her face was grim. She was obviously pissed off at him and that was fine because he was equally pissed off at her. These thoughts about her, about her body…
Absolutely, positively he’d drive to a glittery town, find a glittery bar, find himself a glittery woman. A high-priced call girl, the kind who could make a man forget that he paid for her favors, that none of what she said or did in his arms was real.
So what if he hated those places and felt sorry for those women? A man could put aside his scruples for a night of sex. He could, anyway, because sex was obviously what he needed.
“Have you?” she repeated. “Heard a word I’ve spoken?”
It had to be sex that he needed. Why else would a woman as unpleasant as this turn him on?
“No,” Nick said coldly. “Frankly, I’ve been doing my best to tune you out.”
“Well, it’s time you tuned in. What I said was that I’d like to see my room—that is, if you’re not too busy figuring out new ways to torment dogs to point me to it.”
The woman had a mouth on her—a soft-looking mouth, which was amazing when you considered what came out of it.
“There’s half a dozen bedrooms upstairs. Take your pick.”
The glare in her eyes could have cut glass.
“Which one is yours?”
Just that quickly, he felt his body harden. Could she see what was happening to him? Shifting his weight while balancing on a crutch wasn’t easy, but he managed.
“Down the hall on the right. The one with the pine pan—”
“Don’t get your hopes up, cowboy. I don’t give a flying fig about pine paneling. I just want to be sure to choose a room as far from yours as possible.”
She was smiling. No. She was smirking. Dammit, enough was enough! Did she really think she could go on insulting him under his own roof and get away with it?
Nick took a step forward.
She didn’t move.
He took another step toward her.
Not really. What he did was hobble toward her, goddamn that leg and that crutch.
She stood her ground.
It drove him nuts.
The lady needed to be put in her place. He didn’t want her afraid of him, he just wanted… What? A reaction. A response. Something that said she knew she was on the losing end of this confrontation.
So he flashed a smile.
The smile that was his trademark.
It was a smile that had been described as all-knowing and all-powerful, as sexy as sin and dangerous as hell. It was a smile that promised everything a man could fear and a woman could want.
He flashed it because the maybe-cook, maybe-dog trainer, maybe-starlet-wannabe and all-around champion pain in the ass who’d invaded his life had just about driven him to the edge, flashed it without thinking about the consequences beyond the immediate pleasure of seeing her crumble—
And by the time he realized what he’d done, it was too late.
Lissa Wilde’s eyes lit with recognition.
“You are him,” she said. “Nick Gentry.”
He laughed. It wasn’t a very good laugh, but it was a laugh.
“If only,” he said.
Her eyes narrowed. “You absolutely are Nick Gentry.”
“We did this bit already, remember?” Nick shook his head. “I told you, I’ve heard that before, but my name is Bannister.”
“It’s Gentry.” She plopped her hands on her hips. “ Famous Movie Star Vanishes. ”
It was one of the tabloid headlines that had haunted him after the accident. Not that anybody but a handful of people knew about the accident.
“You know how to read,” he said. “Wow. I’m impressed. Unfortunately, I am not—”
“Give me a break, will you? I’m not blind. You are Nick Gentry.”
Nick gritted his teeth. Now what? He’d taken on the Nick Bannister persona in the first hospital; his lawyer, an old friend and one of the few people he trusted, had set the ball in motion, completed it by transferring him under the Bannister name to a hospital in the States.
At first, there’d been lots of speculation, virtually all of it as improbable as the scripts from some of his
Absolutely, positively he’d drive to a glittery town, find a glittery bar, find himself a glittery woman. A high-priced call girl, the kind who could make a man forget that he paid for her favors, that none of what she said or did in his arms was real.
So what if he hated those places and felt sorry for those women? A man could put aside his scruples for a night of sex. He could, anyway, because sex was obviously what he needed.
“Have you?” she repeated. “Heard a word I’ve spoken?”
It had to be sex that he needed. Why else would a woman as unpleasant as this turn him on?
“No,” Nick said coldly. “Frankly, I’ve been doing my best to tune you out.”
“Well, it’s time you tuned in. What I said was that I’d like to see my room—that is, if you’re not too busy figuring out new ways to torment dogs to point me to it.”
The woman had a mouth on her—a soft-looking mouth, which was amazing when you considered what came out of it.
“There’s half a dozen bedrooms upstairs. Take your pick.”
The glare in her eyes could have cut glass.
“Which one is yours?”
Just that quickly, he felt his body harden. Could she see what was happening to him? Shifting his weight while balancing on a crutch wasn’t easy, but he managed.
“Down the hall on the right. The one with the pine pan—”
“Don’t get your hopes up, cowboy. I don’t give a flying fig about pine paneling. I just want to be sure to choose a room as far from yours as possible.”
She was smiling. No. She was smirking. Dammit, enough was enough! Did she really think she could go on insulting him under his own roof and get away with it?
Nick took a step forward.
She didn’t move.
He took another step toward her.
Not really. What he did was hobble toward her, goddamn that leg and that crutch.
She stood her ground.
It drove him nuts.
The lady needed to be put in her place. He didn’t want her afraid of him, he just wanted… What? A reaction. A response. Something that said she knew she was on the losing end of this confrontation.
So he flashed a smile.
The smile that was his trademark.
It was a smile that had been described as all-knowing and all-powerful, as sexy as sin and dangerous as hell. It was a smile that promised everything a man could fear and a woman could want.
He flashed it because the maybe-cook, maybe-dog trainer, maybe-starlet-wannabe and all-around champion pain in the ass who’d invaded his life had just about driven him to the edge, flashed it without thinking about the consequences beyond the immediate pleasure of seeing her crumble—
And by the time he realized what he’d done, it was too late.
Lissa Wilde’s eyes lit with recognition.
“You are him,” she said. “Nick Gentry.”
He laughed. It wasn’t a very good laugh, but it was a laugh.
“If only,” he said.
Her eyes narrowed. “You absolutely are Nick Gentry.”
“We did this bit already, remember?” Nick shook his head. “I told you, I’ve heard that before, but my name is Bannister.”
“It’s Gentry.” She plopped her hands on her hips. “ Famous Movie Star Vanishes. ”
It was one of the tabloid headlines that had haunted him after the accident. Not that anybody but a handful of people knew about the accident.
“You know how to read,” he said. “Wow. I’m impressed. Unfortunately, I am not—”
“Give me a break, will you? I’m not blind. You are Nick Gentry.”
Nick gritted his teeth. Now what? He’d taken on the Nick Bannister persona in the first hospital; his lawyer, an old friend and one of the few people he trusted, had set the ball in motion, completed it by transferring him under the Bannister name to a hospital in the States.
At first, there’d been lots of speculation, virtually all of it as improbable as the scripts from some of his
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