Silk Is For Seduction. Loretta Chase
Чтение книги онлайн.

Читать онлайн книгу Silk Is For Seduction - Loretta Chase страница 4

Название: Silk Is For Seduction

Автор: Loretta Chase

Издательство: HarperCollins

Жанр: Исторические любовные романы

Серия: Mills & Boon M&B

isbn: 9781472073808

isbn:

СКАЧАТЬ smile appeared a bit strained as he looked back at her. He was embarrassed, she realized. Of her actions or his body’s reaction?

      “A wuss?” he asked. “You were afraid.”

      “Of raccoons.”

      His smile faded. “And you were upset.”

      She hugged her arms. Sooner or later, she was going to have to explore her feelings about the marriage that didn’t go off without a hitch, but not now. Not yet. “Whatever. You showed me there’s nothing to be afraid of.” If she didn’t count her response to the handsome police chief.

      “I didn’t say that. There’s plenty to be cautious of out here. A lot of animals can be dangerous if they’re hungry enough. But we hardly ever get a case of rabies.”

      She rubbed her arms against a sudden chill at the thought of salivating, fanged beasts. “I’ve never lived in the country before.”

      He glanced quickly at his watch, letting out a long sigh. His expression told her he was battling some inner struggle. He was probably weighing common courtesy against correct procedure, counting the moments until he could escape from the crazy city woman.

      “Parker to Dispatch,” he said into the device pinned near his shoulder. His wide, strong shoulders. “Ten forty-two.”

      The dispatcher replied, but Robin couldn’t hear what they said. She was just about to ask what the code meant when Chief Parker spoke.

      “You’re cold,” he observed almost casually. “Would you like to go inside, Miss Cummings?”

      “Well…”

      “I’d be glad to give you a rundown on what you’re likely to see out here. Kind of a Country Primer,” he added with a reluctant smile that was way too sexy for a late-night official visit.

      She hoped his observation about her being cold was based on her rubbing her arms and not the fact her thin robe was revealing more than she’d like him to see. The idea of his noticing her breasts caused a reaction that she hid by folding her arms across her chest. The friction was almost painful.

      When she spoke, her voice sounded husky. Breathy. Sexy. Not at all like an interior decorator standing on a front porch in the middle of the night, wearing no makeup—and not much else, for that matter. “I don’t want to keep you from your other duties.”

      “You’re not. I’m off duty now. And like I said, it’s usually real quiet around here. This is the most excitement—”

      His sudden pause was followed by what Robin strongly suspected was a blush from the local law enforcement officer, although she couldn’t tell, since his back was to the porch light. The thought that she’d been the cause of so much “excitement” made her smile—to herself. No sense making him any more embarrassed than he already was.

      On the other hand, she couldn’t let him go so quickly. Not when the air was practically sparking with something very foreign and enticing. Maybe she was just relieved that there hadn’t been a real threat to her security tonight. Maybe she wanted to focus on something besides her former fiancé and irate parents. Whatever the reason, she’d like the police chief’s company for a while longer.

      “I’ll take you up on your offer. Why don’t I fix us some coffee?”

      He seemed genuinely surprised by her response. “You don’t have to do that. You’ve had a scare.”

      “Which I’m now over, thanks to you.” She reached for the storm door. “Please, come in for coffee and tell me all about these wild predators. I’d like to know how to tell a deranged killer from a hungry raccoon.”

      He smiled in an endearing, aw-shucks-ma’am manner that made her want to hug him tightly and tell him he was way too good to be true. Way too good-looking, too.

      “If you’re sure it’s no trouble.”

      “I’d appreciate the company. Something tells me I won’t be able to get to sleep anytime soon.”

      Especially if I keep thinking about Police Chief Ethan Parker, Robin silently added as she walked barefoot down the hallway to the “mother-in-law’s room” she’d claimed as hers while staying at the Franklin house. Many of her clients in the suburbs had these bed and bath combinations separated from the other bedrooms. “Make yourself comfortable. I’ll be right back.”

      She needed something more substantial to wear. There was no way she’d be able to continue a conversation—even one based on the flora and fauna of the Texas Hill Country—in this robe. Not when the chief looked so darn good in his crisp uniform and sexy, reluctant smile.

      Robin paused, her smile fading as she pulled a T-shirt on over a sports bra and donned a pair of running shorts. She hadn’t looked at the chief’s hands. She hadn’t noticed if he was wearing a wedding band. He might be married. There might be a Mrs. Parker waiting for her husband to come home.

      He didn’t seem in any hurry to get home to the missus. When Robin strolled into the kitchen a few minutes later, he was making coffee as if he owned the place. The distinctive aroma filled the room as the sputtering, hissing water filtered through the grounds.

      “Find everything you need?” she asked, making more noise than necessary as she removed two mugs from the cabinet. Favorite mugs she’d placed there just hours before, as she’d unpacked the necessities she’d brought with her from her Houston condo.

      “I hope you don’t mind. I found some decaf. I didn’t think you needed caffeine after what you’ve been through tonight.”

      “Decaf’s fine. But like I said earlier, I don’t want to keep you. Your…family might be expecting you home.”

      He turned his head to the side and smiled in a knowing way. “Is that the polite way to ask if I’m married?”

      Robin stood straight, surprised she was so transparent. She really was rusty at this man-woman thing. Dating one man for two years would do that to a person. “I—”

      “That’s okay. You probably should have questions. Believe me, I don’t usually…Well, let’s just say that I haven’t needed to comfort an upset woman in a long, long time.”

      “Is that your way of saying that you were just doing your job?” She placed the mugs on the counter next to the coffeemaker, then rested her hands on her hips. For some reason she didn’t want to explore, she felt extraordinarily irritated by his remark.

      “No, that’s not what I meant.” He rotated his neck, then ran a hand through his short, dark brown hair. His sheepish smile was totally different from the falsely charming one he’d given her on the porch, when he’d tried to convince her that strange noises in the night were nothing to worry about. “Look, I’ve never hugged a 9-1-1 caller before.”

      “Oh.” She let her hands fall to her sides and concentrated on not smiling with feminine confidence. Perhaps she was still giddy with relief, but her reaction to Chief Parker was as out of character for her as he claimed his earlier behavior was for him. In a tiny corner of her mind, she knew being attracted to a man so quickly after her botched near-wedding was not smart, but for the moment she chose to ignore the warning.

СКАЧАТЬ