James, Stephanie

v2.0

August 2006

Fabulous Beast

Stephanie James

Booze and sexy conversation—that

would be Tabitha’s seduction

technique.

She took a deep breath and widened her smile. “Did I ever tell you how interested the scribes were in

the mating habits of various animals?”

Dev blinked. “No, I don’t believe you did. A subject of great interest?”

Tabitha cleared her throat. She had started this and she was not going to falter now. “They thought

partridges did it a bit too often. So much so that they often wore themselves out, poor birds.”

“Fascinating.”

“Lions were strongly approved of because they were thought to be loyal to their mate, ”Tabitha went on

chattily. “There’s not much information on the mating habits of dragons, though.”

“Perhaps it’s just as well.”

“You’re probably right, ”Tabitha agreed thoughtfully. “Some things are better left to the imagination.”

contents

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

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Eight

Nine

Ten

SILHOUETTE BOOKS

ISBN 0-373-80693-0

FABULOUS BEAST

Copyright © 1984 by Jayne Ann Krentz

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in

any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography,

photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written

permission of the editorial office. Silhouette Books, 300 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017 U.S.A..

All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever

to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown

to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

® and TM are trademarks of Harlequin Books S.A., used under license. Trademarks indicated with ® are

registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other

countries.

Visit Silhouette at
www.eHarlequin.com

Printed In U.S.A.

For Suzanne, Barb and Elaine.

Friends in this business are not a luxury, but a

necessity. We are all committed to the same goal:

keeping each other sane.

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One

^»

“If you’re the U.S. cavalry, you’re a little late.” The badly battered man with the silver eyes and the

ebony cane managed a rather grisly parody of a smile before sliding slowly down the brick wall of the

alley. He sank to his knees on the dirty cobblestones, bracing his shoulder against the bricks behind him.

“But better late than never, I suppose.”

The silver gaze was abruptly hidden by dark lashes as the man closed his eyes in pain. Although the

extent of his injuries was obvious, he never relaxed the savage grip he had on the handle of the ebony

cane.

Tabitha Graham, who had rounded the corner of the old alley only seconds before, stood staring in

horrified shock at the sight of the beaten and bloody man. Her eyes widened in astounded recognition,

and then she dropped the huge armload of packages she had been carrying.

“Oh, my God!” she breathed, heedless of the small fortune in souvenirs and trinkets she was abandoning

in chaos at the entrance to the alley. She rushed forward, crouching at once beside the dark-haired man.

“What happened?” Desperately she tried to remember her first aid.

There was a fair amount of blood on the man’s khaki shirt and slacks as well as on his face, but he

didn’t seem to be bleeding profusely from any one deep wound. Tabitha held her breath, struggling to

control her own shock and anxiety so that she could deal with the physical shock and pain the man must

have been experiencing. No severe bleeding. And he was breathing, albeit painfully.

Taking a resolute grip on herself, Tabitha mentally ran through the list of vital signs to be checked first. It

had been so long since she’d taken that first-aid class! Her hands moved on his kneeling figure, brushing

gently over the broad shoulders and down to his waist, seeking the extent of the damage. When she

lightly touched his rib cage, he gasped.

“Would you believe I walked into a brick wall?” he managed in an attempt at macabre humor. He didn’t

open his eyes. It seemed to be taking all his strength just to remain on his knees, leaning against the side

of the alley.

“I might believe several people pushed you into that brick wall,” Tabitha muttered as she finished the

superficial inspection. “Here, lie down. You’re not losing a great deal of blood and except for possibly a

cracked rib, I don’t think anything’s broken. Are you feeling faint?”

“Hell, no. Women faint. Men pass out.” He slumped a little farther down against the wall.

“Well, do you feel as if you’re going to pass out?” Tabitha demanded, reaching out to steady him.

“Yes.”

“Please. Lie down.” She tried to ease him onto his side. “I think we should get your feet elevated. Don’t

want you going into shock. As soon as you’re more comfortable I’ll go for help.”

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“No!” The silver eyes flew open and she read the sudden command in them. “The ship sails in about half

an hour, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, but I don’t think…”

“Listen. I’d rather be treated by the doctor on board the ship than risk getting stranded on this

backwater island. Lord knows what kind of medical care is available here,” he said urgently.

Tabitha chewed on her lip. “I’m not sure you should be moved.”

“I’m damn well not going to spend the night in this alley!” He closed his eyes again and groaned as he

changed position slightly. “Please. You’re from the ship, too, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“I thought I’d seen you on board,” he muttered. “Look, if you’ll just help me get back to the wharf, I’d

really appreciate it.”

Tabitha frowned, realizing how important the matter was to him. He really didn’t want to find himself

stranded on the small Caribbean island where the cruise ship had docked for the afternoon. She couldn’t

blame him, she decided. If their positions had been reversed, she knew she’d rather trust herself to the

medical care available on board the huge passenger ship than to the unknown facilities available locally.

“All right,” she said reassuringly. “I’ll find a way to get you back. Just stay still while I go flag down one

of those crazy taxis.”

He didn’t answer; he didn’t appear capable of answering. With a last anxious look at his hunched figure,

Tabitha leaped to her feet and raced back toward the mouth of the alley. She nearly tripped over the

sack containing the woven basket and the carved wooden dragon that had been among her last

purchases.

Out on the narrow street she hailed the first small car which came into view. There was no need to

worry about whether or not it was a taxi. One of the first things she had discovered when she’d gotten off

the ship earlier in the day was that when a cruise ship was in town, every available car somehow

metamorphosed into a taxi. The driver of this one screeched to a halt in front of her and grinned broadly.

“Taxi, lady?”

“Yes, but I need some help. There’s another passenger. He’s in the alley and he’s been hurt. Will you

give me a hand getting him into the car? We’ll pay double the fare, naturally,” she added quickly.

“Sure, lady.” The man grinned even more cheerfully and jumped out of the somewhat banged-up

automobile. “St. Regis very friendly island. Glad to help.”

Without waiting, Tabitha turned and hurried back into the alley. The dark-haired man had sunk a little

lower onto the cobblestones and his eyes were closed again. She could see the cold moisture on his

brow and her sense of urgency increased. It was hot here on the island, but this man looked as if he were

having chills. She noticed that his large hand was still clamped fiercely around the handle of the cane.

The cab driver whistled as he saw his other passenger. “Very bad. You need doctor, yes?”

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“He wants the one on board the ship,” Tabitha said hastily as the man with the cane tried to shake his

head. It was obvious that the pain made the small movement sheer torture. “Here, give me a hand,” she

added and went forward to gently but firmly begin the difficult process of getting the battered man to his

feet.

The car driver shrugged and obligingly stepped forward to help. Tabitha winced as she saw the

whitening brackets on either side of the victim’s hard mouth. The lines whitened even further as she and

the taxi driver got him to his feet. But her fellow passenger said nothing as the three of them began the

walk to the waiting car. Tabitha knew it was because it took his full willpower simply to make the

journey.

Together she and the driver got the dark-haired man into the cab, and Tabitha slid into the back seat

beside him. Her arm went around the man’s shoulders in an instinctive effort to both comfort and steady

him. She felt him stifle another groan of pain and then realized he was leaning heavily against her. His

bruised face was turned into her shoulder and the brown lashes drooped against the high line of his

cheek.

“Good medicine,” the cab driver announced, reaching under his seat and withdrawing a small bottle of

rum. He handed it back to Tabitha. “Give him some of this, lady. It help.”

Doubtfully Tabitha took the bottle. “Do you really think he should have any alcohol?”

The silver eyes of the victim opened briefly, focusing on the rum bottle. “Definitely,” he muttered huskily.

He tried to raise a hand toward the bottle, but Tabitha moved it firmly out of reach and uncapped it. Then

she painstakingly wiped the neck.

“All right, but just a small sip,” she cautioned, holding the bottle to his lips. It was an unsteady process

because of the manner in which the driver was whizzing the small car through the one main street of town

toward the wharf. The vendors lining the street didn’t even glance up from their wares as the car whipped

past. They were accustomed to the local style of driving. The cruise ship would be leaving in less than half

an hour and no one wanted to miss a last-minute sale. The street was rapidly emptying of tourists.

The dark-haired man swallowed the sip of rum Tabitha allowed and tried for another. Tabitha pulled the

bottle back from his mouth. “I really don’t think you should have any more,” she explained anxiously.

He raised his silver eyes to meet her uncertain sherry brown gaze. “Please?” he whispered. “I hurt, lady.

I hurt so much.”

Knowing she could offer nothing else in the way of immediate relief, Tabitha relented. Her victim

swallowed greedily from the bottle and then, without any warning, he collapsed completely. One moment

he was drinking rum, the next he was sprawled across her lap, his dark head resting on her thigh.

“Oh, my God,” Tabitha whispered. “Hurry, driver.
Hurry
!” She stared down at the man in her lap. The

blood from the small cuts on his face was staining her white cotton pants. Her fingers fluttered soothingly

along his wrist, seeking a pulse. The beat seemed reasonably strong, she discovered in relief. Her eyes

wandered over his inert body once more.

She had seen the man more than once during the three days the cruise ship had been at sea, but always

from a distance. She had no idea who he was. The ebony cane which he still grasped even in his

semiconscious state had always been in evidence when she had seen him on deck or in the dining room.

It was a necessity, not an affectation, because the man walked with a decided limp.