between them.
She looked up as they arrived at her cabin door. “Well, good night, Dev. I hope you sleep well.”
“I’ll call you before breakfast in the morning,” he said deliberately. Then he added quickly, “That is, if you’d like to have breakfast together?”
She took pity on his suddenly anxious expression. “I’ll look forward to it.” Then, feeling very confident about what her reception would be, Tabitha balanced herself again on her toes and brushed her mouth lightly against his. “See you in the morning,” she said before he had a chance to react. She stepped inside her own cabin and closed the door. Her own aggressiveness was enough of a shock to herself. No point in alarming him with it, too!
Out in the corridor, Dev watched the stateroom door shut firmly in his face and his knuckles whitened around the curved handle of his cane. Damn it to hell! This was taking more out of him than he had expected. How much patience did she think a man had?
With another muttered oath he started on down the corridor to his own room. There were only five days left on the stupid cruise. Five days left to figure out how to let Miss Tabitha Graham talk herself into bed with him. Well, he shouldn’t complain, he told himself as he opened the door to his cabin. Look at the progress he’d made this evening. He’d made himself seem so nice and safe that she’d actually taken the initiative out on deck. And to think he’d spent the previous hour in the cocktail lounge wondering how to go about taking her into his arms without scaring the daylights out of her!
But it had all worked out very nicely, even if she had cut him off far too quickly. Dev shut the door behind him and set down the ebony cane. Tabitha was going to find herself in his bed eventually. He just had to be patient. You couldn’t stalk a tabby cat with an elephant gun. Subtlety was called for here.
It was strange, he decided as he caught sight of the grim set of his face in the mirror, he would never have thought himself the subtle type. But then, he’d never tried to attract a woman like Tabitha Graham, either. A man was never too old to learn new tricks, it seemed. Then he winced as he sat down on the edge of the bed, his fingers going to his bruised ribs.
He might not be too old to learn new tricks in some areas, but there was no doubt that he was too old to be dabbling in his former line of work. How in hell had he ever let Delaney talk him into making that pickup on St. Regis?
Painfully, wishing he had another bottle of whiskey handy, Dev undressed and got into bed. It was really much more pleasant when Tabitha was around to fuss over him. He shouldn’t have
I know very well you must still be hurting in any number of spots! And it’s undoubtedly time you were in bed. You know what the doctor said, lots of rest.”
Aware of where her duty lay, Tabitha stepped back out of his arms and took his hand in hers.
Deliberately she started toward the entrance to the lower decks.
“Are you going to tuck me in tonight, Tabby?” Dev asked as he obediently followed.
She tried to analyze his tone, wondering if he sounded hopeful or was simply making a small joke. Then it occurred to her that his head might be aching. Perhaps he was obliquely asking her for another massage. “Have you got a headache?”
“No, I don’t,” he answered automatically and then blinked as she looked back at him inquiringly. His voice trailed off abruptly as if he had said something he wished he hadn’t. Then he essayed a crooked little smile. “But it was very pleasant having you stay with me last night until I fell asleep.”
“No one likes to suffer alone.” She smiled as they headed down the long corridor lined with stateroom doors. “I was very happy to stay with you.” At least he seemed to think she had left him after he’d fallen asleep. It was nice to have that confirmed. It made everything so much more comfortable between them.
She looked up as they arrived at her cabin door. “Well, good night, Dev. I hope you sleep well.”
“I’ll call you before breakfast in the morning,” he said deliberately. Then he added quickly, “That is, if you’d like to have breakfast together?”
She took pity on his suddenly anxious expression. “I’ll look forward to it.” Then, feeling very confident about what her reception would be, Tabitha balanced herself again on her toes and brushed her mouth lightly against his. “See you in the morning,” she said before he had a chance to react. She stepped inside her own cabin and closed the door. Her own aggressiveness was enough of a shock to herself. No point in alarming him with it, too!
Out in the corridor, Dev watched the stateroom door shut firmly in his face and his knuckles whitened around the curved handle of his cane. Damn it to hell! This was taking more out of him than he had expected. How much patience did she think a man had?
With another muttered oath he started on down the corridor to his own room. There were only five days left on the stupid cruise. Five days left to figure out how to let Miss Tabitha Graham talk herself into bed with him. Well, he shouldn’t complain, he told himself as he opened the door to his cabin. Look at the progress he’d made this evening. He’d made himself seem so nice and safe that she’d actually taken the initiative out on deck. And to think he’d spent the previous hour in the cocktail lounge wondering how to go about taking her into his arms without scaring the daylights out of her!
But it had all worked out very nicely, even if she had cut him off far too quickly. Dev shut the door behind him and set down the ebony cane. Tabitha was going to find herself in his bed eventually. He just had to be patient. You couldn’t stalk a tabby cat with an elephant gun. Subtlety was called for here.
It was strange, he decided as he caught sight of the grim set of his face in the mirror, he would never have thought himself the subtle type. But then, he’d never tried to attract a woman like Tabitha Graham, either. A man was never too old to learn new tricks, it seemed. Then he winced as he sat down on the edge of the bed, his fingers going to his bruised ribs.
He might not be too old to learn new tricks in some areas, but there was no doubt that he was too old to be dabbling in his former line of work. How in hell had he ever let Delaney talk him into making that pickup on St. Regis?
Painfully, wishing he had another bottle of whiskey handy, Dev undressed and got into bed. It was really much more pleasant when Tabitha was around to fuss over him. He shouldn’t have
Similar Books
