Read Online James, Stephanie by Fabulous Beast - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Fabulous Beast
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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
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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 automatically denied
the headache. Unfortunately he had spoken without thinking, and by the time he’d realized his tactical
error it was too late. If he’d just thought it out beforehand, he could have had her here right now using
her wonderful fingertips on his forehead.
Muttering about his failure to think fast enough on his feet, he reached out to switch off the bedside light.
Then he lay staring out at the moonlit darkness beyond the window.
There was no point kidding himself. Tabitha had no idea at all of the kind of man he was. She had given
him a fantasy role. To her he was gentle and vulnerable and sensitive. Just the kind of man she wanted. If
he kept his head and didn’t make any serious errors during the next couple of days, she would crawl into
his lap like a trusting little cat. And then he would find out exactly what it took to make her purr.
With that thought in mind, Dev closed his eyes and went to sleep. He did not stay awake long enough to
ask himself just why it was so important to make Tabby purr.
The ship’s itinerary the following day included an afternoon stop at another of the lesser-known islands
on the list detailed in the brochure. Tabitha was looking forward to it with great anticipation. She bubbled
over at breakfast as she read the description given in the ship’s daily newsletter.
“It says here that a lot of expatriate-artist types have established a colony on the western tip of the island
and that passengers from the ship are welcome to visit,” she informed Dev over fresh papaya.
“I take it you’d like to visit the colony?”
“Definitely! No telling what sort of unusual things might be going on there.”
“I’ll bet.” He chuckled.
“I meant in the way of creativity,” she told him repressively.
“So did I. Put a bunch of free-spirited artists together on an island, and there’s no telling what sort of
creative endeavors they’ll get up to.”
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“You’re teasing me,” she accused, but the knowledge left her feeling remarkably light-hearted. It was the
sign of a good relationship when each party felt free to gently tease the other, wasn’t it?
“You’re right. I’ll look forward to seeing the colony as
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
Page 30
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
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 automatically denied
the headache. Unfortunately he had spoken without thinking, and by the time he’d realized his tactical
error it was too late. If he’d just thought it out beforehand, he could have had her here right now using
her wonderful fingertips on his forehead.
Muttering about his failure to think fast enough on his feet, he reached out to switch off the bedside light.
Then he lay staring out at the moonlit darkness beyond the window.
There was no point kidding himself. Tabitha had no idea at all of the kind of man he was. She had given
him a fantasy role. To her he was gentle and vulnerable and sensitive. Just the kind of man she wanted. If
he kept his head and didn’t make any serious errors during the next couple of days, she would crawl into
his lap like a trusting little cat. And then he would find out exactly what it took to make her purr.
With that thought in mind, Dev closed his eyes and went to sleep. He did not stay awake long enough to
ask himself just why it was so important to make Tabby purr.
The ship’s itinerary the following day included an afternoon stop at another of the lesser-known islands
on the list detailed in the brochure. Tabitha was looking forward to it with great anticipation. She bubbled
over at breakfast as she read the description given in the ship’s daily newsletter.
“It says here that a lot of expatriate-artist types have established a colony on the western tip of the island
and that passengers from the ship are welcome to visit,” she informed Dev over fresh papaya.
“I take it you’d like to visit the colony?”
“Definitely! No telling what sort of unusual things might be going on there.”
“I’ll bet.” He chuckled.
“I meant in the way of creativity,” she told him repressively.
“So did I. Put a bunch of free-spirited artists together on an island, and there’s no telling what sort of
creative endeavors they’ll get up to.”
Page 31
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
“You’re teasing me,” she accused, but the knowledge left her feeling remarkably light-hearted. It was the
sign of a good relationship when each party felt free to gently tease the other, wasn’t it?
“You’re right. I’ll look forward to seeing the colony as
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