Heavy lids were instantly raised, cool black eyes glittering feveredly at her in recognition. ‘What the hell are you doing here?’ he bit out savagely, all the honey gone from his voice, only the gravel remaining.
‘Nice welcome,’ she said lightly, making some effort to straighten the bedclothes. ‘These sheets are damp!’ she frowned down at him.
‘What did you expect?’ he groaned weakly as he made an effort to sit up, dropping back against the pillows, his hair clinging damply to his forehead. ‘I’m sweating like a—’
‘I can see that,’ she cut him off before he became crudely blunt. ‘Well, you can’t lie in damp sheets,’ she told him briskly, picking up the telephone to begin dialling.
‘What are you doing?’ Rick glared at her, but he didn’t have enough strength to do more than that.
‘Calling for fresh sheets. What did you have in the jug?’
‘Lime-juice. But—’
‘Room service?’ Shanna said haughtily as someone came on the line. For the next few minutes she gave instructions as to what she wanted sent up to Rick’s suite, allowing no time for them to question her authority in turning their hotel upsidedown. After all, if Rick could afford to stay in a suite like this then he deserved the best service available too!
‘Very efficient, Mrs Logan,’ Rick drawled as she rang off. ‘Except that I have no intention of getting out of this bed.’
‘You—’ she broke off her angry tirade as she saw the lack of real fight in him, the way he lay back weakly against the pillows, almost as white as the bed-linen itself. ‘You’ll feel better afterwards, Rick,’ she soothed, and sat on the side of the bed, noticing how clammy his skin looked. ‘Have you had your temperature taken?’ she frowned, touching his forehead with the back of her hand, surprised at how hot he felt.
‘A hundred and one,’ he growled, his throat obviously troubling him too as he began to cough. ‘God…!’ he groaned weakly when he could catch his breath.
‘Indeed,’ she said dryly, standing up as a knock sounded on the door. ‘I won’t be long,’ she promised, opening the door to admit an army of hotel staff as they brought in the things she had requested. ‘Thank you,’ she said warmly once everything had been deposited in the lounge.
‘Will that be all for Mr Dalmont, madam?’ One of the men lingered as the others left.
‘Could you get this filled out?’ she asked sweetly, handing him the prescription she had found amongst the clutter on Rick’s cabinet. ‘Mr Dalmont needs the medication as soon as possible.’ She gave the man a glowing smile, handing him a large tip.
He glanced down at the money in his hand, his eyes widening appreciatively. ‘Thank you, madam. I’ll see to it myself.’
She had thought he might—no doubt he would expect another healthy tip when he brought the medication up to the suite too!
‘Why didn’t you get the prescription filled out?’ she demanded of Rick as she took the fresh juice into his bedroom.
He opened his eyes with a weary sigh. ‘Why do you keep doing that?’ He put a hand up to his temple as it obviously ached. ‘I feel like I want to die, and every time I fall asleep you come in and wake me up! Why don’t you get the hell out of here and leave me alone?’ he rasped.
‘Maybe you would feel better if you’d taken the medicine the doctor prescribed for you,’ Shanna told him without sympathy, beginning to strip the blankets from the bed.
Rick made a grab for them as his bare chest was revealed. ‘There was no one to get it for me, and I didn’t fancy struggling down to the chemists myself,’ he taunted.
‘According to Cindy you threw everyone out,’ she said in a preoccupied voice, continuing to strip the bed.
‘I didn’t want anyone fussing around me,’ he glowered at her, clutching at the sheet as she would have removed that too. ‘Will you just stop what you’re doing and—’
‘Rick, don’t be such a baby,’ she sighed. ‘I’m only—’
‘I don’t have any clothes on, for God’s sake!’ he rasped, glaring at her furiously, his face pale with the effort it cost him to move at all.
She hesitated for only a fraction of a second before she pulled off the last sheet, throwing it to one side. ‘You think that bothers me?’ she dismissed with only the slightest tremor in her voice. ‘You aren’t the first naked man I’ve ever seen,’ she said the words confidently enough, and yet she couldn’t quite bring herself to look at him, very conscious of his deeply tanned body lying on the snowy white sheet, of the blatant masculinity of that body.
‘I’m aware of that,’ he said icily. ‘And ordinarily I wouldn’t mind your seeing me,’ he taunted as she blushed. ‘But at the moment sex is the last thing on my mind!’
‘It never even entered mine!’ She turned back to him from folding the sheet, and her breath caught in her throat as she forced herself to look down at him dispassionately. He had a truly magnificent body, lean and muscled, covered with a fine dark hair that grew in wiry abundance over his chest and down over the flat planes of his stomach.
‘I’m cold,’ he muttered as she made no further move, mesmerised by the male beauty of him.
‘I’m sorry.’ She was galvanised into action, hoping he didn’t notice her blushes in his own discomfort. ‘Do you have a robe?’
‘In the bathroom,’ he nodded. ‘But—’
She didn’t wait to hear any more of his objections, but went to get the silky black robe. It smelt of his aftershave and the cheroots he smoked, and for a moment she was tempted to bury her face in its silkiness. Then she berated herself for her stupidity. She wasn’t interested in this man, she wasn’t!
She had hardened herself against the intimacy of the situation by the time she got back to the bedroom, and helped him into the robe and into a chair while she stripped off what remained of the bedclothes and began to remake it with fresh linen.
Rick lay back against the chair. ‘You didn’t have to do this,’ he muttered ungratefully.
‘And who else would do it?’ She glanced round at him, hurrying in her task as she saw how much paler he had gone now that he was out of bed. ‘Does Delia intend coming round later?’
‘Heaven forbid!’ he scowled.
‘That’s what I thought,’ she said dryly. ‘Now can you just sit there while I give you a wash and shave—or do you want to get back into bed while I do it?’ She turned from making the bed.
‘I’m going back to bed. And you aren’t washing and shaving me anywhere!’
‘Like to bet on it?’ she mocked.
Rick glared at her belligerently. ‘You think I’d let you anywhere near me with a razor?’
Shanna smiled. ‘You are taking a risk, I’ll admit that, especially after your nastiness the last few days. But I’m quite good with a man’s razor, I used to shave Perry all the time after his first accident when he was confined to bed for a couple of months.’
‘I’m sure he loved that!’ Rick scorned.
A shutter came down over her expression. ‘No, he hated it,’ she said dully. ‘But it did make him feel better, and it will you too.’ She went into the lounge to get the bowl she had requested, hating herself for letting anything Rick said get to her.
It wasn’t too difficult to find his shaving things, and armed with a bowl of warm water, his toiletries and towels, she went back into the bedroom. Rick had somehow managed to get himself from the chair back into the bed, lying sideways across it where he had fallen, and he now felt too ill to move.
A knock on the door took her out into the hallway briefly, to take the medicine from the effusive porter before hurrying back to Rick. He had to start taking the medication he had been given, and now.
Blazing black eyes glared at her as she gently shook him awake. ‘Will you stop doing that!’ he snapped. ‘I want to sleep, damn you!’
‘I know that, and in a minute you can. Take this.’ She handed him the small plastic cup that came with the medicine, the correct dosage poured into it. She stood over him whi
le he swallowed it down, knowing by the grimace he gave afterwards that it tasted as awful as it smelt. ‘Now help me get you up the bed and on to the pillows. I don’t think you should be lying flat like that,’ she frowned as he collapsed back into his prone position.
‘I didn’t intend lying flat,’ he scowled as with her help he moved up the bed. ‘I just seemed to—to fall that way.’ Once again he closed his eyes.
Shanna knew exactly how weak and helpless he was feeling. ‘Flu sounded innocuous enough, when really it knocked you for six—even someone as capable and self-sufficient as Rick Dalmont! How he must hate her seeing him like this!
His eyes flew open as he felt her untying the belt on his robe. ‘I thought I told you I’m not in the mood,’ he sneered nastily.
‘You did,’ she confirmed briskly, determined not to fight with him any more; she would be taking an unfair advantage of him if she did, he was obviously in no condition to fight anyone. ‘Don’t be difficult, Rick, please. I’m taking your robe off so that I can wash you.’
‘I don’t need—Oh, to hell with it, woman, do what you please! You know damn well I can’t stop you.’
She finally managed to get the robe off him, and the blanket bath she gave him was as efficient as any trained nurse could have done, knowing that despite his denial of needing the wash it was making him feel better. He was even helping her a little towards the end.
‘Something else you learnt when Perry was ill?’ he taunted as she pulled the bedclothes back over his nakedness.
‘Yes.’ She didn’t rise to the taunt.
‘What a devoted wife you were!’
‘Yes.’
He gave an angry sigh. ‘You can leave now.’
She knew he hoped to anger her by his dismissive tone, but she could be as stubborn as he when she had to be. ‘Not until I’ve shaved you.’
‘I—’
‘You look like an escaped convict at the moment,’ she spoke over his objection. ‘I pity the poor women who wake up beside you in the mornings,’ she added cheerfully.
Rick scowled at her. ‘I usually shave morning and night, last night I didn’t feel like it.’
‘The shave or the woman?’ she mocked, ducking into the bathroom before he could come back with an angry retort.
‘Either,’ he replied grimly when she came back with his razor. ‘Be careful with that, won’t you?’ he shuddered as she came towards him.
Shanna laughed at how really worried he looked. ‘Don’t worry, you’ll still be as handsome, even with only one ear!’
‘Thanks!’
‘Mm,’ she smiled. ‘But while I think about it, it isn’t wise to leave your suite door open,’ she told him sternly. ‘Anyone could have walked in.’
‘Anyone did,’ he growled.
She moved the razor over the hardness of his jaw firmly but with care, making sure there wasn’t even one little nick in the skin that he could complain about.
He didn’t complain at all when she had finished; he didn’t say a word—because he had fallen asleep! So much for wondering if she was going to cut his throat.
Shanna stood back to survey her handiwork. Rick certainly looked a lot better than when she had arrived an hour earlier, with his hair neatly combed, his face freshly shaved, and the sweat bathed from his body, his bed newly made. He also seemed to be breathing easier, although she had a feeling the medicine might have a lot to do with that. She made sure the lime-juice was in easy reach for him when he woke up, he was sure to feel thirsty then.
She was just in the process of pulling on her jacket ready to leave when the door opened unannounced and Cindy stood transfixed in the doorway.
‘Shanna!’ she finally managed, slowly.
‘Er—Hello.’ Shanna moistened her lips awkwardly. ‘I called round to see how Rick was, and then I—’
‘Hey, you don’t have to explain yourself to me,’ Cindy dismissed lightly, closing the door behind her. ‘I just came to see how he is myself, but I’m sure he preferred you to be his ministering angel.’
‘Not so you’d notice,’ she grimaced. ‘He’s asleep now, though. Look, Cindy, this isn’t the way it seems. Rick and I—’
‘It’s none of my business,’ the other woman assured her. ‘How is he?’
‘Not too good, but he wouldn’t thank any of us for staying with him. I think I’ve left everything he needs within reaching distance. Cindy, about—’
‘Please, no explanations. It’s none of my business, remember?’
‘But—’
‘Look, you get on home, I’ll keep a check on him tonight. You look tired yourself,’ Cindy frowned.
She was tired, very much so. She also had the feeling that Cindy had gained completely the wrong impression about her being here in Rick’s suite. And she wasn’t giving her the chance to explain herself either.
CHAPTER EIGHT
SHE told herself over and over again that her feelings of anxiety for Rick were not necessary, that he had plenty of other people available to worry over him. And yet did he? He wouldn’t allow anyone close to him, and although he was friends with the members of his entourage, he wasn’t emotionally close to them, and the same could be said for his women, even the ones he had been seeing this last week.
Consequently she found herself worrying about him constantly during the night, telling herself she would feel the same about anyone who felt ill and was so far away from home. She even called the hotel again towards midnight, only to be told that Mr Dalmont still wasn’t taking calls. After Cindy’s erroneous assumption of earlier she was loath to call the other woman for fear of furthering her wrong impression any more.
She was up early and in the office long before everyone else, and yet she couldn’t concentrate on her work. She kept seeing Rick as he had been yesterday when she arrived at his hotel, and somehow that thought disturbed her.
When Cindy came into her office just after nine she was ready to pack up and go to the hotel and see Rick. What Cindy had to tell her didn’t change that decision, it just confirmed it.
‘He threw us all out again,’ Cindy grimaced. ‘He threw me out last night too.’
Just because Rick had told her to go it didn’t mean Cindy had had to do just that! But she didn’t say anything reproachful to the other woman. ‘How did he look?’ she asked instead.
‘Not quite as awful as yesterday—but almost. I’ve decided to give this job a try, by the way,’ Cindy added thoughtfully.
‘That’s nice,’ Shanna replied in a preoccupied voice.
Cindy shrugged. ‘I might as well. It’s pure hell working with Jack since we broke up.’
‘I’m sure you’ll be a success,’ Shanna smiled vaguely.
‘Let’s hope so’ Cindy walked back to the door. ‘Rick doesn’t bet on losers.’
Shanna tidied her desk as soon as she was alone, locking up to go and tell Gloria she was leaving for the morning at least, not sure whether she would be back in at all today. Gloria raised questioning brows, but Shanna didn’t feel like satisfying that curiosity. She didn’t even like admitting to herself that she was going to Rick’s hotel to see for herself exactly how he was.
Once again the suite door opened when she tried the handle, and she was frowning as she walked into the bedroom. Rick was asleep, the room was in almost as much chaos as yesterday. She began to quietly clear up the mess.
‘Shanna.’
She turned with a start to find Rick looking at her, his eyes still fevered and bloodshot. ‘I—I thought you were asleep.’ She ran one of her hands nervously down her skirt-covered thigh.
He shook his head, wincing as the movement obviously hurt him. ‘I was just resting,’ his voice was still pure gravel. ‘I didn’t hear you come in.’
‘You left the door open again.’
‘It’s easier for people to get in that way,’ he shrugged.
‘I agree,’ she said dryly. ‘Including thieves. Only a wealthy man would be staying in a suite like this, and that
open door is an invitation someone isn’t going to refuse.’
‘I know—you. Come to give me another blanket bath, Shanna?’ he teased.
He obviously felt slightly better than yesterday, he hadn’t even been up to his mocking humour then. But she could see he was still far from well. ‘That depends.’ She checked the bedclothes; they were damp again. ‘Has this jug been refilled since last night?’ It stood empty on his bedside cabinet again.
‘No. Depends on what, Shanna?’ he prompted softly.
‘Things. Why didn’t you call down for more juice?’ she demanded sternly. ‘The telephone is just here. Rest and lots of fluids, the doctor told you.’
‘You’ve been talking to Cindy,’ he grimaced. ‘And this is a hotel, not a hospital.’
‘Exactly,’ she said with satisfaction, opening his wardrobe to pull out a suitcase and beginning to pack some of his shirts into it.
‘What are you doing?’ he frowned as she took underwear out of the dressing-table drawers and put them in the suitcase too.
She turned to face him. ‘This is a hotel, not the place for someone who feels ill. There’s no one to care for you here. You’re coming home with me.’ She looked at him with challenge.
‘And you’ll take care of me?’
‘Yes!’
‘Sounds good,’ he said softly. ‘Although you’ll have to help me get dressed.’
‘Help is what you’re going to get a lot of the next couple of days,’ she told him, just relieved he wasn’t arguing with her; she had expected him to!
‘I take it you have a spare bedroom?’ he drawled as she helped him into his clothes.
Shanna smiled. ‘You’ll soon be back to normal! And yes, I have a spare room. You don’t think I want your germs, do you?’
‘No,’ he sighed. ‘You’ve made it clear you don’t want anything I have to give.’
She gave him a sharp look at how bitterly he spoke the words, but he was looking too ill by this time for her to pursue the argument.
It wasn’t easy getting him down to her car, but somehow she managed it, leaving him there to go back up and collect his things, leaving instructions for the room to be cleaned. He certainly didn’t want to come back to that mess!
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