He came up behind her and turned her to face him, drawing his fingertips lightly across the tops of her breasts. “Do you know what I want to do to you?”
Hypnotized by the sexy timbre of his voice, she could barely speak. “No,” she whispered.
Any response she might have made died in her throat as he lowered his head and lightly kissed the soft skin above her right breast. Almost dizzy from the woodsy scent of his aftershave, she felt hot, breathless. Despite her confused feelings about him, she did love the feel of his hands on her—his mouth on her body. But even these sensual lures weren’t enough to keep her alarm system from kicking in.
“Stop it.” She pushed him away and wrapped the towel securely around her. “I can’t keep up with you. You’re messing with my head—nice one minute, hateful the next.”
“Shh,” he whispered, taking her hand and limping with her toward the bed. “I need to get off this leg.”
Mesmerized by the sensual lure of his voice, she followed, and when he sat on the edge of the bed, she sat next to him. Her feelings were muddled by desire and a strong sense of self-protection. She was unwilling to lie down with him, but she was unable to walk away.
Leaning toward her, he kissed his way up her cheek, then ran his tongue seductively around the outside of her ear. “I want you,” he whispered, “I’m hard just thinking about you.”
The words made her hot, then cold, then hot again. She shifted restlessly. “It didn’t sound that way in the kitchen. You accused me of corrupting your sister.”
“Coffee deprivation,” he whispered, as he once again dropped kisses down her neck to the edge of the towel. His hands lifted and turned her slightly as he drew the towel from her clenched fingers.
“I need to see all the gorgeous parts of you,” He ran his hand down her exposed leg and calf.
Haley stiffened. The pattern suddenly seemed very clear. As long as they were in the bedroom, he found her sexy, gorgeous even. However, in every other part of the house, she was an immature nuisance who laughed too much and caused problems. He was on the rebound, and she was convenient. It wouldn’t mean a thing to him if they made love, but she was in definite danger of heart complications.
She sighed. Rand would no doubt be an excellent lover, but her self-respect demanded some kind of commitment. She just wasn’t into recreational sex. As much as it hurt, she knew deep down, Rand didn’t really like her.
She had to get out of this room before it was too late. As she struggled to move away from him, his arms tightened around her. “Let me go,” she hissed.
Realizing she was earnestly trying to free herself, Rand released her.
“It’s not going to work,” she said tartly, now standing at the side of the bed, the towel wrapped tightly around her.
Rand also stood, carefully swinging his leg off the bed so the cast would land lightly on the floor. He stood close to her, balancing on his good leg. “What’s not going to work?”
“I will not be seduced into forgetting the hateful things you say about me. I don’t care if you haven’t had coffee. I was hired as a temporary secretary and instead I’ve...”
He raised his head to stare at the ceiling for a moment. When he gazed back at her, the tightly controlled man she had originally met was back. “Look, I’m sorry for the things I said in the kitchen. I don’t think you have a bad attitude. I’m grateful for all you’ve done so far, and if you stay until Angela and her father leave, I’ll be on my best behavior.” He leaned toward her and patted her on the arm. The kind of pat you’d give a dog.
For once he wasn’t scowling or leering at her. In fact, he looked sincerely apologetic and a little nervous. The damn man could turn it on and off like water. Now all he was worried about was keeping the Blakelys happy. Haley also wanted to see the Angela-thing through to the end. It would be very awkward for Rand if his new fiancée just up and disappeared.
She sighed and nodded her head. “Okay, I’ll stay till they leave.” Looking directly at him, she was mesmerized by the gold flecks in his blue eyes. The man had very sexy eyes. “I...uh...better get dressed.” Without a backward glance, she grabbed up her underwear, and headed into the bathroom.
Rand clenched his jaw as Haley disappeared behind the door. He was hurting. The bulge in his shorts was not going to subside any time soon. Every time he thought of her breasts, small and perfectly formed, his gut twisted. How in the hell had he gotten involved with someone like her? Why was he so attracted to her? She wasn’t even his type. All he could think of was making love to her. Dragging her naked to his bed. He hadn’t felt this much lust since… Hell, he’d never been this consumed by the need for sex. He stared at the closed bathroom door, willing it to open.
It did, and she poked her head back into the bedroom, “Do you have any mousse?”
“What?” He could hardly focus on what she was saying.
“Mousse. Hair stuff. I need to tame my hair.”
“Leave your hair alone. I like it curly.”
She looked surprised. “Since when? Yesterday you told me to fix it. That I looked pre-pubescent.”
He grinned. “I didn’t know you yesterday. Now that I do, I see your hair suits you.”
And it did. The black curls danced on her head in a short, frothy mass giving her face a vibrancy that was extremely attractive. The blaze of reaction that shot through him mystified him. As she disappeared back into the bathroom, he wondered what it would take to convince her to get back in bed with him.
He’d promised to be on his best behavior, but since he’d met Haley, his best behavior stopped just short of compelling her to sleep with him. She was driving him crazy. At times, she made him furious, always butting in and making outrageous comments, but underlying all these encounters was this nearly irresistible urge to strip her naked and sink inside of her.
Hell, he’d been engaged to Angela for nearly a year and never felt anything close to this urgency. He knew that just one time would be enough to get Haley out of his system, and he hoped that time was soon. He needed to get on with his life.
She finally emerged from the bathroom, a red t-shirt tucked into her jeans. “Should I make breakfast for the Blakelys?” she asked in a small voice, avoiding eye contact.
“No. Just put some bread by the toaster and plug in the coffee machine. I don’t want them staying any longer than necessary.”
As if on cue, there was a light tap on the door. Without waiting for a response, Angela walked into the bedroom wrapped in a floral silk robe that barely concealed her nakedness. “Rand, that woman left a mess in the kitchen, and your niece is scraping leftovers into a bowl for the dog. What’s happened to you? How can you live like this?”
Before Rand could answer, Haley moved out of the bathroom doorway to the middle of the bedroom. Angela had the grace to look disconcerted. “Holly, I thought you were out with your dog.”
Haley smiled grimly. “It’s Haley, not Holly. Rand and I were just making plans for the day, so if you want to go downstairs and plug in the coffeepot, I’ll be down in a few minutes to clean up the mess.”
Angela looked appealingly at Rand, who smiled blandly and echoed Haley’s statement. “Do whatever you want, Angela. We’ll be down in a little while.”
As much as a sophisticated woman in a sheer bathrobe can flounce, Angela flounced out of the room and slammed the door. Rand and Haley grinned at each other.
“If nothing else has happened,” he said cheerfully, “this weekend has shown me I’m over Angela. In fact, I’m beginning to wonder what the attraction was in the first place.”
A look of relief lit Haley’s expressive face, and Rand knew that if they didn’t get out of the bedroom right away, he would kiss her senseless. Then it
would
take them a lot longer to get downstairs. He held the door open and followed her, realizing for the first time that he needed a pain pill. His leg really was killing him.
Chapter Eight
As Haley left the bedroom, Carrie’s voice called up from the bottom of the stairway, “Delphine’s mother is here to get her.”
Haley leaned over the railing. “Tell her I’ll be down in a minute.”
Carrie nodded then turned and raced back to the living room yelling, “She’ll be down in a minute.”
“Delphine’s out in the yard. I’d better get her. Phyllis will probably want to leave right away.”
Because Haley’s usually expressive face was carefully neutral, Rand knew she was unhappy about the dog leaving. He, on the other hand, was ecstatic, and in a fit of gallantry said, “I’ll talk to her while you round up the dog.”
Haley nodded, and Rand had sudden misgivings when he saw the glint of mischief in her eyes. “Is there something I should know about Delphine’s mother?” he asked suspiciously.
“Nope,” Haley said, refusing to look at him as she bounced down the stairs two at a time.
Rand followed, leaning heavily on his cane. He’d spent too much time on his ankle the day before and now it ached like a bitch. He could hear Angela’s agitated voice before he made it to the bottom of the stairs.
“She did attack me,” Angela insisted.
“You must be mistaken, dear,” a soothing voice replied. “Delphine was in the throes of a deep depression when I left her with Haley. She barely has the energy to even eat when she’s like that.”
Rand grinned to himself. Delphine’s owner sounded as defensive as Haley.
“That’s ridiculous,” Angela snapped. “Your dog is a menace, and as you can see, my fiancé has a small child on the premises. Please take your animal now. I’ll explain to Rand.”
Rand frowned at the reference to their engagement. His ex-fiancée had no qualms about twisting the truth to get whatever results she wanted.
“I would like to see Haley before I leave,” the other woman insisted.
“Haley’s in Uncle Rand’s room,” Carrie’s voice piped up. “She slept there last night.”
Rand groaned, wondering if there was a way to teach a five-year-old to be circumspect. As he finally turned the corner into the living room, he stopped, stunned by the apparition in front of him—it had to be Delphine’s mother.
A wild kaleidoscope of colors enveloped her tiny frame in what looked like a tied-dyed Indian sari. Large hoop earrings stood out on either side of her face like handles on a loving cup. Her long white hair was piled haphazardly on top of her head in a loose knot and strands drifted delicately down the sides of her face and neck. Her fingers, each one adorned with multicolored rings, moved in some sort of manic hand ballet.
Although she retained remnants of great beauty, she was obviously as nutty as a fruitcake. Rand sighed. He was willing to bet there wasn’t one normal person in Haley’s entourage of friends.
The woman finally noticed him hovering in the doorway and stopped waving her hands. For a long moment, she stared at him in clear-eyed assessment. Rand was forced to revise his opinion. Eccentric maybe, but certainly not out of touch with reality.
With a regal grace that would have done honor to a member of the royal family, she glided toward him and held out her hand. “Good morning, Andrew McNeil. I am Phyllis Riddick, Delphine’s owner and mentor.”
Rand raised his eyebrows. “Mentor?”
Phyllis nodded emphatically. “In her previous life, Delphine was a sixth level Italian Duchess, which is why she is so given to emotional upheavals. I am responsible to see that this life will be more satisfying for her.”
Rand blinked and nodded, again revising his opinion in favor of benevolent insanity, “Yes, well, Haley will bring the duchess to you in a minute.”
The misty other-world look in her eyes cleared, and she again regarded him with her strange unblinking stare. “Haley is a particular friend of mine, I would hate for unhappiness of any kind to cloud her aura.”
Rand felt a distinct chill run up his spine. Was this sweet old lady threatening him? “I am sure Haley’s aura is just fine. And if it isn’t, it’s not my fault.”
He felt ridiculous discussing people’s auras at nine-thirty in the morning. He cast a quick look over his shoulder. Angela and Carrie stared at them with a fascinated wariness.
“Carrie, go see what’s keeping Haley,” he ordered, sounding more gruff than he’d intended. After a startled look in his direction, the little girl scurried toward the door.
Phyllis moved directly in front of him and placed her ring-covered forefinger just below his breastbone. “Your aura is wavering green and yellow, young man. You are facing crisis and must remain calm. What is your relationship with Haley?” She peered into his eyes, gently increasing the pressure of her finger.
He felt heat moving from the point of her finger up his chest into his lungs, and again a shiver of uneasiness raced through him.
Don’t be an idiot. The woman is half your size and twice your age.
However, her creepy stare was almost hypnotic. He wished Angela had left the room so he could tell this New Age bag lady that Haley was only a temporary employee.
“Haley is my fiancée,” he said shortly, and she nodded with a small smile.
“Good. You are immensely compatible. I felt it as soon as you walked into the room.”
Rand swallowed his laughter. He and Haley were about as incompatible as two people could get.
“They are not compatible,” Angela interrupted, echoing his thought. “Rand is a sophisticated and dedicated business leader. That girl is totally unsuitable for him. She would never fit in with the kind of people he associates with.”
Defensiveness on Haley’s behalf surged through Rand. How dare Angela badmouth his fiancée? Never mind that he’d originally thought the same thing. Haley was funny and sexy, and he’d bet she had more loyalty in her little finger than Angela had in her whole cheating body.
“Angela, why don’t you get dressed and check on your dad. I’m sure you’ll want to be on your way soon.”
She flushed and started to protest. Then, with a disdainful toss of her head, she left the room.
“She is not a nice woman,” Phyllis remarked calmly. “Her aura is very dark. And she is deluded. She told me that she was your fiancée. Although I could see the minute you walked in the room that she lied.”