To her dismay, she found she couldn't turn
her eyes away. Her heartbeat slammed into overdrive as she absorbed
all of him. Why did he have to appear at all the wrong
times?
Like now when she was bone tired and her
resistance far too low to combat his mouthwatering appeal. The
broad sweep of his shoulder looked much too comfortable and she was
almost tired enough to lean against him.
His thick dark hair was curling and damp,
clinging to his head and neck while the darkness of more than two
days growth of beard shadowed the firm line of his jaw. His
brooding masculinity took her breath away.
Kate watched, fascinated, as a bead of
perspiration trickled from the hollow at the base of his throat,
arrowing down over his chest, heading for the waistband of his
shorts—where they rode low on his hips—before it became lost
somewhere along the way.
"
Oh, help." Kate breathed, licking her lips
and trying to force air into her starving lungs.
"
Kate? What's the matter? Spencer came
closer. "Are you all right?"
"
Oh no. I mean, yes, I'm fine," she gasped,
jerking her eyes upwards to encounter his hooded stare. "I didn't
expect to see you today."
Spencer's
mouth twisted, his hands dropped
away as he said, "And here's me thinking I'm hard to
miss."
No
, Kate had to agree in all honesty, he
wasn't hard to miss. That was the whole problem. Spencer Stelanos
was taking up too much space in her mind for her comfort. Right now
she was feeling acutely uncomfortable.
Her throat turned desert dry. He
was a hard man to overlook under any circumstances.
But
today
...she
sighed, unable to prevent her wary eyes from tracking back to
him.
Dressed in running shoes and black shorts,
Spencer had stripped off his shirt, looping it around the back of
his neck. He held the ends now in his strong hands, like a sports
towel, using the hem of the shirt to wipe the sweat from his brow.
With his eyes briefly covered, Kate couldn't help but
stare.
The title of Greek god simply didn't come
close to describing the man. In her mind's graphic image when he'd
first invited her to go running with him, his smooth tanned olive
skin was gleaming and oiled with perspiration. The sculptured
muscles of his chest were overlaid with a fine dusting of moist
dark hair that traveled in a narrow line down to his navel and
beyond, disappearing beneath the waistband of his shorts. His
abdominal muscles were hard and shaped, adding definition to a body
that would make most women faint with desire.
"
I'm afraid I'm all out of water," Kate
managed, tearing her gaze away as a strong shudder ran through
her.
She closed her eyes on a soft groan. This
was far too much unwanted fantasy come to life for her to handle
all at once. But his warmth surrounded her senses, meddling with
her determination to keep her distance.
"
Kate…?"
"
What?" She looked up.
His dark blue eyes were concerned. "Are
you sure you're all right?"
Kate felt her cheeks heat. "Truly, I'm
fine," she muttered, taking a hasty step backwards.
"
Well, I guess I'll have to survive without
water. But I had a message on my answer phone from the estate agent
when I got back this morning."
He flexed his shoulders. "She said you
were thinking of giving up the lease on the cottage. That you
weren't happy here. But you refused to tell her why. Care to
explain your reasons to me now?"
"
Oh, damn." Kate's eyes widened. She felt
acutely uncomfortable. "No, not really."
She was hot, tired and the disturbed
clamoring of her senses shortened her temper. She didn't need this
kind of cross examination. "I'm afraid it's rather
complicated."
"
Obviously." Spencer gave her a long, hard
look. "But then it always seems to be complicated with you. Why,
Kate?"
"
It no longer matters." Kate was aware
Jamie could return at any moment. "I changed my mind. I...if it's
all right with you, I've decided that I'm staying."
"
Good. I was beginning to believe it was
me."
"
No. Oh, no, it's not you." Kate managed to
laugh. "I was just feeling a little restless." How could she admit
the truth? "I can't think why you would imagine something that."
She braved his stare, managing to hold on to her composure as
Spencer's eyes studied her, testing the truth of her
words.
"
Fair enough," he said finally, threading
his fingers through his hair, pushing it back from his forehead.
"But if there are any more problems, I want you to come to me with
them. I don't want to hear again that you're unhappy through some
third party. Agreed?"
"
Agreed." Kate did her best to keep her
eyes on his face.
But the beautifully defined, sweat slicked
muscles of his chest were too close, too dangerously attractive for
her comfort. She could feel the vital heat radiating off him
through every pore of her skin.
Suddenly the back of his hand flashed out
to feel her moist brow. His questing fingers pushed the damp curls
of hair off her skin. "Your cheeks are flushed. You could be
heading for a case of heat stroke. How long have you been working
out here in this hot sun?"
"
Only for the morning." Kate snapped her
head aside to avoid his touch. But the long fingers of his free
hand gripped her upper arm.
"
I warned you about the sun Down Under when we
first met, remember?" he growled. "So, what about protection? What
are you using?"
"Oh, I remember."
Kate's heart pounded
against her ribs as her stalled breath jammed for a moment in the
base of her throat before she managed to mutter, "Factor
thirty-plus, if you must know. I was told it's Cancer Society
approved."
"
Just as well. I get the impression you'd
be hard to deal with as a patient." Spencer's wry smile lightened
his expression as his assessing gaze ran over her long sleeved
cotton shirt and denim shorts. "At least, you've dressed sensibly.
The New Zealand sun is not to be played with. Your skin is far too
pale and this isn't wintertime in Chicago. The ozone layer is a lot
thinner down here."
"
I'm well aware of that." Kate set her
teeth at his instructing tone. "I do know the dangers of too much
sun. We do have summers in Chicago too." She pulled her arm from
his grasp.
"
Touché
." Spencer's smile widened in appreciation of her
indignation. "Now, since we've taken the trouble to come and visit
you, aren't you going to invite us inside for something cold to
drink?"
"
Lemonade." Jamie reappeared at her side
with Lobo behind him. "I like lemonade."
"
I think I have a bottle of lemonade
somewhere." Kate counted to ten, fuming inwardly.
It seemed she didn't have a choice. No
matter what she said, Spencer was obviously determined to shepherd
her inside out of the sun.
But she was also aware of the
need to be sensible. Her pale skin was beginning to glow.
She'd been about to
go in anyway. She didn't appreciate being told what to
do.
"
Please." Spencer disarmed her, raking his
fingernails crisply through the dark beard shadowing the line of
his strong jaw. "I promise to be good."
"
Somehow I doubt that," Kate muttered
crossly. "Very much."
But she was tired and the struggle was
quickly becoming an unequal one. "Come on in then." Turning her
back, she took Jamie's hand like a lifeline and led the way into
the house.
Spencer dragged on his shirt as he followed
her inside; his broad frame filled the cozy lounge, making Kate
even more aware of him. She hurried through into the kitchen,
putting the width of the partition between them.
"
Sit there." She pointed to the stools at
the breakfast bar that divided the small neat kitchen from the
lounge. Exchanging frowning glances, Spencer and Jamie
sat.
"
Why's Auntie Kate crabby at us, Papa?" She
heard Jamie ask in a loud whisper.
Kate's
hands tightened on the plastic bottle
of lemonade she plucked from the refrigerator. Did she seem crabby?
She reviewed her behavior since they arrived in the garden and
guessed she did.
What was it about this man that brought out
the worst in her? She shut the fridge door with a nudge of her hip.
She turned back to them with a rueful smile.
"
I'm sorry. I guess I deserved that."
Spencer grimaced. "And we shouldn't have
come over uninvited. Perhaps we should go."
"
But, I don't want to go yet." Jamie
frowned. "I want to stay."
"
Oh, yes, please. Stay. I'm sorry.
Besides,"—she winked at Spencer's small son—"I was getting tired of
my own company."
She poured three glasses of the chilled
lemonade before passing her guests theirs. "Tell me, how is your
aunt?"
"
Thea Alexia went back to Australia," Jamie
supplied, in a serious tone. "Papa and me, we flew her back to live
with my grandpa. She was real mad at Papa for making her go to
hospital. She said some real mean things. When Thea Alexia came
home, her and Papa got into a huge fight."
"
Let's say we agreed to disagree." Spencer
exhaled a long breath. "It's for the best."
"
I see." Kate sipped her lemonade.
Her eyes lifted thoughtfully to Spencer's.
Her heart thumped with worry. Sending his aunt back to Australia—it
made the old lady sound like an unwanted parcel.
"
Don't worry, it was Alexia's idea."
Spencer's mouth turned down at the corners. "She'd been feeling
under-appreciated for some time. And she's not getting any
younger."
He smiled. "Besides, my father has lined
up the best medical care money can buy. Alexia will want for
nothing and she's taking great delight in ordering her nurses
about. She'll be more than fine."
"
So, what will you do now?" Kate
questioned. "For help with Jamie, I mean."
"
Jamie has a very good friend in Tommy
Barker." Spencer finished his lemonade in one long swallow and
raised an eyebrow, holding out his glass. Kate moved to refill
it.
"
I've made arrangements with Tommy's mother
for Jamie to go with him after school until I'm free to collect
him."
"
And when you're on call?"
"
Vicki Henry, the wife of my stable manager
has agreed to do the daily housework and look after Jamie when I'm
not there. They have children of their own."
"
Of course. I'd forgotten about your
horses." Kate finished her lemonade, turning away to put the glass
in the dishwasher.
"
They're not all mine." Spencer stood. "I
provide the land, stabling and maintain the fencing. I have people
who run that side of things for me. The practice takes up most of
my time. But, I like to keep my hand in."
"
Grandpapa has lots of horses." Jamie
walked around the end of the breakfast bar and into the kitchen to
hand Kate his glass. "He lets me ride them sometimes."
"
Keeping it in the family," Kate
remarked.
"
My father runs a large thoroughbred stud
outside Melbourne." Spencer told her. "He also owns an interest in
a local winery, runs a few head of cattle and grows some olive
trees. He hates to be idle."
Like father, like son, Kate thought, her
gaze slipping away from his. What the Stelanos family did was none
of her concern. And she needed to remember that.
But she could never picture Spencer being
idle. Not that she wanted to picture Spencer Stelanos at all, if
she could somehow manage to turn off the erotic picture show
playing endlessly in the back of her mind.
"
We went to see Mama in Sydney," Jamie said
then, screwing up his small face. "She said she'd be there." He
heaved a deep sigh. "But she wasn't. She'd gone sailing with her
new man friend."
"
Next time we'll telephone first. Make sure
your mother remembers we're coming," Spencer put in quickly,
obviously to soften his son's look of deep
disappointment.
"
I guess so," Jamie sighed again gustily.
He looked up hopefully. "Papa, can Auntie Kate come to dinner
tonight? You said she could sometime. We ate all her cookies. It's
Saturday, so I don't have school tomorrow. Please,
Papa."
Kate's
heart tripped over its beat. Oh, no,
that was asking too much. She shouldn't have baked those
cookies.