Marrying The Boss (10 page)

Belatedly he wondered where the author of
this stunning miracle had gone. He debated which of the six large
bedrooms Kate now occupied. The dangerously seductive image speared
through his senses with renewed intensity. The thought of her
fragrant softness and a wide, comfortable bed sifted through his
conscious mind, provoking an unmistakable response.

"
Dammit!
" he swore, low, hard and savage.

It didn't help. The images kept crowding
in, shredding his tight control, making his body ache with rising
desire. He stamped down hard on the unfurling sense of
need.

It was nothing he
couldn't handle.
Tomorrow night he would run off his deepening sense of frustration.
He'd run the full length of a marathon if necessary. Anything to
get by.

His conscience stabbed
him.
Finishing his coffee in a long swallow, he left the kitchen
and went into the lounge.

"
What the––?"
He stared at the chaotic scene.

Every cushion and pillow in the room had
been heaped into the middle of the floor. A cave of sorts had been
created with blankets and four dining chairs.

He frowned at the organized disaster.
Going down on one knee, he peered into the cave's mouth. Jamie's
book bag and a discarded torch guarded the entrance. The soft drift
of torchlight illuminated the interior. They'd created a cozy nest
inside among the cushions.

The sight of his son, dressed in his
favorite pair of action figure pajamas, curled close against Kate's
side, hit him low. They were both asleep. Remnants of chocolate
chip cookies surrounded his son's mouth. Kate's soft lips also
showed traces of their illicit baking spree.

Spencer sat back on his heels. His body
surged to attention. They looked so cozy and warm, far too content
to disturb. He was seriously tempted to crawl right in there beside
them.

He
bleakly reminded himself that three was a
crowd, passing a denying hand through his hair as he rose to his
feet, stripping the coverings from their hideaway.

He reached in to lift Jamie out first. His
son murmured in his sleep, but didn't waken. Carrying him down the
hall to his bedroom, Spencer placed him on the mattress before
covering him with the comforter.

He left the door ajar and returned to the
lounge. Standing, staring down at her, he was unsure what to do
about Kate. His throat constricted as, against his will, he felt
his lower body begin to cramp and harden further.

God help me
. He could not afford to become
involved with this woman in any way. What he needed from her, she
wouldn't be interested in providing and Jamie needed a woman who
would always be around to care for him. It was be impossible
dream.

He had to find some way of
shifting Kate Martin out of his house.
And soon.

He stared down at the drifted wings of
soft spun copper hair threaded across her flushed cheek. She looked
warm and very comfortable. He guessed he would have to put her to
bed. Common sense told him he couldn't leave her here no matter how
much he wanted to do so.

Leaning down, he braced himself as he slid
one arm behind Kate's knees, the other going behind her back for
support as he gathered her into his arms. She yawned and stretched,
the soft curve of her breasts pressing intimately to the hard wall
of his chest as she squirmed against his hold, settling closer
against him.

Perspective and distance. Spencer groaned
inwardly, his arms and senses suddenly full of fragrant feminine
warmth and soft, satiny skin. What the hell did he think he was
doing?

"
What are you doing?" Kate stiffened in his
grasp. "You can put me down, you know. I'm not asleep and you're
very late."

"
I can see that you're not asleep. Good
morning."

"
Is it morning already?" Kate leaned back
to frown at him, her soft lips pouting with disbelief.

She noticed Spencer's face was etched with
strain. Strands of his dark hair had fallen across his forehead
again. Kate's heart tumbled, its beat accelerating painfully. Her
distracting, disturbing, downright sinful pirate from the garden
had returned and his presence was tormenting her determined resolve
over having nothing to do with this man beyond their working
relationship. Professional distance was very hard to maintain when
he was holding her close in his arms as if she was very precious to
him.

Her fingers itched to test the dark
texture of his early morning beard shadow, the roughened curve of
his lean cheek, watch those long lashes sweep down to mask his gaze
when she reached up to curve her hand around the back of his neck
and pull his willful mouth down to hers before she––

Oh, help
. Kate's pulse rocketed off the
scale. Her body began to melt. She didn't need this kind of blatant
masculine temptation so early in the morning. "Dr. Stelanos, please
put me down. I'm too heavy. Besides, I can stand on my own two
feet."

To Spencer's mind she didn't weigh much
more than his son. His locked arms didn't want to move, he had to
force them to slowly release her, allowing her to slide slowly down
the full length of his body, his last touch helping her gain her
footing among the scattered pile of cushions.

"
I never doubted it for a moment."

She stared at him. "So long as we
understand one another."

Spencer's
lips tightened. Understanding
was the last thing he wanted or needed from her. Kate Martin was
going to mess with the ordered security of his life. She was going
to be trouble with a ten meter capital T and he knew he had to put
a stop to it. Before things spiraled too far out of
control.

Everything roiling inside him strained
towards her fragrant softness. He wanted to reach out and recapture
her intoxicating fragrance, silence a few of the demons tormenting
him with her soft mouth trapped beneath his.

"
What time is it?" Kate questioned huskily,
blinking up at him.

"
It's after four," Spencer growled,
stepping back. He latched onto the first safe thought that surfaced
in his mind. "I see you've been busy in the kitchen."

Her cautious eyes lifted to study his. She
looked suddenly stricken and guilty. As if he was accusing her of
doing of something dangerous or dishonest.

Why
can't I just quit while I'm
ahead
.
Spencer groaned beneath his breath. Now he was sorry he'd brought
the subject up. He tried to make amends. "It's a long time since
I've tasted cookies that good."

"
Jamie said they were his favorite. So we
made a second batch. I'm sorry if you think I've overstepped some
sort of boundary. But, I needed something to keep him occupied. I
didn't think you'd mind."

She turned away. Spencer saw her chest
rise and fall in agitation. She was obviously intent on leaving.
"Hey, whoa, of course, I don't mind. And all this?" He swept a hand
at the chaos of the lounge.

"
Haven't you ever camped out in your own
house?" Kate's eyebrows rose. "Veged out in front of the
television? It's fun. Actually, the tent was Jamie's idea. But,
Eric and I, we—" She halted and blinked, her eyes filling with that
awful stricken look from their morning encounter in the
garden.

As if she'd once again said more than she
intended. It tore at Spencer's resolve to keep his distance. Leave
well enough alone and get her out of his house.

"
Eric...?" he prompted roughly, when Kate
didn't continue.

"
I...forget it. It doesn't matter." Her
face closed, became watchful.

"
I see." Spencer wondered what he'd said to
make her suddenly look so scared.

It slammed right up against his
odd need to protect this woman. From what he had no idea.
Perhaps
himself
. The
unwary thought hit him low, jangling every one of his internal
warning bells, but the thought wouldn't go away.

Some man had harmed her, even
put his mark on her as surely as if he had hit her; bruised her
soft skin with his fists.
He'd seen the evidence in her initial wariness of
him. The disturbing thought settled uneasily in the back of his
mind.

Eric
.

Was t
hat the guy she'd crossed half the
world to get away from? The guy who'd lashed out at her?

"
I'm sorry." Kate stared up at Spencer. His
intent gaze was unsettling. She didn't want to know what he was
thinking. "Eric was...a friend. Someone I once knew." She lifted
her shoulders, turning away to gather up cushions and restore order
to the room. "I...it was a long time ago. I don't wish to think
about it now."

She looked back at him. "Maybe I'd better
go. You'll have things you need to organize. I know I need a shower
and a change of clothes before morning surgery," she finished in a
rush.

"
Of course." Spencer took the blanket she
held out to him for folding.

Eric
. So the creep was more to her than
Kate was letting on. She talked about him in the past tense, but it
didn't carry the ring of truth. She was still suffering for what
the guy had done to her and recently too.

Spencer snapped the blanket
taut, folding it in frustrated fury.
If he even met him…

Kate kept her distance and they continued
to work in silence. Spencer watched her move about the room.
Obviously she didn't wish to discuss her past relationship or bring
herself to trust him. To understand it was never his intention to
hurt her by stirring up painful memories from the past. He didn't
understand himself right now. Uncertainty chipped away at his sense
of control.

The silence between them lengthened,
became painful. Unwilling to let her leave like this, he put a hand
out to detain her just as she finished patting the last cushion
back into place. "At least stay for a cup of coffee. I know I could
use some. I owe you for what you've done tonight and you must be
hungry."

This warm, sleep tousled and barefoot Kate
looked entirely delectable and too dangerous, but he couldn't send
her away like this, looking distressed. But every signal, every
movement of her slender body, told him she had placed herself off
limits.

Kate watched him, running her tongue over
her bottom lip. A safe distance from this man was what she needed
right now. Space and time to reassemble the barriers she had placed
around her innermost thoughts and feelings. But their talk of Eric
had rattled her composure, leaving her feeling vulnerable and
confused.

"
I guess I could stay." She finally
allowed. "A cup of coffee would be welcome, thank you, Dr.
Stelanos."

"
The name is Spencer."

"
Spencer," Kate breathed reluctantly,
finally giving him this one small victory.
Where was the real harm in
that?

"
You'll find it's a lot easier." Spencer
turned to lead the way into the kitchen.

Kate wasn't so sure. "How's your aunt?
What's her prognosis?"

She helped herself to a cookie before
pulling out a stool and sat down at the scrubbed oak table across
from him.

He sighed. "Disgruntled. She doesn't take
kindly to people telling her what to do. Thankfully her hip wasn't
fractured, but she has a mild concussion. If she takes things easy,
she should make a full recovery."

"
Thank goodness you were here."

Not liking other people telling them what
to do appeared to be a Stelanos family trait. "How are you going to
cope with Jamie while she's away?"

"
We'll manage."

"
Thanks." Kate accepted the mug of coffee
Spencer passed to her.

He leaned back against the counter behind
him. "I'll need to take the morning off, but Jake can cover for me.
Alexia will no doubt have the whole hospital reorganized before
lunch, if I'm not there to stop her. She's already told me she's
convinced I'm keeping her in hospital as some sort of punishment.
She's always been a very good martyr."

Kate felt disturbed by the idea. "I'm sure
she doesn't really mean it. She must realize you're only doing
what's best for her."

"
Maybe," Spencer muttered bleakly. "I'm
afraid we haven't seen eye to eye on a lot of things for some time,
especially Jamie's upbringing. My aunt is old and very set in her
ways. She would have my son brought up in a strictly Greek way,
where I think he should be—"

Whatever he was going to say was cut off by
the strident ringing of the telephone. Spencer apologized as he
turned away, reaching out an arm to hook the receiver and bring it
to his ear.

"
Spencer Stelanos." He listened to the
caller for a long moment, his expression darkening.
"
Kali mera,
Papa
."