Читать книгу Bride On Loan - Leigh Michaels - Страница 8

THE pillows supporting Caleb’s knee slid, and the shaft of pain that shot up his leg made him wince and look hopefully at the clock. But there was another hour to wait before he could have the next dose of pain medication, so he swore under his breath, lay back as best he could, took a couple of deep breaths and tried to distract himself by studying the woman who stood beside the sofa.

Under normal conditions, he decided, she could take a man’s mind off almost anything. Of course, these weren’t normal conditions. His knee was a constant reminder that she was not only pleasant to look at but damned dangerous to handle—and that was something he had no intention of forgetting.

He’d noticed her as soon as he’d walked through the front door at Tanner Electronics yesterday, just as he noticed any extraordinarily pretty woman who happened across his field of vision. His optic nerves were hard-wired for that sort of observation, so in the first split second he’d automatically assessed the basics—she was tall and slim, with hair as sleek as black satin and green eyes set at an exotic tilt in a porcelain-fine heart-shaped face.

Then she’d pasted him to the floor, and suddenly he hadn’t been in the mood to study her any further. He already had enough of a mental picture to let him identify her in a police lineup or to avoid her on the street, so what else could he possibly need to know?

But that had been yesterday. Since then, he’d had an unpleasant evening in the emergency room, a long and almost-sleepless night and an almighty frustrating morning. Now here she was again—and it occurred to him that he might be able to put Cat Woman to good use.

Though…it was mighty convenient of her to show up just now. Suspicion flickered through him. Was it possible she had some sort of agenda of her own?

He surveyed her through narrowed eyes and decided that she looked far too ill at ease to be plotting anything. Relieved, he dismissed the idea and settled back, letting his gaze linger on her face.

His initial assessment might have been lightning-fast, but it had been absolutely on target, he concluded without surprise. Where pretty women were concerned, he never missed.

Today the satiny hair was pulled into a subdued knot at the nape of her neck, and instead of the slinky black cat costume she was wearing a soft tweed pantsuit in a color that made him think of the pine forests that lined the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Neither change did anything to diminish her attractiveness. They simply added an air of efficiency and capability.

Which just went to show, Caleb thought, how very deceptive appearances could be.

“Sit down,” he invited, and waved a hand at a nearby chair.

She set the small shopping bag she carried on the floor near the couch, laid the sheaf of flowers on the coffee table and sank onto the edge of the black leather seat. To watch her, Caleb told himself, one would think she was the most graceful creature on earth.

“I brought you a few magazines,” she said. “I hope they’ll help pass some time.” She seemed to be having trouble making her voice work right. “I understand your knee’s not broken, after all, just sprained.”

“Technically, they called it a strain.” He saw the tiny quiver of relief go through her and added maliciously, “Of course, the doctors tell me a bad strain’s almost worse than a break. It’ll certainly take longer to heal completely, and it’s far more likely to be reinjured in the future if I’m not extremely cautious.”

“Oh.” Her voice was very small.

“Yes. I’m looking forward—if you want to put it that way—to as much as two weeks in this contraption.” He gestured at the immobilizer. “And even after that, I’ll still be on crutches for a while. It will likely be months before I’m back in top form.”

She’d turned white, he noted. Encouraged, he pressed on. “That means I can’t easily go up and down stairs. I can go to work, but only if I install a recliner or a hospital bed in my office to keep my leg elevated. And of course, that’s assuming I can get there—I couldn’t drive a car even if I had one, and I certainly can’t ride my motorcycle.”

“If you’re trying to make me feel bad, Mr. Tanner—”

“Not at all,” he said, not even trying to sound candid. “I’m only telling you the circumstances of my life. The very much changed circumstances.”

“I’ve already said I’m sorry.”

He pretended not to hear. “You know,” he said sadly, “I was scheduled to go skydiving this weekend.”

Her eyes, he noted with interest, looked like turbulent storm clouds when she was angry.

She said, through almost clenched teeth, “Would you knock off the pity party?”

He stared at her and did his best to look wounded. “If you think I don’t have a right to feel sorry for myself, Ms.—”

“Oh, you’ve got a right. I just don’t think that’s what you’re doing at the moment. If you’re hoping to scare me into offering you some sort of settlement—”

“Not a bad idea,” he said thoughtfully.

“For the damage I’ve supposedly done to you—”

“What do you mean, supposedly? This immobilizer isn’t exactly a figment of my imagination.”

“There’s still the question of who’s really at fault, you know.”

“But there’s no doubt at all about who’s been damaged.”

“Nobody made you grab hold of that tank.”

“What? You asked me to lend a hand!”

“I didn’t suggest you pretend to be Hercules. At any rate, I should warn you that I don’t have much in the way of financial resources. So if you are hoping to collect from me, I’m afraid that you’re not going to have much luck.”

Caleb shrugged. “Money I have plenty of. But there are other ways of settling scores, you know. The kind of damages I want to collect, you’ll have no trouble paying.”

Her eyes turned to arctic ice. The effect was almost enough to make him shiver.

“I see,” she said. “Of course, it wouldn’t be the first time a man has leaped to the conclusion that because I’m not exactly hard on the eyes, it would be worth his while to try to manipulate me into bed, but—”

He grinned. “You think sex is what I have in mind? When the moon turns to liverwurst, maybe.”

She colored a little and said in a small, tight voice, “I do apologize. How conceited of me to assume you might find me attractive in that way.”

So the lady had a vulnerable spot, he thought with delight. “That wasn’t what you assumed,” he said easily. “You jumped to the conclusion I’m the kind of guy who wouldn’t hesitate to blackmail a woman for sex whether I found her attractive or not.”

Her gaze dropped to her hands, folded in her lap.

“Not a very flattering picture,” Caleb went on. “But you know, I didn’t say that I don’t find you appealing. It’s just that, having already had a good demonstration of what you’re capable of, I’d have to be a blooming idiot to ask for more. Frankly, my mind boggles at the thought of what you could accomplish if—”

“There’s no need to go into detail, Mr. Tanner. Now, since we’ve established that we’re not discussing going to bed, perhaps you’d like to make clear what you do have in mind?”

He took his time. Letting her stew in suspense might have interesting results. “As I’ve already pointed out, there are a number of things I’m not going to be able to do on my own for the next few weeks.”

“So? I presume that’s why you have what’s his name out there. Jennings—is that it?”

“Jennings is a fine butler in what has up till now been a low-maintenance household.”

He watched her gaze flick around the room. “Are you sure low-maintenance is the word you want?” She sounded honestly curious. “I’d call it neglected, myself.”

“I’m not referring to the house, exactly, but to my needs. Jennings answers the door and the telephone, cooks a bit, supervises the cleaning team, that sort of thing. But I take care of myself.”

“Fancy that.”

He decided to ignore the interruption. “However, now I can’t look after my own needs—and I can’t expect Jennings to pick up the slack. He’s too old to be on call around the clock, but someone will have to be.”

“And you’re expecting me to wait on you?”

“You’ve got it. I’m going to need someone to fetch and carry, hand me my crutches, sort out my pills, plump my pillows, bring fresh ice packs, read to me when I’m restless, go out for ice cream at three in the morning if I can’t sleep….”

“I get the idea,” she said dryly. “I just don’t see why you want me doing all those things.”

“I’d say you’re a natural choice. Jake tells me this is the very sort of thing your business does all the time.”

“Not precisely,” she said coolly. “There’s a reason we called it Rent-A-Wife, not Buy-A-Slave.”

“Look at it this way, Ms…” He shifted, trying without success to get more comfortable. “What is your name?”

“Does it matter? I thought slaves had to answer to whatever their masters called them.” After a moment, though, her gaze wavered and she said softly, “Sabrina Saunders.”

“Sabrina,” he said slowly, making the name almost a caress. “You caused this problem. You’re going to fix it. At least as much as it can be fixed.”

“Look, there are agencies that provide special-duty nurses, and I’m sure you can afford to—”

“I didn’t ask you for nursing services. I do not have a death wish. In fact, there are limits to slavery, too—I don’t expect you to deliver hot soup directly into my hands. Having you set it on a table nearby will be risky enough, in my opinion.”

“You know,” she said slowly, “that’s what I don’t understand. I should think all you’d have to do is raise your voice and there would be a hundred women swarming around you, thrilled to be of service.”

“Exactly.” His voice was crisp.

She frowned. “Then I really don’t understand why you’re putting pressure on me. Why would you want a reluctant helper—one you don’t even trust not to scald you with the first cup of coffee—when you could have enthusiastic ones?”

“Because I don’t even have to raise my voice to attract all those women, that’s why. I don’t know if you ran into Angelique when you arrived?”

She sounded wary. “We spoke, yes. Actually, she spoke to me, but I didn’t exactly answer.”

“She’s been here since the crack of dawn. She’d have spent the night except that all she had to wear was the princess costume.”

“And you didn’t like the idea of having her plump your pillows? I don’t get it.”

“Plumping pillows was not the sort of thing she had in mind.”

“Ah,” she said on a long note of discovery. “I suppose last night you weren’t feeling up to any—how can I put this delicately?—athletic activity. Well, I can see how having a woman like Angelique around in those circumstances might make a man like you very uncomfortable, but—”

“And she’s far from the only one who’s been hovering helpfully. Since the word started to spread last night that I was injured, there have been seventy-two phone calls and nineteen visits from women.”

Sabrina shrugged. “Sounds like masculine heaven to me.”

“Not when I’m flat on my back and unable to defend myself. Every one of those women has ideas of mothering me, nursing me or otherwise convincing me that I simply cannot live without her on a permanent basis. In other words, they’re far more interested in their left ring fingers than in my knee.”

“And you really don’t believe you can defend yourself against that?” She shook her head. “I’m disappointed in you.”

“I don’t choose to spend my energy on that kind of battle. I’d rather focus it on getting back on my feet as soon as possible.”

She’d gone straight on. “And you call yourself a playboy! Besides, you have Jennings out there. All you have to do is tell him to turn off the phone and not let anyone in, and—”

“Oh, really? You got past him without any trouble, didn’t you?”

She sounded a little less certain of herself. “You said you wanted to see me.”

“But you didn’t know that till after you were sitting here. And he doesn’t know it yet. No—Jennings is well-meaning, but he’s not cut out to be a bodyguard.”

He watched the play of expressions cross her face. Now, he thought, they were getting somewhere.

“Face it, Sabrina—since it’s entirely your fault that I’m being subjected to this siege, it’s entirely your responsibility to do something about it.”

She slapped her hands against her thighs and stood up. “You know,” she said, “I think you’re right. Goodbye.”

Caleb blinked in surprise and tried to struggle into a sitting position. “Where do you think you’re going?”

She barely paused. “To the animal rescue league to see if they happen to have a Rottweiler with misogynistic tendencies. I’ll sign the adoption papers, deliver him to Jennings, and your problem will be solved by noon.”

“Sit down, Sabrina.”

“But it’s the perfect—”

His voice was silky. “Let’s talk about this business of yours.”

“Rent-A-Wife? What about it?” She sounded ever so slightly apprehensive.

“Do you and your partners want to continue to work with Tanner Electronics employees?” He saw the flicker of discomfort in her eyes and smoothly pressed his advantage. “Or shall we just call it one of those trial runs that unfortunately didn’t work out?”

She stopped in mid-step. Very slowly, as if she were walking to the guillotine, she returned to her chair and sat down. “When do I start?”

Satisfaction sizzled through Caleb. He hadn’t realized that being on the receiving end of total capitulation could be so enjoyable.

“Right now will be fine,” he said. “But I hope you don’t mind if we don’t shake on the deal, Sabrina. I’m going to need the use of both hands, and I really don’t want to take the chance of you messing one up.”

Sabrina’s fingers moved automatically, arranging the sheaf of flowers she’d brought in a tall glass vase, while she told herself that of course she’d done the only thing she could.

Faced with the threat of Rent-A-Wife losing its newest and single most substantive client, she hadn’t been left with much choice.

In fact, she thought, instead of growling over the idea of spending the foreseeable future waiting on Caleb Tanner hand and foot, she should probably be thanking her lucky stars that a maidservant was all he wanted. How stupid it had been to feel that flash of resentment at the idea that he didn’t find her physically attractive—for even though he’d sidestepped the question, there was no doubt in Sabrina’s mind that if he’d really found her desirable, he wouldn’t have hesitated to act on that feeling.

Her irritation had been almost an automatic reaction, of course—the kind of thing she would probably have felt for an instant no matter who had made the statement. Her momentary fury really had nothing to do with Caleb Tanner.

In fact, she decided, it had nothing to do with men at all; it was more likely a psychological warning buzzer. If she couldn’t laugh off the notion that a man—any man—might not find her appealing, then perhaps her ego was getting out of line and needed a serious pruning.

In any case, she should be celebrating the fact that Caleb hadn’t tried to force her into his bed. Because if he had…

She squashed a momentary vision of Caleb Tanner’s face looming above her, his handsome features honed by desire.

Rent-A-Wife would just have had to cope with the fallout of losing an important client, she told herself.

The loss would have been monstrously unfair to Paige and Cassie, of course, but there was nothing Sabrina could have done about that. And they would have understood; there were prices that no one should be expected to pay, and sleeping with Caleb Tanner was one of them.

Obviously there was no shortage of women who didn’t agree with that philosophy, Sabrina admitted. But she’d never made a habit of following the crowd, and she wasn’t about to start now just because Caleb was involved. The fact that there were women standing in line hoping to be his bimbo of the week was no recommendation where Sabrina was concerned.

However, it looked as if Cassie had been right, after all, when she’d said Angelique’s time in the spotlight had expired. Perhaps the rest of the feminine crowd had sensed that Caleb was getting restless and ready for a change; that would help explain why women had started to swarm around him as soon as they’d heard he was hurt.

That thought provided a little comfort to Sabrina. Not that she much cared what happened to Angelique, but it gave her a little more hope for her own situation.

It appeared, from everything she’d ever heard about him, that Caleb Tanner was constitutionally incapable of sticking with any one woman for long. Implying that whichever lady he was currently seeing would last no longer than a week might be a trifle exaggerated, but the description hadn’t come out of nowhere.

Therefore, Sabrina thought, it wasn’t unreasonable to hope that he’d soon get tired of her, too—or at least grow weary of the idea of exacting revenge for his injury by keeping her dancing attendance on him. And, wildly improbable though it sounded, if she was actually successful in keeping all of his women away…

Well, Sabrina thought, he could talk all he wanted to about not wanting them around, but she’d bet her convertible that Caleb would soon be bored without his harem. In fact, she calculated, she’d give him three days maximum.

Feeling considerably more cheerful, she stuck the last flower into the vase and was starting to wipe up the water drops that had splashed everywhere when Jennings came into the kitchen carrying a cordless phone, which he held out to her without saying a word.

Sabrina took it and tried to brace herself. “Jennings, did Mr. Tanner tell you to pass his calls on to me?”

“The lady asked for you, miss.”

Relief whispered through her. “Oh, that must be my partner. She wasn’t answering her phone a few minutes ago so I left a message on her voice mail.” And you’re deliberately delaying, she told herself, because you aren’t looking forward to reporting this morning’s change of plans. “I’ll be out of your way here in a minute, Jennings. Where will I find the garbage can?”

He pointed at the far corner of the room. “I’ll take care of the debris, miss.”

“Way over there? Why? It isn’t even next to the back door, much less convenient to anything else. I don’t know a lot about kitchens—”

Even though she hadn’t yet put the phone to her ear, Sabrina could hear laughter from the other end of the line. She tucked the phone between shoulder and ear and said, with mock hauteur, “I don’t recall asking for your opinion, Cassie.”

“What you know about kitchens would fit on the head of a pin with room left over,” said her unrepentant partner.

“That may be true. But I know an inefficient one when I see it.”

“Whose kitchen are we talking about, anyway?”

“Well…this could require a bit of explanation.” Sabrina took a deep breath. “It’s Caleb Tanner’s.”

The long silence on the phone was the loudest Sabrina had ever heard. “No wonder the phone number looked vaguely familiar. Why aren’t you using your cell phone, by the way?”

“It’s not working. It seems to have been a casualty of the fall last night.”

“That figures,” Cassie said. “So about Caleb…Please tell me he invited you.”

“No, Cassie, I crashed my way in.” It was true, of course, but Cassie would never believe it—and what her partner didn’t know, Sabrina told herself, wouldn’t hurt her. “Actually, I came to apologize.”

“So what’s keeping you? Sabrina, do us all a favor and get out of there before something else happens.”

“Now you’re treating me like Typhoid Mary,” Sabrina complained. “Honestly, Cassie, you make it sound as if I’m too clumsy to walk down the street and whistle at the same time!”

“You have to admit you’re the only person in Denver who can fall over a ray of sunlight—I’ve seen you do it. Just don’t take any chances, all right? Maybe you don’t realize how important Tanner is to Rent-A-Wife right now, but I saw last month’s profit-and-loss statement when Paige was working on it, and believe me, we can’t afford to lose this client.”

“I know,” Sabrina said quietly.

Cassie had gone straight on. “Plus, on a personal level, Sabrina, I’d kind of like to remain on speaking terms with my future husband’s boss, so if you could avoid offending Caleb any further—”

Sabrina raised her voice. “He’s asked me to help him out for a few days.”

“Help him…. You’ve got to be joking.”

“He can use a hand just now. Twenty-four hours a day, in fact.”

“Caleb Tanner wants you with him around the clock? What’s the man taking for pain medication, and does his doctor know he’s showing symptoms of psychosis?”

Sabrina went straight on. “So that means I can’t handle my regular clients.”

“I suppose you want to pass them off to me? Sabrina, you know I’m only scheduled to work half days till my wedding—”

“What were you saying about the Tanner account being very important just now?”

Cassie swore under her breath. “All right, give me your list.”

Sabrina closed her eyes in relief. It was one small blessing—not so much for her sake but for Cassie’s—not to have to give her partner every last detail. Why should both of them have the whole mess to worry about? “Thanks, Cassie. It’s not that long a list, really. And I’ll make it up to you, I swear.”

By the time she put the telephone down, Jennings was taking containers of food from the refrigerator, stacking them almost haphazardly on a tiny strip of countertop nearby. “Is there anything particular you’d like for lunch, miss?”

“Heavens, no. Don’t go to any special trouble for me.”

He caught a paper-wrapped bundle just as it slid off the pile. “I’d be happy to cook whatever you’d like. Of course, if you’d prefer to make yourself at home in the kitchen—”

Sabrina said hastily, “I’m not big on kitchens. Is this one really as inconvenient as it looks?”

“It’s the worst arrangement I’ve ever seen, miss, but then there hasn’t been time to do much about it. I expect when Mr. Caleb gets back on his feet, there’ll be some changes.”

“Then this house is a new purchase? That’s a relief—I was thinking it might be the family homestead, handed down for generations.”

Jennings almost cracked a smile. Sabrina felt rewarded.

“Oh, no, miss,” he said. “Mr. Tanner’s parents live in Boulder, and until last month he had an apartment in one of the new developments downtown.”

“Really? But he moved here? Why?” Sabrina raised an eyebrow. “No, let me guess—I bet the landlord objected to the bimbos getting into a traffic jam in the lobby. Actually, it’s too bad he didn’t stay there, because the doorman could have doubled as a security guard.” And I’d have been saved a lot of trouble.

An asthmatic-sounding chime wheezed from the front hall. There’s Angelique, Sabrina thought. She said she’d be back in an hour.

It was apparent that Caleb had heard it, too. He called, “Sabrina! Come in here, will you? And bring Jennings with you.”

She carried the vase into the living room, setting it with exaggerated caution in the precise center of the coffee table, just out of his reach. Then she picked up the motorcycle enthusiasts’ magazine that had slid off his lap, gave it back and said, “What do you want me to tell Angelique?”

“Nothing. Just let her in, Jennings.”

Silently, Jennings headed for the door.

“I thought you wanted me to defend you,” Sabrina said.

“You’re going to. Sit down. No, here on the floor right beside me, with your back to the couch.”

She looked doubtfully at him, but there wasn’t time to argue; she could hear the squeak of the front door opening. As Sabrina folded herself up on the carpet, she bumped the sore spot on her shin where the car door had caught her yesterday and grimaced.

“I see I’m not the only one who suffered damage in our collision,” Caleb said. “You should have told me.”

“Would it have made any difference in your demands?”

“Of course not. But we could have felt sorry for each other.” He shifted onto his side and swore irritably. “Not being able to turn over without help is going to get mighty aggravating, you know.” He draped one arm around her shoulders and slid the magazine onto her lap. They must look, Sabrina thought, as if he was leaning over her to point out something. It was a nice, friendly little pose….

“Darling,” Angelique said, “I do hope you’ve gotten some rest, because—” She rounded the end of the couch and stopped dead in her tracks. “What in the—”

“Hello, Angelique,” Caleb said calmly. “I’m glad you stopped in. Sabrina was just telling me a minute ago that she wished she could thank you properly for helping out this morning till she could get here. In fact, she said when this is all over, she’ll throw a back-to-good-health party for me and invite you.”

Angelique opened her mouth and shut it again.

Sabrina, half-stunned herself, had no trouble imagining what the woman was feeling.

“You can’t mean this,” Angelique said. “You can’t toss me aside like this, Caleb. You need me, especially now….” Her voice trailed off.

His voice sounded oddly gentle. “I told you days ago that we were finished, Angelique. You wanted to follow through with the Halloween party since you’d gone to so much trouble over it, and I agreed. But the party’s over, honey. And messing up my knee didn’t change my mind.”

Angelique’s tone was suddenly venomous. “You didn’t say anything about her.”

“Surely you’re not surprised. It would hardly have been respectful to drag Sabrina into it, because she didn’t cause the breakup, you know. It was just time, Angelique.”

“Of course she didn’t cause it.” Angelique’s voice dripped sarcasm. “I’m sure she just happened to be innocently standing there when you started looking around.” She glared at Sabrina. “Well, let me warn you, girl, you’ll be just one more in a long line. Whatever he tells you, the truth is as soon as he’s got what he wants, he’ll start looking around again. So enjoy it while it lasts—because it won’t last long.” She tossed her long hair and stormed out of the room. The bang of the front door told Sabrina that this time Angelique hadn’t waited to be respectfully bowed out.

Sabrina slammed the magazine down on the carpet with a satisfying bang. “That was the worst, most obnoxious, horribly callous piece of behavior I have ever seen.”

Caleb leaned heavily on her shoulder in order to push himself into position on the couch. “Angelique isn’t known for her tact, but I didn’t expect she’d be quite so unrestrained. I’m sorry about that.”

Sabrina wrenched herself around to face him. “I was not talking about Angelique,” she snapped. “I’m not in the least offended at what she said, because every word of it’s absolutely true. Crude, maybe, but I’ll make allowances for that, since she got her cataracts ripped off without an anesthetic. But as for you, making me look like just another one of your bimbos in order to hold all the other ones off—”

“Can you think of a better way to discourage all the women who’d like to step into Angelique’s shoes?” He sounded perfectly calm.

“Yes. Rent a medevac helicopter and take off for Costa Rica!”

“Do be serious, Sabrina. As soon as they know there’s a new woman in my life, they’ll realize there’s nothing to be gained by making spectacles of themselves, and they’ll stop.”

“Or else they’ll redouble their efforts. For all I know they’ll lay siege to this house, and—”

“Not once they’ve seen you.” He sounded very sure of himself. “That’s what makes you so perfect for this job, Sabrina. You’re exactly the kind of woman I like.”

Sabrina almost screeched. “You are a piece of work, Tanner! I ought to kick you in the kneecap for insulting me like that.”

He looked vaguely puzzled. “What can you possibly find insulting about me saying that you’re my kind of woman?”

“Make that your other kneecap!”

He shrugged. “The point is, they’ll take one look at you and they’ll give up. I’m actually doing them a favor, saving them all the time they’d be wasting otherwise.”

Sabrina rolled her eyes heavenward.

“But you see, what they don’t know is that because of certain characteristics you possess, I’m immune to you.”

“Now that’s the first sensible thing you’ve said in some time,” she muttered.

“And that’s also the beauty of the whole idea. Not only do you understand that I’m not vulnerable to you, but because of that little accident last night, you owe me. So, unlike every one of those women, you’re under absolutely no illusion that you could crook your finger and ensnare me.”

The man was utterly serious and so completely sure of himself that he was mesmerizing. All Sabrina could do was stare at him in morbid fascination.

“You will very efficiently hold them off until I’m healthy enough to defend myself. Meanwhile, I’m in no danger from you. Once I’m back on my feet—” he kissed his fingertips “—it’ll be goodbye, Sabrina.”

And he could start taking applications for bimbo of the week again, Sabrina thought. It couldn’t happen quickly enough for her.

“It’s perfect,” Caleb said. “Don’t you agree?”