James, Stephanie (4 page)

ever really needed her before.

His vulnerability was new to her. She found it appealing in an unexpected fashion. It made him seem

unthreatening and hinted at a sensitivity which most men seemed to lack.

Tabitha realized that she could like Devlin Colter very much, and the knowledge sent a wave of

pleasurable warmth through her. She would take good care of him.

Two

«^»

Tabby cat.

She lay curled beside him on the narrow bed looking for all the world like a soft, purring tabby cat.

Except that she wasn’t exactly purring, Dev corrected himself, as he examined the woman beside him.

She was sound asleep. What would it take to make her purr?

He kept very still on his side of the bed, watching as the Caribbean dawn began to filter through the

stateroom window. He realized wryly that he wasn’t avoiding movement just because of a reluctance to

reawaken the aches and pains of yesterday in his stiff muscles, but rather because he was strangely

reluctant to awaken Miss Tabitha Graham. He knew that when those huge sherry-colored eyes opened,

they were going to be filled with acute embarrassment and with that watchful, distant caution he had seen

in them yesterday and once or twice during the preceding three days.

Dev decided he rather liked her the way she was now, her soft, satisfyingly curved body curled in a

relaxed and trusting sprawl alongside him. It took an effort of will to resist the temptation to reach out and

stroke the full line of her sweet derriere. But he realized that if he gave in to the urge she would

undoubtedly awaken, and he wanted to delay that event as long as possible.

It wasn’t just the rounded curve of her rear which intrigued him; Miss Tabitha Graham also had a

pleasantly full bosom. The old-fashioned word made him smile unexpectedly. He straightened his mouth

almost at once when the expression tugged painfully at bruised and cut flesh. But his gaze continued to

linger on the outline of Tabitha’s breasts beneath the cotton knit dress. It would be interesting to see how

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the soft mounds reacted to a man’s touch.

No, he decided with an unusual restlessness, not just to a man’s touch; to
his
touch. Would the nipples

harden into small, dark pebbles? If he succeeded in eliciting a reaction like that would she then part her

soft, rounded thighs and let him slide between them?

Hell, what was the matter with him this morning? Here he was, stiff and sore in every muscle and his

mind insisted on busying itself with a fantasy which, if actually carried out, would prove to be sheer

torture to his bruised frame. Not to mention the fact that it would undoubtedly scare Miss Tabitha

Graham right back to her own stateroom, never to re-emerge for the duration of the voyage.

And it occurred to Dev that that was the last thing he wanted to do. He didn’t want his tabby cat to

disappear; she was proving to be very pleasant to have around. There was something infinitely comforting

and soothing about her presence, and he was unfamiliar with comforting and soothing women.

When she had rounded the corner of that alley yesterday, he had sensed almost immediately that she

wasn’t going to panic or flutter about uselessly. After the initial shock of seeing his battered condition, she

had dropped everything, literally, and come to his rescue. He had known as soon as he felt her gentle

touch on his aching body that she could be trusted. How he knew that, he couldn’t have said. Dev Colter

had not made a lifelong habit of trusting people, but he had learned to trust his instincts. They had kept

him alive this long.

On the way back to the ship he had let himself be comforted by the warmth and softness of her body.

He could still remember the shape of her thigh beneath his cheek as he’d sprawled on her lap. When

he’d awakened from the doctor’s ministrations, it had been reassuring to see her sweetly anxious face

light up with that gentle smile. No woman had ever looked at him quite like that before. The urge to call

her with a plea for dinner later had been irresistible.

Dev’s mouth hardened grimly as he realized what the direction of his thoughts was doing to his body.

Perhaps it was normal for a man to have a few fantasies when he woke up to find a woman, any woman,

lying beside him! And when that woman was the same creature who had rescued him and comforted him,

perhaps it was even more normal to do a little fantasizing.

But regardless of the normalness of the situation, Dev had enough perception to know that throwing

himself on top of Miss Tabitha Graham, even if he had been physically capable of the action this morning,

would only result in unmitigated disaster. She’d flee and that was the last thing he wanted.

Dev Colter was discovering that he was hungry for more of the gentle, soothing comfort he had received

yesterday. In fact, he wanted a hell of a lot more of it. It was not a commodity which had been

particularly abundant in his life. At forty he was suddenly aware that he was rather greedy for what he

had missed. He had enough self-control not to jeopardize his present good luck by giving in to the urgings

of his body. When Tabitha stirred slightly, he instantly closed his eyes. He’d trust his instincts in dealing

with her.

She awoke with a feeling of disorientation. For a moment Tabitha delayed opening her eyes, trying to

assimilate the elements of strangeness which were impinging on her. The steady, throbbing feel of the

ship’s engines was familiar enough, but nothing else seemed quite right. For one thing there was a solid,

warm body next to hers on the bed. Tabitha’s eyes flew open in alarm as reality came back with a thud.

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For an agonizing instant she lay perfectly still, hardly daring to seek out Dev Colter’s face. What must he

be thinking? How could she have fallen asleep like that last night? There was a distant recollection of

easing herself down beside him so that she could rest a little while she massaged his temple and then

nothing until now. How excruciatingly embarrassing for both of them!

But when she found the nerve to raise her eyes to his face, she heaved a sigh of relief. He was still

asleep. Her incipient embarrassment faded to be replaced by concern. Poor man. He must be exhausted.

Thank heaven he had been able to get some rest.

Carefully Tabitha eased herself out of the narrow bed, aware of a distinct feeling of purely feminine

pleasure. What rest Dev had obtained was attributable, in part, to her. Hurriedly she collected her

sandals, which had apparently fallen off during the night, and slipped out of the stateroom.

A hasty glance up and down the corridor determined that no one was witnessing her early morning

departure from a man’s room. Not that anyone on board would particularly care, she assured herself

wryly as she made her way back to her own deck. Everyone on board was there to enjoy himself or

herself to the fullest and certainly wouldn’t begrudge others doing the same!

But Tabitha was not accustomed to making any kind of spectacle of herself and the thought of someone

smirking over her departure from a man’s cabin was enough to bring a wave of warmth to her cheeks.

She hated scenes of any kind and she was especially horrified at the thought of finding herself the center

of speculative attention. She liked to think it was because she was sensitive, but the simple truth was that

she lacked the self-confidence to carry off such a situation and she knew it.

With a vast sense of relief she gained the privacy of her own stateroom. A nice, hot shower would

restore her usual calm, she decided at once, stripping off the yellow cotton knit dress. Catching sight of

her nude body just before she stepped into the bath, she gave a self-mocking smile. What would Dev

Colter have thought if he’d awakened to find her lying next to him?

Would he have found anything at all appealing in her gently rounded frame? Probably not. Tabitha sighed

philosophically. She had learned long ago that while men sometimes admired full breasts and hips, she

apparently lacked the sensual voluptuousness which made such a shape truly attractive. And her

ex-husband had made it abundantly clear that she also lacked the fiery, ardent nature which might have

compensated.

Grimacing, she went into the shower and turned on the water. As soon as she was out she would order

breakfast for Dev. He had been hungry last night and presumably would be again this morning. He

needed to eat for strength, she decided determinedly, and immediately began planning a strengthening

sort of menu for him. It was quite pleasant to lose herself in the activity, and it restored her equilibrium.

By the time she knocked on his door half an hour later she was feeling quite in command of herself and

of the situation. His answering invitation to enter seemed to come with reassuring alacrity.

“Good morning,” Tabitha said cheerfully as she walked into the room, once again followed by a steward

carrying a tray. “How are you feeling? I’ve brought breakfast.”

Dev was sitting on the edge of the bed, dressed in a fresh pair of light tan pants clasped around his hard

waist with a dark leather belt. Contrasting with the bandages he still wore, his nude upper torso was

sleek and bronzed in the early morning light, and his dark brown hair had been brushed into place. It still

bore a trace of dampness from the shower. His silvery eyes focused on her immediately.

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“Great. I’m starving again. I was just wondering whether or not I had enough strength left after that

shower to make it up to the dining room. It was very thoughtful of you to do this, Tabby.”

Tabitha glowed at the genuine note of gratitude in his voice. Such a nice man, she thought happily. Polite,

grateful for small favors, sensitive, vulnerable. For what more could a woman ask? Perhaps this sort of

man wouldn’t care if a woman’s roundness couldn’t exactly be described as voluptuous?

“Do you need any more pain pills?” she asked, airily dismissing the steward so that she could dish up the

grapefruit and scrambled eggs herself. “I can ask the doctor for another packet, if you like.” She

uncovered a plate of toast, peering down at it to make sure the cook had remembered to butter the

bread.

“I think I’ll survive on aspirin today,” he murmured, watching as she bustled about the tray.

Aware of his eyes following her every move, Tabitha hastened through her preparations and then

motioned him to the chair on the opposite side of the small table. What a relief to know he had still been

asleep when she’d awakened this morning!

“I’ve been trying to decide whether or not you should spend the day in bed,” she told him as he

cautiously sat down across from her. “It’s obvious you’re still not feeling very well.”

“I still ache a bit here and there,” he admitted. “But I think the sun might feel good on my poor, battered

body. What do you think?” he asked humbly.

“You might be right,” she agreed thoughtfully. “The warmth might be good for those aching muscles.

We’ll fill you full of aspirins after breakfast and then go find a couple of vacant deck chairs near the pool.

How does that sound?”

She thought she saw a flash of something close to relief in his eyes before he nodded and agreed. “It

sounds delightful.” He paused and then went on softly, “I haven’t thanked you for helping me get to sleep

last night, Tabby.”

She blinked in sudden uncertainty. How much did he remember about last night? In the next moment she

relaxed as he gave her a blandly polite look. “It was quite all right. You don’t owe me any thanks. I was

glad to do it What did the captain say when you told him what had happened on St. Regis?”

Dev shrugged and then stifled a small groan, regretting the movement. “He said he’d check back with

the local authorities but that probably not much would be done. This sort of thing happens occasionally

everywhere in the world. I should never have wandered down that alley in the first place,” he added

ruefully.

“How were you to know it would be dangerous?” she countered roundly. “Heavens, I was about to do

the exact same thing. A few minutes earlier and it would have been me who got attacked.”

The level glance he gave her was suddenly unreadable. “How did you happen to wander into that alley

when you did?” He dug into his grapefruit.

“I was following a sign on the wall outside which said there was a sculptor’s studio at the other end,” she

explained easily. “I had already found the most interesting little wooden dragon at another shop, and I

was hoping to find something else equally fascinating before I went back to the ship. You never can tell

what will turn up at little, hidden shops.”

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“What sort of things do you collect?” he asked curiously.

“Things like this,” she said, holding out her hand to display a ring done in an intricate design.

Dev frowned over her fingers. “What is it?”

“A sea serpent! Can’t you see the little fins and the odd-shaped head?”