Lone Rider (35 page)

She looked ready to cry. “The last time we shared body heat I got pregnant.”

“At least you don’t have to worry about that this time.”

Tess shoved his hand away. “Thanks, but no thanks.”

Grey caught her wrists gently, feeling very much like the bull in a china shop. He apologized. “That’s not what I meant. I promise to be a perfect gentleman. See? My jeans are staying on.”

             
Scrunching the pillows behind him, Grey climbed onto the bed. She hesitated only a moment before snuggling as close to him as possible, too cold to argue.

Grey drew his arm around her, pressing her tightly to his side. She was his perfect fit. “Better?” he asked.

             
“Much,” she whispered. She burrowed her cold nose into his side
,
willing the heat to leave his body and enter hers. “Thank you.”

             
For someone shivering, Grey thought she felt too warm. He pressed his lips against her forehead, testing her skin temperature. She was burning up.

             
“Tess, I think you’re running a fever. I need to call a doctor.”

             
She moaned. “The last thing I want to do is go out again. I just need sleep. I’ll be fine.”

             
Grey hugged her close, rocking her gently, while he fought his own internal monsters. He didn’t blame her for not wanting to go out. She didn’t feel well.

     But he didn’t want to take any chances where she or the baby were concerned.

Besides, the doctor he was going to call was a person he trusted explicitly. In fact, she was the obstetrician Grey was going to recommend Tess see while they were in the
Chapel Hill
area.

             
His ex-wife
.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

             
Grey looked down at Tess, noticing she’d drifted off to sleep, which made his decision easier. He’d feel better if Elise saw Tess, but how would Tess feel about seeing the woman Grey had once been married to?

             
He thought about Geoffrey Hurst, Tess’ ex-
fiancé
. Grey wouldn’t want to see him, even if he were dying and Geoffrey held the cure. But that was him.

             
Right now, with her sick and them in hiding...well, calling Elise seemed the best option. Of course, that assumed Grey could reach her.

             
Slipping from the bed, he reached for his wallet and withdrew a creased business card.

             
Her answering service gave him the number of a local hospital, where Elise was on call. She sounded harried when she answered the page.

             
“Grey! Kevin and I watched the reports on the trial. Are you okay?”

             
“I’m fine Elise, but I’ve got a big favor to ask.”

             
Briefly he explained the situation.

             
“So it’s true,” she said. “The Marsh woman is pregnant. There’s speculation you’re the father--”

             
“I am.”

             
“Well, congratulations! Now tell me more of her symptoms. How high is her fever?”

             
“I don’t have a thermometer
,
and I’m hesitant to leave her to go find one.”

             
“I’m off duty in thirty minutes. I can come there.”

             
Grey breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks Elise.”

             
“You can thank me when I get there. What’s the address?”

             
Grey gave her directions and their room number. “We’re registered under an alias, Elise, you--”

             
“Yeah, I know. It’s top secret. You’d tell me more, but then you’d have to kill me. Blah, blah, blah. I remember the drill from when we were married.”

             
“You probably got the same lines from Kevin.”  After
Grey
and Elise divorced she married his best friend, a fellow FBI agent. Kevin had only stayed with the
Bureau
a few months after that though. He’d been smart enough to realize
undercover work
didn’t mix well with a marriage and family.

             
“There’s not many people I can call right now,” Grey admitted.

             
“Say no more. I figure if you didn’t trust me, you wouldn’t have called.”  Elise paused, but only to draw another breath. “And, by the way, those tired old lines about stuff being top secret don’t work anymore, so be prepared to tell me everything, Grey.”

*     *     *

             
“Your ex-wife is an obstet
rician?”  Tess shoved her still-
damp hair
off her forehead. She was wide-
awake. “And she’s coming here? Now?”

             
Grey nodded. “You need a doctor, Tess. You’re running a fever
,
and I know I can trust Elise.”

             
Trust wasn’t the issue. For now at least.

             
She was still reeling over the news Grey had been married before. To a woman who was en route this instant to see Tess...who carried the woman’s ex-husband’s child.

             
Tess
scrambled from the bed only to be caught -- gently -- around the waist by a strong arm.

             
“Let me go!” she demanded.

             
“What are you doing? You belong in bed.”

             
“I’m going to get dressed and brush my hair.”

             
“Why?”

             
“Because I probably look like something a cat tried to bury.”

             
“So? You’re sick. She knows that.”

             
Tess smacked his hand, twice, miffed that he hadn’t even tried to contradict her. She must look even worse then she felt. “I suppose she also knows I’m pregnant and you’re the father.”

             
Damn it, he wished she’d hold still. “The whole blasted country knows that. Remember?”

             
For a moment she looked stung, and Grey regretted his remark. He loosened his grip, instantly contrite.

             
“Tess...”

             
She moved away, ignoring him, pulling open drawers until she found her clothes. Grabbing a soft blue sweater and jeans she stepped into the bathroom. But not before shooting Grey a wounded look. Then she slammed the door and crumpled to the floor, eyes blurry with unshed tears.

             
Why did the news of Grey’s past seem so upsetting? Of course he’d had a life before meeting her, before the time they spent together. So had she. It was just...

             
What?

             
Why did it upset her so to think of Grey loving another?

             
It didn’t
.

             
The thought that Grey
still
cared was what rankled.

             
They obviously still had a bond. Grey trusted her. In his hour of need he’d called his ex-wife.

             
And
,
quite simply, Tess was jealous.

             
Her head snapped up at the thought. She couldn’t be jealou
s. That meant she had to
care about him
deeply
. And she couldn’t. She didn’t know him well enough...in spite of all that had passed between them.

She thought back to her weeks in
Montana
. Of the time she’d spent with Grey as a hostage. She’d been a helpless pawn in a frightening game.

             
And she’d loved him even then
.

             
No.

             
No.

             
No!

             
Grey knocked softly on the door. “Tess? Are you okay?”

             
Drying her eyes, she straightened and quickly pulled on her clothes. When she opened the door he was casually leaning against the jamb, blocking her way, his arms crossed over his bare chest.

             
She wished he’d put on a shirt. She stared at his chest, his small brown nipples. The medal that rested between them. She ached to touch him. Except she was still confused.

             
“I’m fine.”  She squeezed past him, avoiding physical contact as if he were covered with leprous sores. No small task considering the size of her breasts and the fact that he obviously wasn’t budging. Picking up a hairbrush she moved toward the couch.

             
“I owe you an apology.”  He followed her, snagging a dry shirt and jamming his arms into the sleeves. “Probably a dozen of them.”

             
She remained silent.

             
He ran his hands through his hair, flexing muscles as he moved. “One, I shouldn’t have snapped at you. Two, I should have checked with you before calling a doctor. And three, I need to respect your space and your feelings.”

             
He knelt in front of her, mesmerized by the hairbrush shimmering through her hair, knowing he’d be lost if he reached out and touched. When she still didn’t speak, he sighed.

             
“Okay, I also should have told you sooner that I had an ex-wife.”

             
The hairbrush stopped mid-stroke. His last remark made her realize she was behaving childishly. She looked at him, repentant. “You owe me no explanations on your personal life.”

             
“I know I don’t owe you one. I would, however, like to share with you.”  He reached out, taking the hairbrush from her hand.

             
When she didn’t resist he eased up to sit beside her and began gently brushing the long golden strands.

             
“I’d also like it if you shared some of your life with me. I’m tired of the way we tiptoe around each other, like there’s an invisible wall that can’t be breached.”  He ran a finger down the hollow of her cheek, tracing the line of her jaw. “There’s so much I don’t know about you. It drives me crazy sometimes.”

             
She looked away
,
not wanting him to see that she felt the same. Not until she understood it herself. That wall was there for a reason.

             
“Ours hasn’t exactly been a normal relationship. We’ve been thrown together under extreme circumstances twice now. First in
Montana
, now this. My everyd
ay life would probably bore you,
”
she said.

             
Tipping her chin back toward him, he pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose. She was still too warm, her eyes feverish. He hoped Elise would arrive soon.

             
“Funny, I’ve felt the same way about my life.”  His smile was bittersweet. “So does that mean you accept my apology?”

             
“For being overbearing? Yes.
”

             
He grunted. “What about my calling Elise?”

             
Tess looked at him squarely not wanting to delve too deeply into feelings that felt too tender right now. “I realize she’s doing a tremendous favor coming here this late. And if you say she’s a good doctor
,
I’ll believe you.”

             
At that moment a knock sounded at the door. Picking up his gun, Grey checked the peephole, then opened the door.

             
A petite redhead rushed into the room and launched herself at Grey. She kissed both his cheeks before steppi
ng back and giving him the once-
over. “Nice. The
GQ
look suits you. The last time I saw you, you had hair down to here.”

She pointed to his gun and rolled her eyes, unimpressed. “
Stow that and grab my bags. I se
t them down outside.”  She jabbed at his open shirt. “And button up. It’s nippy.”

             
Elise whirled around, pinning Tess with a friendly smile as she peeled off her coat. “You must be Tess Marsh. I’m Elise Barnes.”