Undaunted

“I’ll take my dancing in a nightclub before your crickets on a summer night,” he said sardonically.

“Glitter. That’s what you have. Glitter. It’s an illusion.”

“So are crickets. I’m sure they only exist in cartoon form and star in Disney movies.”

“I give up.”

“You might as well. You’ll never change my perspective any more than I’ll change yours.” He chuckled.

“How’s your head feeling?”

He blinked. The question surprised him. “Better.”

“Probably all the talk about crickets and rustling leaves,” she said pertly.

“More than likely the hilarity over your concept of happiness.”

“Whatever floats your boat,” she told him. She stood up. “If you’re better, I’ll go back to bed.”

“You could stay,” he pointed out. “We could lie down and discuss sailboats.”

She laughed softly. “No, thanks.”

“Have you ever been in love, Emma?” he asked, curious.

She drew in a breath. “I thought I was once,” she said. “We got engaged. But it didn’t work out.”

He didn’t like that. It surprised him, that he was jealous, when she was far too young for him and an employee to boot. She’d been engaged. Even religious people had sex when they were committed. It changed the way he thought of her.

“Why didn’t it?” he asked.

She didn’t dare tell him the truth, because she’d told him about her ex-fiancé before he was blinded. “We discovered that we didn’t think alike in the areas where it mattered,” she said finally. “He wasn’t at all religious...”

“And that matters?” he chided.

“It did to me,” she said stiffly.

He cocked his head and looked toward the direction of her voice. “You’re a conundrum.”

“Thanks.”

“It wasn’t a compliment.”

“Now you’re getting nasty. I’m going.”

“How about bringing me another bottle of water before you leave me here, all alone and in pain, in the dark, by myself?”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, you’re a grown man! You’re always by yourself in the dark,” she muttered as she opened the minibar and pulled out another bottle of water.

“Not always,” he said in a deep voice that positively purred.

She blushed, and she was glad he couldn’t see it.

“Okay,” she said. “I’m putting it right here on the night table... Oh!”

While she was talking, he’d reached out and caught her around the waist, pulling her across him and down onto the bed with him.

He was very strong, and she felt the warmth of his body as he made a cage of his big arms and trapped her gently under the light pressure of his broad, muscular chest.

“Mr. Sinclair,” she began nervously.

He lifted one big hand and touched her hair. “Just be still,” he said quietly. “I want to see you. This is the only way I have, now.”

Guilt made her lie still in his arms as his fingers traced her eyebrows, her forehead, her high cheekbones and straight nose. They lingered on her rounded chin and her soft, bow-shaped mouth. From there they went down to her throat and stilled on the pulse that was surely visible as well as if he’d been able to see it. Her heartbeat was almost shaking her and she had to fight to get in a breath of air.

“You’re nervous,” he said softly.

She bit her lip. “Yes.”

“No need. I’m curious. Surely you did this with your ex-fiancé?” he chided.

She pushed gently against his chest. Her fingers tingled in contact with the hard, warm muscle. “What I did with him is not your business, Mr. Sinclair,” she said uneasily. If he could have seen it, her face was flaming red.

He didn’t like her assertion that it wasn’t his business.

“I’m just curious,” he said sarcastically. “Did that religious thing tie you in knots when you slept with him?”

“Religion is all I’ve had most of my life, Mr. Sinclair. Please don’t ridicule me because I believe in something more powerful than human beings.”

She was so devout. But he’d never felt closer to anyone. The thought shocked him. She was an employee. She was a glorified typist. She had no knowledge of sophisticated living, of men, of the world. Or did she? He’d had too much of women who pretended innocence and were more experienced than he was.

He traced her soft mouth and felt her teeth on the full lower lip. “Stop that,” he said, tugging at it.

She swallowed and drew in a shaky breath. The feel of him was like a narcotic on her senses. He smelled of soap and the faint, lingering scent of aftershave or cologne. He was muscular without being blatant, and as his chest rose and fell, it seemed to her that his own breathing was none too steady.

“Are you on the pill?” he asked suddenly.

She pushed at him, growing frantic when she couldn’t move out of the cage of his arms.

He laughed. “All right,” he said. “Calm down. I get the idea. First you fall in love, then you get in a committed relationship, then you have sex.”

She almost corrected him, that nothing short of a wedding ring was going to get her into any man’s bed, until he laughed again. “It’s not funny,” she muttered angrily.

He took a long breath. There was a lingering smile, but no more amusement. “You fight for your ideals, don’t you, young Emma?” he mused. “I don’t agree with them. But I respect you for them.”

“Thanks. Can I get up, now that we’ve agreed that I’m living in the past?”

His fingers traced her soft mouth, feeling its helpless response. The house was very quiet. The only sounds were her quick breathing, and the furious beat of his own heart. The medicine had relaxed him a little as it took the pain away. Perhaps it had relaxed him too much.