Undercover Passion. Raye Morgan

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СКАЧАТЬ shot through his system and he held back an urge to make an appreciative noise. This was unbelievable. He’d been turned on by a woman’s backside before, but not like this. This was overwhelming.

      He was vaguely aware that she was still talking. He didn’t need talking. He’d found that floating thing she’d mentioned and he was up there, drifting on a sensual cloud.

      “Okay, now I’m going to lean my head back on your shoulder and you lean your head on my shoulder.”

      Whoa. He’d had sex that was less exciting than this. His heart was beating as though he’d just run a mile. Their heads were now side by side and the sense of her was flooding into his system. He turned his face toward her. He couldn’t help himself.

      She was saying, “Arms at shoulder height and straight out. Now turn the palms up,” and he was breathing in her scent, filling his lungs with it and wondering what her mouth tasted like.

      She glanced over, saw his face too close and hesitated. That was all he needed. He was going to kiss her. It was going to be a little odd, upside down and all, but he was going to do it. He made a move toward her and saw her eyes widen.

      Whether they were widening with shock or interest he would never know. He would have liked to think the latter, but realistically, it wasn’t likely. At the moment of reckoning, the door opened and a voice interrupted everything.

      “What’s going on here?”

      Two

       A bby was up and flying away from Daniel like a scalded cat. He would have looked twice, just to see how she could possibly have done that, but he was too busy taking the measure of the man in the doorway.

      “Oh, Dr. Richie!” Abby was saying. “I’m just— We were just— Well, this is Daniel O’Callahan and he’s just—”

      Daniel hadn’t really paid too much attention to the good doctor before, but now he looked him over and decided he didn’t much care for what he saw. Dr. Richie was a tall, good-looking man, but there was something a little too polished, a little too calculated in his manner. His dark hair was salon-perfect and streaked with silver the way an actor would have had it done in an attempt to give gravitas to his appearance. That was it. Somehow the man looked like a performer to him. Something just didn’t quite ring true.

      And—let’s face it—he didn’t much like the way Abby was lapping him up with a spoon. Did she have to idolize the man?

      Daniel rose slowly, just to make sure the doctor didn’t think he was as embarrassed at being caught in this vaguely compromising position as Abby was.

      “I didn’t hire you to do this sort of training,” Richie was saying to Abby, turned as though he thought he could carry on a conversation in private if he just didn’t admit there was anyone else in the room. “We have counselors for that, Abby. I hired you to take charge of our public relations operation. You don’t have time for this sort of work.”

      “I was just showing him. He was interested and I thought—”

      Dr. Richie turned, acknowledging Daniel with a slight nod.

      “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid you’ll have to come to one of our seminars if you want to get a good overview of what we have to offer,” he said, his attitude pleasant but distant. “And, Abby, I’ve called a senior staff meeting in the library. Please join us. The others are waiting.” Another curt nod and he was on his way down the hall.

      Daniel turned to look at Abby. Her cheeks were bright red in a very attractive way, but he regretted that she was taking this so badly.

      “Sorry,” he said. “Didn’t mean to get you into trouble with the big boss.”

      She looked up at him but she didn’t smile. He could tell she’d had it with him, and she was ready to let him know that.

      “I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to leave,” she said shortly.

      “Okay,” he said amiably. “But I’ll be back when—”

      “Out.” Her dark eyes smoldered with anger and she pointed at the door. “And don’t come back here.”

      With a shrug, he started toward the door. “I’ll see you at the seminar tomorrow,” he said, glancing back at her.

      “Fine. But you won’t be talking to me.” She followed as though ready to shove him out into the hallway if he balked. “There is really no need for us to have any further communication. I’ll make sure they assign a good counselor to you.”

      He stepped through the doorway and looked back.

      “Someone who will be a good match for your needs,” she added.

      That stopped him cold. “My needs?”

      “You know. That little problem you have.” With a look of quiet triumph, she closed the door.

      “Women!” Daniel said a few minutes later to his grandmother as he strode back into her hospital room. “Who needs them?”

      “I’m a woman, darling.” Phoebe looked up with a loving smile.

      “Yeah, but you’re sane. Not many other women can say that.”

      “Watch your tongue, young man,” a tart voice stated, emanating from the tiny bathroom off to the side. “In the war between the sexes, I’m a major general.” A woman about his grandmother’s age emerged, carrying a vase full of roses.

      Phoebe laughed. “Ella, meet Daniel O’Callahan, my grandson. Daniel, Ella Crown is the hospital florist and she has kindly delivered the flowers your brothers sent me.”

      Ella nodded but she didn’t smile. Instead, she went on grumbling as she carried the vase to a shelf where Phoebe could have a good view of it. Her long white hair was twisted into a braided ring at the top of her head, and her naturally craggy face was enhanced by some of the brightest blue eye shadow he’d ever seen.

      “So you’re an expert on relationships, are you?” Daniel noted casually. “Then you might be the one who can explain to me why women are so perverse.”

      “I’m not explaining anything,” she said, turning to fix him with a steady stare, her hands on her slender hips. “Why should I give secret intelligence to the enemy?”

      Daniel grinned. She was a feisty one, and probably annoying as all get out in the long run, but he found her amusing. “Don’t you want to make this a fair fight?” he asked.

      “Heck no.” She snorted. “Listen, youngster, I’ve married, harried and buried four men. I’ve done my part.”

      Daniel nodded, impressed. “Going for a fifth?” he asked her.

      She practically snarled. “I think not. I’ve retired from those battles. Hung up my spurs. I think I’ve probably had more than my share of heartbreak. Why would I ask for any more punishment?”

      “Oh, come on, Ella,” Phoebe remonstrated, her eyes dancing. “You work every day with flowers, the language of love. How can you ignore the effect on СКАЧАТЬ