Читать книгу Elusive Lover - Кэрол Мортимер, Carole Mortimer - Страница 5

‘I—Good morning,’ she returned stiltedly. ‘I’m sorry if I disturbed you.’ She looked away from that naked chest and the clear outline of his thighs beneath the sheet.

Heavy lids lowered over teasing green eyes. ‘Honey, this sort of disturbance I like,’ he grinned at her.

Erin wished he wouldn’t smile at her, it gave her a fluttering sensation in her stomach and made her breath catch in her throat. ‘I thought this room was empty,’ she said awkwardly.

‘It is—except for me.’

‘I——’ She suddenly realised he was still holding her wrist, his thumb running over the delicate veins there. When she tried to pull away his grip tightened, pulling her down beside him on the bed. ‘Would you let go of me? Please,’ she added in a pleading tone.

‘In a minute,’ he dismissed, his other hand coming up to slowly trail the fingers down her cheek. He frowned as she flinched. ‘What is it?’ he asked sharply. ‘Did I hurt you?’

He had been infinitely gentle, and he knew it. It was that she no longer trusted herself to be any sort of judge of character. Yesterday she had thought him a nice man who was genuinely interested in her, until he had shown her that his appointment, which by the odour in this room had been with a beer bottle, was more important than listening to the woeful tale of some unknown English girl, and now he had pulled her down on to his bed, in which he was obviously naked.

‘Erin?’ he prompted.

At least he remembered her name! ‘No,’ she moved away from that caressing hand, ‘you didn’t hurt me. I’ll come back when you’ve gone,’ and she stood up, trying to pull her wrist out of his grasp.

He was completely alert now, the last blanket of sleep—or hangover—pushed to the background. ‘Did you eat last night?’ he asked suddenly, refusing to let her go.

He completely threw her with the unexpectedness of the question. ‘No,’ she answered huskily.

His face darkened with anger. ‘Why?’

‘I—I forgot.’

‘You forgot!’ he repeated in disgust. ‘How can you forget to eat?’

Erin moved uncomfortably. ‘I don’t know how, I just do it all the time.’

He gave an angry sigh. ‘Because you’re too damn tired to think straight. What time did you finish here last night?’

‘About six-thirty.’

‘Plenty of time for you to have met me for dinner.’

Her nose wrinkled. ‘I’d rather have no dinner at all than one that consisted mainly of beer.’

For a moment Joshua Hawke looked incredulous, then his eyes glittered with anger. ‘You little——!’ He broke off, pulling her roughly down beside him to bend over her, his mouth coming down savagely on hers.

Erin was shocked into acquiescence, lying quietly beneath him as he plundered her mouth with ruthless insistence, holding her arms at her sides as she began to fight him. She was suffocating, unable to breathe, and her frightened groans of distress finally seemed to reach him as he lifted his head to look down at her.

She couldn’t have known the vulnerable figure she looked, with her wide frightened eyes and trembling lower lip. Joshua Hawke’s expression softened as he looked down at her. ‘Your accusations were unfounded, little one,’ he said softly. ‘But I don’t think you deserved that,’ he touched her slightly swollen lips. ‘Do you accept my apology?’

She couldn’t speak, couldn’t move. ‘I—I——’

‘You’re babbling again,’ he taunted.

Her eyes flashed. ‘Of course I’m babbling!’ She pushed against him, the warmth of his skin seeming to burn her hand, bringing her to an awareness of the fact that only a thin cotton sheet separated her from his nakedness. She sat up, scrambling hastily off the bed. ‘You shouldn’t have kissed me,’ she accused.

He leant back against the headboard. ‘I agree, I shouldn’t. But then you shouldn’t have accused me of having a drinking dinner. I had a couple of beers with some friends of mine, but I certainly wasn’t drunk.’

‘No?’ She picked a pair of crumpled denims up from the floor, giving him a pointed look before putting them on the chair.

‘Don’t do that!’ He threw back the sheet and got out of bed, wearing a pair of navy blue briefs, his legs as tanned as the rest of him. He put the denims back on the floor. ‘They happen to reek of beer.’ He unzipped the holdall and pulled out another pair of denims.

Erin looked down at the floor, never having seen a man almost naked before, especially one who was so unconcerned by the fact. She daren’t look up, her embarrassment was so acute.

‘And it wasn’t beer I intended drinking.’ He pulled on the denims and zipped them up. ‘Dave tipped a whole glassful of his beer over me—accidentally. You can look up now,’ he drawled mockingly.

She looked up and then looked hastily away again. His chest was still bare, covered with a fine mat of black hair, his stomach taut and flat, the dark hair passing over his stomach, and lower. He had a magnificent body, lean and tautly muscled, and just to look at him made her blush.

His hand came up under her chin to tilt her face up to him, forcing her to look at him. ‘Hey, no one is that shy,’ he teased.

‘I am!’ she snapped. ‘Put it down to my prissy English background,’ she added bitchily.

He laughed. ‘I’m not to be forgiven for that either, hmm?’

She sighed. ‘I just wish you wouldn’t tease me.’

His thumb slowly caressed her bottom lip. ‘Who says I was teasing?’

Her eyes flew open, deeply blue, her lashes long and thick, naturally so. ‘I—You must have been,’ she fluttered.

He raised his eyebrows. ‘Must I?’

‘Yes…’

Josh Hawke shook his head. ‘I never tease when I make love to a woman. But you’re such a baby, I probably scared the hell out of you, hmm?’

She licked her lips nervously. ‘A—a bit.’

He nodded. ‘I thought so. Well, this time I’m forewarning you. You have two seconds to move away, otherwise I’m going to kiss you again.’

She couldn’t move; she tried, but something held her back. Maybe it was the warmth of his breath against her cheek, or the mesmerism of his deep green eyes, whatever the reason she hadn’t moved when his head lowered to claim her lips for the second time.

His shoulders felt firm beneath her touch as he curved her slender body against the hardness of his, almost lifting her off the ground as he held her to him. His mouth moved druggingly against her, his hands moving down her back, his fingertips running lightly up and down her spine.

Erin was starving for affection, crying out for someone to love her. It had been so long since anyone had held her, kissed her, and she fell a victim of her own weakness for affection, her arms entwining about his neck as she stood on tiptoe to increase the pressure of his mouth on hers.

He pulled back with a gasp. ‘Erin——’

‘Yes—Erin,’ drawled a sarcastic voice from the doorway.

She turned a guilt-stricken face to Frances Johnston as she stood in the doorway, pulling out of Josh Hawke’s arms to run to the door, brushing past Frances and out of the room.

‘Erin——’

‘Don’t worry about her,’ Frances softly interrupted Josh as he came after Erin, and her hand glided up his chest, her long nails painted a deep dark red, ‘Erin tends to be a little—emotional,’ she added huskily. ‘Youth has a way of looking at these things differently.’

Erin turned just in time to see Frances moving insinuatingly against Josh as she slowly pushed him back inside the room.

She couldn’t stay here another moment longer, she just couldn’t. She might be left out on a limb, with no job and nowhere to sleep, but after what Frances had just witnessed her life wouldn’t be worth living around here anyway.

Once she reached the privacy of her room she threw all her belongings into her battered suitcase, tears streaming down her face. Josh was probably reaping the benefit of Frances’ experience at this moment. He would certainly find she had a lot more to offer than Erin had.

God, she hated him, hated them both. How could she have let Josh kiss her like that, have actually kissed him back! It wouldn’t have happened normally, not if she weren’t feeling so miserably alone. She wasn’t usually susceptible to the lazy charm Josh had seduced her with, she was just homesick, needed to get back to England, to——

Who was she kidding? The man had enough charm and sexual attraction to make her fall for the same thing all over again. He had probably recognised her need for some kind of human warmth, and had decided to take advantage of it.

She was such a fool, such a complete and utter idiot. A man like that wouldn’t seriously be interested in someone like her. He was in town looking for fun—and she was supposed to be it. Frances would be a willing stand-in, and Joshua Hawke would probably enjoy it more with her.

The door to her room was suddenly flung open, and Mike Johnston came inside and closed the door. ‘Well, well, well,’ he taunted, his gaze insolently undressing her. ‘And just where do you think you’re going?’ he looked pointedly at her half packed suitcase.

She threw some more clothes inside, not caring that they would all be creased and unwearable when next she opened it. ‘I’m leaving,’ she threw some more things in the case. ‘Right now.’

‘Oh yeah?’ he sneered, his arms folded challengingly across his chest.

‘Yes,’ she nodded, going into the bathroom to collect her few cosmetics.

Mike followed her, swinging her round to face him. ‘You can’t just walk out on me.’

‘I’m going!’ She tried to pry his fingers from her arm, but they refused to be dislodged. ‘Let me go, Mike.’

‘Not until you’ve given me what I want, what you gave that guy in room twenty-six last night.’ His wet lips came down on hers, forcing her head back, her arms twisted painfully behind her back.

‘No!’ She wrenched her mouth away, struggling to be free.

‘Yes!’ he hissed, pulling her so hard against him that he knocked the breath from her body, momentarily dazing her. He pushed her over to the bed and forced her down, his weight pressing down on her.

After Josh this man was grotesque, everything about him nauseating her, so much so that she couldn’t even fight him as he pulled her shirt out of her denims and roughly undid the buttons.

‘I told you I was the first in line when you started coming across,’ he breathed heavily as he looked down at her nakedness. ‘Frances told me you stayed with that guy Hawke last night,’ he snarled.

That brought her out of her daze. ‘Frances told you…?’

‘Just now,’ he nodded, his mouth plundering the hollow between her breasts.

Just now? That meant Frances must have left Josh almost immediately, and from the way she had made a play for him Erin didn’t think the other woman had been the one to call a halt. Josh must have rejected her, he must have done!

She began to struggle now, to fight back, although she didn’t give herself time to wonder why Josh’s lack of interest in Frances should cause this reaction. ‘Let me go, Mike,’ she ordered firmly. ‘Let me go!’ she panicked as he refused to be pushed off, his weight heavy on top of her.

Suddenly he was pulled off her and slammed against the wall. ‘You heard the lady,’ Josh told him, dangerously soft, his eyes glittering like green pebbles as he held the other man pinned to the wall. ‘She doesn’t like you touching her.’

Erin was too busy rebuttoning her shirt to care about the damage Josh might do to Mike; the former was obviously the stronger and fitter of the two.

Mike gave a taunting smile, holding up his hands defensively. ‘She’s all yours, if you want her badly enough to fight over her. Personally I’ve never found her that good.’

She gasped. ‘Why, you——’

‘Keep your dirty comments to yourself,’ Josh rasped, his grasp tightening about the other man’s throat. ‘Or would you like me to make you?’

‘Josh——’

‘You can get out,’ Mike turned on her savagely. ‘Just take your things and get out.’

‘Don’t worry,’ Josh’s mouth twisted, ‘I don’t intend leaving her here with you.’ He thrust the other man away from him, wiping his hands down his denim-clad thighs, as if the touch of the other man had contaminated him.

‘Why, you——!’ Mike raised a fist and swung it at Josh, missing by inches as the latter ducked, his own fist landing painfully in Mike’s flabby stomach. ‘Hell!’ Mike groaned, bent over double.

‘Get out,’ Josh ordered coldly.

Mike looked up with jaundiced eyes. ‘You can’t tell me to get out of my own property!’

‘I just did.’

‘But——’

‘Out!’ Josh snapped tautly.

Mike staggered to the door. ‘I meant it about your going,’ he snarled at Erin’s bent head.

‘Neither of us will be staying,’ Josh answered for her. ‘As soon as Erin has her things together we’ll both be leaving.’

‘That will save me the trouble of throwing you out!’ Even Mike must have realised that was a purely defensive threat, because he made a hasty exit.

Erin slumped back down on to the rumpled bed. ‘Oh, God!’ she shuddered, burying her face in her hands.

Josh’s arm came about her shoulders as he sat down next to her. ‘It’s all over now, sweetheart,’ he comforted gently.

She stiffened, moving away from him. ‘Until the next time,’ she mumbled, standing up to fasten her packed suitcase.

His eyes narrowed to steely green slits. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

She shrugged, feeling cold inside, numb. ‘Men are all the same—they take, they don’t give.’

Amusement lightened his expression. ‘And where did you learn that little gem?’

Her eyes sparkled as she glared at him. ‘From men like you, like Mike, like—like——’

‘Like?’ he suddenly towered over her.

‘Like my father, like Bob,’ she told him vehemently. ‘My father only had me in the first place to try and keep his marriage together, and when it didn’t he couldn’t give a damn about me. And as for Bob, he never wanted me in the first place. He couldn’t wait to throw me out either.’

‘What did you do to him?’ Josh drawled.

‘Nothing! I tried to do everything for him. I took care of him, I even tried to love him, and in the end he threw me out. He has a woman called Mary living with him now,’ she added bitterly.

She had written to Bob to let him know she was leaving her father’s house, and he had written back telling her that there was no place for her at his home, that he had a girl-friend, a girl-friend who had moved in with him. She hadn’t been in touch with him since.

‘Are you ready to leave?’ Josh asked abruptly.

‘Yes. But I don’t really expect you to leave with me.’ She shrugged. ‘Why should you?’

‘Maybe I don’t like the idea of the barracuda being able to enter my room any time she chooses. Or maybe I just don’t like the idea of that guy trying to get into bed with the girls who work for him.’

‘Girl,’ Erin corrected, pulling on her jacket. ‘I’m the only girl who works for him,’ she explained at his questioning look.

‘And the barracuda?’

‘Mike’s wife, Frances.’

The green eyes widened. ‘Those two are married?’

Her mouth twisted wryly. ‘I’m afraid so.’

‘Hell,’ Josh shook his head. ‘Do they have any children?’

‘No—thank God.’

‘My sentiments exactly.’ He buttoned the shirt he had obviously pulled on in a hurry. ‘Do you know that woman was perfectly willing to carry on where you’d left off?’ he expressed his disgust.

Colour flooded her cheeks as she remembered exactly where she had ‘left off’. ‘You aren’t telling me you didn’t like it,’ she scorned to hide her embarrassment.

His expression darkened, his handsome face harsh. ‘Would I be here if I did?’

‘I—No, I suppose not.’

‘Definitely not.’ His mouth twisted. ‘Now let’s get going. I’ll take you out to breakfast.’

‘I’m not——’

‘You’re eating,’ he told her firmly, pulling her out of the room with him. ‘I’ll just get my holdall. Wait here for me,’ he instructed once they reached the front of the motel.

Erin waited until he had entered his room before going into the reception area. Frances wasn’t there, so perhaps she was actually cleaning the rooms for a change. After all, there was no one else to do it, not now.

Mike looked up with a scowl; his stomach was obviously still bothering him. ‘What do you want?’ he growled.

Erin stood her ground, sick of being exploited, determined not to take it any more. ‘I want my wages for the past week,’ she told him unflinchingly.

His face became flushed with anger. ‘You have to be kidding,’ he scoffed, his gaze insolent. ‘Let your lover take care of you.’

She had to bite her tongue to stop the fiery retort that sprang to her lips. She wouldn’t give this man the satisfaction of losing her temper with him, he just wasn’t worth it. ‘I want my wages,’ she repeated in a controlled voice. ‘And I want them now.’

‘Well, you aren’t getting them,’ he told her nastily.

‘Is that your last word on the subject?’

‘Yes, that’s my last word on the subject,’ he mimicked.

‘Very well,’ she gave a cold inclination of her head, ‘you’ll be hearing from my lawyer.’

His eyes widened in surprise. ‘Over a few dollars?’

Erin shook her head, remaining calm and composed. It was as if she were someone else, a new Erin who wouldn’t be undermined. ‘Not over a few dollars, no. But over a case of sexual harassment, yes.’

He gasped. ‘Sexual harassment——! My God, you little bitch!’

‘I mean it,’ she said firmly.

He was white with anger. ‘I can see that, damn you,’ he rasped, pulling open a drawer to take out some dollars and throw them across the desk at her. ‘Here, take it. And don’t ever come back.’

‘I don’t intend to.’ Erin picked up the money and crammed it into her denims pocket, picked up her suitcase and turned to leave. Josh was leaning against the doorjamb, open respect in the warmth of his eyes. ‘Thank you,’ she accepted gratefully as he took her suitcase out of her shaking hand.

‘You took a risk in there, little one,’ he said once they were outside, his expression grim. ‘He could have got really nasty.’

‘So could I,’ she told him without emotion.

Josh shook his head. ‘Not as nasty as he could. I thought you’d left, you know,’ he gave her a sideways glance.

If she could have got her money and left before he reappeared then she probably would have done. As it was she intended taking the first opportunity she could to get away from him. She had had it with men, any man.

‘Not until I had my money,’ she said firmly.

‘You said sexual harassment,’ he recalled slowly. ‘Does that mean this morning has happened before?’

She, flushed. ‘Not in such intensity, no. Could you slow down a little?’ she requested impatiently, having great difficulty keeping up with his longer strides. ‘Where’s your pick-up truck, anyway?’

‘Being serviced. It should be ready this afternoon.’ He slowed down. ‘What do you mean, not in such intensity?’

She shot him a resentful glance, once again acknowledging, reluctantly, how well the hat, denims, and boots suited his dark, rugged attractiveness. He could almost have belonged to the days of the Wild West, almost. But there was an air of awareness about him, almost one of sophistication—if it could be called that, an impression of worldliness that seemed to indicate that he didn’t always dress or act this casually.

‘Erin?’ he prompted at her silence.

‘Oh, he just—he’s touched me, made implications, things like that,’ she dismissed, hating having to talk about such things, especially to the man she had kissed so passionately only minutes earlier. ‘Nothing I couldn’t handle.’

‘Until this morning,’ he said dryly.

‘That was your fault,’ she flashed. ‘Oh yes, it was,’ she insisted at his sceptical snort. ‘Frances told Mike that you and I had spent the night together. He didn’t like that.’

‘It seems the barracuda can talk when she wants to. It took me a hell of a long time to get her to tell me where you were living,’ he explained. ‘Did that guy force his way into your room just now?’

‘Or did I let him in, you mean?’ she scorned bitterly.

‘No, I didn’t mean.’ His expression darkened. ‘How did he get in if you didn’t let him in?’

‘By using his key,’ she revealed dully.

‘You gave him——’

‘No, I didn’t!’ she snapped, and explained how Mike came to have a key to her room.

‘The bastard!’ Josh muttered.

‘Yes.’ They were still walking, apparently with no purpose in mind. ‘Where are we going?’

‘I told you, to have breakfast. Here we are,’ he stopped outside one of the restaurants she never seemed to have the time to try. ‘I hope you’re hungry,’ he said before going inside.

Erin had the feeling that even if she weren’t he would still make sure she ate. She had no choice but to follow him in, her case, with all her worldly possessions, still held firmly in his hand.

He was greeted like a regular, obviously well known by the waitress who came to seat them. ‘Table for two, Josh?’ she looked speculatively at Erin.

And no wonder! It was only nine-thirty in the morning, and Josh was still carrying her suitcase.

‘That’s right, Marie,’ he grinned at the young girl, her open, fresh prettiness obviously appealing to him. ‘And do you have somewhere to stow this until after we’ve eaten?’ he indicated the suitcase.

‘Sure——’

‘Oh, but——’

‘Something wrong, Erin?’ Josh quirked one black eyebrow at her.

She reached for the case, anxious not to let it out of her sight. ‘I’d rather keep it with me.’ It was all she had in the world.

‘Okay,’ but he kept a firm grip on it. ‘Table for two people and a suitcase, Marie,’ he requested tauntingly.

Erin waited until the other girl had poured their coffee before lashing out at him. ‘It’s all right for you to laugh at me,’ she snapped, ‘but everything I own is in that case.’

He pulled a face. ‘It doesn’t weigh much.’

‘That’s because I don’t own much!’

‘Drink your coffee,’ he instructed. ‘It’s good and strong. You’ll feel better for it.’

‘How do you know that?’ she asked in a disgruntled voice. ‘I may not even like coffee. Did that occur to you when you were accepting on my behalf?’

‘You should have said——’

‘As it happens, I like coffee,’ she told him coldly. ‘What I don’t like is someone making my mind up for me.’

Green eyes narrowed with impatience. ‘I’m sorry, Your Majesty. Is this place to your liking, Your Highness?’

She blushed at his sarcasm, pretending to look around consideringly. Compared to the eating-house she had worked in this was really good, very clean, the booths and tables all fitted out in green crushed velvet, the staff all smartly dressed in black and white.

The two of them were seated in a side booth, the hot sun from outside not filtering through the small set-back window and so making it hot and uncomfortable to eat.

‘Well?’ Josh prompted.

Erin looked back at him. He was easily the most attractive man in the room; most of the other tables were full. He had taken off his hat now that they were inside, and his hair appeared even blacker, slightly ruffled where he had run a casual hand through it. The denim jacket and trousers were just as casual, the boots just as dusty, and yet he stood out from the similarly clad men in the room.

‘It’s all right,’ she shrugged, annoyed with herself for noticing how attractive Josh was. Enough men had hurt her lately, without her falling for this man.

Marie came back to take their order, and Erin half-heartedly ordered eggs and bacon, making sure her request for her eggs to be ‘flipped over’ went in, the thought of the near raw eggs she would be served if it didn’t making her feel nauseous. She had made that mistake once, but she had never made it again. Josh ordered everything—eggs, bacon, sausages, and wheatcakes.

‘Like some?’ he asked as he requested the latter.

‘No, thank you,’ she grimaced. She would have enough trouble getting the eggs and bacon down her. Since she had stopped eating so much she had been unable to take in great amounts when she did get around to having a meal.

‘Hash browns?’ he asked hopefully.

She rather liked this form of fried potato, so she nodded acceptance. ‘Please,’ she added politely, sitting back as her coffee cup was refilled. She had learnt that wherever you went they would just keep filling your cup up with coffee unless you asked them to stop, and they never seemed to charge any more for it. She knew, because sometimes these gallons of coffee were all she could afford on the budget she had allowed herself.

‘At last we’ve found something the lady likes,’ Josh taunted, sitting back in his seat as he watched her through narrowed eyes.

Erin flushed. ‘I’m sorry if I’m bad company. It isn’t every day I lose my job and get thrown out of my lodgings.’

‘Mm, we’ll have to see what we can do about that later. Right now I intend to have that talk you vetoed last night. Let’s start at the beginning. How did you get out here in the first place?’

‘Plane!’ she mocked.

‘Very funny! I meant where did you get the money from?’

It must be obvious from her clothes that she couldn’t have afforded the ticket herself, and she flushed her resentment. ‘How do you think I got it? Walking the streets?’

Josh sat forward with a sigh, obviously coming to the end of his patience with her. ‘You tell me,’ he drawled. ‘Did you?’

‘Of course not——’

‘Why so indignant, Erin? You brought the subject up, I’m just asking. Is that the way you got your money together to come here?’

He was serious, damn him! Her sarcasm had backfired on her, Josh’s intent look showed her that he wanted an answer. ‘No, it isn’t! Bob bought me a one-way ticket.’

‘Boy, he must have really wanted to get rid of you. Not a very good reference, is it?’ Josh mocked.

Erin gave him a startled look. ‘I beg your pardon?’

‘It doesn’t matter,’ he dismissed. ‘You aren’t bad at keeping a place clean, anyway.’

She flushed. ‘I’ll get another job, if that’s what you mean.’

‘Honey, I’m sure you will. With your talents you’re sure to be in demand.’

‘If you’re being sarcastic——’

‘Oh, but I’m not. I know a lot of men who would jump at the chance of having someone like you to keep their house clean during the day and their bed warm at night.’

‘You——’

‘Our breakfast has arrived, Erin,’ he interrupted what looked like being a tirade, sitting back while his laden plate was placed in front of him, smiling up at the susceptible Marie.

Erin saw that smile, and the effect it had on the other girl, and looked away. One smile and he thought he had Marie in the palm of his hand. Maybe he did, but his charm wasn’t working as well on her. She would just have her breakfast and go, knowing she had to find herself another job before this evening or risk sleeping under the stars. She had no idea how the police felt about people sleeping out on benches over here; in London they were usually moved on or arrested for the night. That would be all she needed!

She thanked Marie for bringing her meal. ‘I don’t like the implications of your remark,’ she told Josh once the waitress had moved away.

He looked up from pouring maple syrup on his wheatcakes. ‘I wasn’t implying anything, I was stating a fact. On your track record you’re sure to get yourself into another unwanted situation.’

‘I didn’t choose to have Mike makes passes at me!’ Her eyes flashed deeply violet.

‘Just as you didn’t choose to have Bob throw you out and replace you with a woman called Mary. You sure know how to pick ‘em, Erin,’ he shook his head. ‘Now eat your breakfast. And no more talking until I’ve finished eating. I hate arguing with a pretty woman when I’m eating.’

‘You——’

‘I mean it, Erin,’ his eyes were like green chips of glass. ‘Eat.’

She did so, reluctantly at first, and then with increasing enjoyment as her appetite returned.

Josh drank several cups of coffee with his meal, the eager Marie always seeming to be on hand to refill his cup, her manner cooler when she served Erin.

‘Right,’ he finally sat back, his plate completely empty now, a satisfied smile to his lips. He eyed her half-eaten food. ‘Is that all you can manage?’ he frowned.

She nodded, having sat back in amazement as Josh had eaten all the fried food on his plate, plus the wheatcakes and a couple of rounds of toast. It had taken her all her time to eat what she had, and in truth it hadn’t been much.

Josh’s frown deepened, his wide brow furrowed. ‘Will that get you through the day?’

‘Usually,’ she nodded again.

He shook his head. ‘I think you should see a doctor——’

‘Don’t be silly,’ she gave a dismissive laugh. ‘My body has just got used to taking in less, that’s all.’

‘Have you ever heard of anorexia nervosa?’

‘Of course—I haven’t got that!’ she scorned, having heard a lot in the media about the dieting disease that could kill people if they weren’t helped soon enough.

‘Maybe not yet,’ he conceded. ‘But you’re headed that way. You need feeding up, three good meals a day.’

‘After which I would probably be as big as an elephant,’ she smiled. ‘I’ve always had a tendency to put on weight easily.’

‘Contrary to popular belief, most men prefer a woman with a little flesh on their bones,’ he rasped harshly.

‘Show me one,’ she laughed.

‘You’re looking at him.’ He gazed steadily back at her as her eyes widened in disbelief.

‘You have to be thin nowadays to look good in clothes,’ she defended the fashion of being boyishly slender.

‘It’s no good looking good in clothes if you look awful without them,’ he derided.

‘I don’t look awful——’

‘Granted,’ Josh nodded. ‘From the little I saw when that guy almost had your shirt off I would say you have a nice little body. I just think you should be a little more concerned about the fact that you can no longer eat a normal sized meal.’

Erin was still blushing over the fact that he thought she had a ‘nice little body’, but unconcerned about her eating problem. That he had noticed her body at all came as something of a surprise to her, that he liked it made her feel selfconscious.

‘I’ll be fine once I get back to England,’ she assured him.

‘And when will that be?’

‘I—I’m not sure.’ She evaded those all-seeing green eyes. ‘Next month, maybe,’ she lied.

‘Why not now? You have nothing to keep you here, do you?’

‘I—no. I came over to see my father, but it didn’t work out.’

‘Tell me about it,’ Josh prompted softly.

‘There isn’t a lot to tell,’ she said awkwardly. The pain was still too new for her to talk about it unemotionally.

‘Tell me anyway,’ Josh insisted.

She told him the bare outline of her visit to her father, aware that he was astute enough to read between the lines, and by the sympathy in his eyes he had done that very well.

When she had finished he just nodded. ‘So now you’re alone in Calgary?’

‘Yes.’

‘So why don’t you go home?’

‘Because I don’t have the money! I’m sorry,’ she sighed, ‘I didn’t mean to shout. But it’s so expensive living in Calgary. It’s going to take me months to get the money together for my return ticket.’ Without realising it she contradicted her previous statement about returning next month.

‘Not necessarily,’ Josh put in softly.

‘Oh, it will,’ she nodded. ‘I wasn’t expecting to be returning, so what little savings I did have I spent on a few new clothes. And I’m not getting on very well with my saving here.’ She straightened in her chair. ‘Which reminds me, I should be going. Thank you for breakfast, Mr Hawke, but I have to go and get myself another job now.’

His hand on her arm stayed her move to stand up. ‘What sort of job?’

Erin shrugged. ‘The same as I’ve been doing, I suppose.’

‘Cleaning and making beds?’

‘Yes,’ she answered resentfully. ‘There always seem to be those type of jobs going.’

‘Oh, there are,’ Josh nodded. ‘I know of one myself.’

‘You do? Where—No, I can’t ask you for any more help,’ she sighed. ‘You’ve been very kind already. In fact, I should be buying you breakfast.’ She pulled the notes out of her pocket that Mike had given her for her wages, giving a rueful laugh. ‘I think you must have frightened Mike—he overpaid me!’

‘Put it away, Erin,’ Josh instructed in a voice that brooked no argument. ‘When I invite someone out to eat I don’t expect them to pay for it. And I meant it about the job. Are you interested?’

Pride warred with necessity, and finally necessity won. ‘Yes, I suppose I am. It would be the same sort of thing, cleaning, stuff like that?’

‘Stuff like that,’ he nodded. ‘What you have to decide is whether or not you would find my sexual harassment any more acceptable that you did Mike Johnston’s.’