firm stroke where it
counts,” he continued softly.
“R-really?”
“Oh yeah. Don’t be shy, Mikki, just
stroke down it.”
Crap on a stick, what he just
said! “A-are we still talking about this scratch?”
The question made him freeze then
jerk upright, yanking his t-shirt down and releasing her hand as he did so.
But rather than back away, he simply stared down at her.
For one of the few times in her
life, she didn’t know what to say. She could still feel the heat of his skin
around her fingers, the way his voice dropped to huskiness. The way her thighs
trembled just a little and her heart fastened.
“Hey, you two!” Elspeth’s voice
cut through the tense silence.
Grateful for the interruption,
Mikki moved back, shoving the Betadine and bag of cotton balls into his hands.
“Here, you can finish this off if you need to.” Smiling brightly, she faced Elspeth.
“Hey, how’s the little tacker?”
“The little tacker’s a girl just
as we knew, and she’s fine.” Cheerful as always, Elspeth strode across to
them, so at ease in high heels that would have had Mikki eating dust in seconds
if she’d even thought about wearing them. “And she’s coming home with us.”
Incredibly conscious of the warmth
at her back, the tall muscular man so silent, Mikki was grateful for Elspeth’s
presence. “So where is she then?”
“She’s a little dehydrated, hungry,
and apparently has a serious case of worms. Poor little mite hasn’t been cared
for properly. She’s just scared, not feral.” Elspeth scowled, then sighed, and
followed it with a smile. “Anyway, the vet’s going to give her something to
eat and drink and worm her, and keep an eye on her while we go and do our
stuff.” Walking past them, she opened the passenger door.
Automatically, Luke opened it
wider for Elspeth and waited.
Refusing to look at him, Mikki concentrated
on Elspeth. “We might lose her at the mansion, it’s a big place and she’s just
a little scrap.”
“The vet’s such a lovely man, he’s
going to loan us a cage we can keep her in when we’re busy.” Elspeth set her
handbag primly on her lap. “We’ll need to buy kitten food, milk, litter and
such before we pick her back up and head home. Speaking of which, we have a
lot to do. Luke, sweetie, how’re your poor hands?”
“Fine.” Catching her looking at
the Betadine bottle, he gestured to Mikki. “She took care of it. I’m good as
new.”
“Excellent. So, are we ready to
get busy?”
Busy sounded good. Busy sounded
just what Mikki needed to get her head back on straight. She still wasn’t sure
what had just happened, or indeed if anything had happened. Maybe it
had just been her imagination playing out some pretty tantalising fantasies.
Closing the passenger door, Luke
opened the back door and waited for her. It was all she could do to maintain
composure, but she managed a cool ‘Thanks’ with admirable grace and got into
the car.
He hesitated, making her wonder if
he was going to say something, but then he handed her the Betadine bottle and
cotton balls, shut the door and strode around to the driver’s seat. Slipping
the items into the original bag, Mikki tied the top and placed it on the floor.
Luke started the SUV before
turning to Elspeth. “Where first?”
“If we park near the antique
dealer, I can go and see him while you and Mikki go to the library.”
Mikki glanced up at the rear-view
mirror to find him watching her. She managed a cool smile. Great, just what
she didn’t need. What she did need was a few minutes alone to get some surprisingly
jangled nerves back in place.
He simply nodded. “Where’s the
dealer?”
“Main street.”
He looked over his shoulder both
ways. “We’re on the main drag already, by the looks of it.”
“Towns can be so quaint, can’t
they?” Elspeth flapped a hand in the direction of the chemist. “The vet said
the
counts,” he continued softly.
“R-really?”
“Oh yeah. Don’t be shy, Mikki, just
stroke down it.”
Crap on a stick, what he just
said! “A-are we still talking about this scratch?”
The question made him freeze then
jerk upright, yanking his t-shirt down and releasing her hand as he did so.
But rather than back away, he simply stared down at her.
For one of the few times in her
life, she didn’t know what to say. She could still feel the heat of his skin
around her fingers, the way his voice dropped to huskiness. The way her thighs
trembled just a little and her heart fastened.
“Hey, you two!” Elspeth’s voice
cut through the tense silence.
Grateful for the interruption,
Mikki moved back, shoving the Betadine and bag of cotton balls into his hands.
“Here, you can finish this off if you need to.” Smiling brightly, she faced Elspeth.
“Hey, how’s the little tacker?”
“The little tacker’s a girl just
as we knew, and she’s fine.” Cheerful as always, Elspeth strode across to
them, so at ease in high heels that would have had Mikki eating dust in seconds
if she’d even thought about wearing them. “And she’s coming home with us.”
Incredibly conscious of the warmth
at her back, the tall muscular man so silent, Mikki was grateful for Elspeth’s
presence. “So where is she then?”
“She’s a little dehydrated, hungry,
and apparently has a serious case of worms. Poor little mite hasn’t been cared
for properly. She’s just scared, not feral.” Elspeth scowled, then sighed, and
followed it with a smile. “Anyway, the vet’s going to give her something to
eat and drink and worm her, and keep an eye on her while we go and do our
stuff.” Walking past them, she opened the passenger door.
Automatically, Luke opened it
wider for Elspeth and waited.
Refusing to look at him, Mikki concentrated
on Elspeth. “We might lose her at the mansion, it’s a big place and she’s just
a little scrap.”
“The vet’s such a lovely man, he’s
going to loan us a cage we can keep her in when we’re busy.” Elspeth set her
handbag primly on her lap. “We’ll need to buy kitten food, milk, litter and
such before we pick her back up and head home. Speaking of which, we have a
lot to do. Luke, sweetie, how’re your poor hands?”
“Fine.” Catching her looking at
the Betadine bottle, he gestured to Mikki. “She took care of it. I’m good as
new.”
“Excellent. So, are we ready to
get busy?”
Busy sounded good. Busy sounded
just what Mikki needed to get her head back on straight. She still wasn’t sure
what had just happened, or indeed if anything had happened. Maybe it
had just been her imagination playing out some pretty tantalising fantasies.
Closing the passenger door, Luke
opened the back door and waited for her. It was all she could do to maintain
composure, but she managed a cool ‘Thanks’ with admirable grace and got into
the car.
He hesitated, making her wonder if
he was going to say something, but then he handed her the Betadine bottle and
cotton balls, shut the door and strode around to the driver’s seat. Slipping
the items into the original bag, Mikki tied the top and placed it on the floor.
Luke started the SUV before
turning to Elspeth. “Where first?”
“If we park near the antique
dealer, I can go and see him while you and Mikki go to the library.”
Mikki glanced up at the rear-view
mirror to find him watching her. She managed a cool smile. Great, just what
she didn’t need. What she did need was a few minutes alone to get some surprisingly
jangled nerves back in place.
He simply nodded. “Where’s the
dealer?”
“Main street.”
He looked over his shoulder both
ways. “We’re on the main drag already, by the looks of it.”
“Towns can be so quaint, can’t
they?” Elspeth flapped a hand in the direction of the chemist. “The vet said
the
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