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He reversed the car and then pulled in a perfect circle back the way he'd come. "It might get that
gentle a treatment if it's lucky," he muttered.
"Justin! It wasn't the car's fault!"
"Sit back and relax now, Shelby. I'll have you home in a minute."
She ground her teeth together as he sped down the road at no less a speed than she'd been
driving. "Pot," she muttered. "Pardon?"
"Pot! The one that calls the kettle black! You're doing sixty!"
"It's a big car."
"What has that got to do with it?"
"Never mind." He smoked his cigarette, frowning thoughtfully. Things had been pretty clear in
his mind until ten minutes ago. Now he began to wonder if he hadn't got things twisted. He'd assumed
that Shelby found him repulsive all those years ago, that she still did. But her soft lips had been warm
and eager, and for those few seconds she'd been absolutely ardent. Of course, she was frightened, he
had to admit, and reaction did funny things to people. But if she was that concerned when he was upset,
there had to be a little caring left in her.
He pulled up in front of the house and, despite her protests, carried her up to the door where he
balanced her long enough to open it.
"No need to worry Maria..." he began, but no sooner had he got the words out than Maria came
running down the hall. When she saw Shelby's white face, a stream of Spanish broke from her.
"I'm all right," Shelby told her. "The car went into the ditch, that's all."
Maria looked at Justin. That wasn't all, but she knew better than to make a fuss. "What do you
want me to do, Senor Justin?" Maria asked.
"I'll get her upstairs. How about pouring me a neat whiskey and bringing up a brandy for
Shelby?"
"Si, senor."
"Why can't I have a neat whiskey?" Shelby asked.
Justin's dark eyes searched hers and he pulled her just a little closer as he went easily up the
staircase with his soft burden cradled against his chest. "You're just a baby."
"I'm twenty-seven," she reminded him.
He smiled gently. "I'm thirty-seven," he reminded her. "And that's a pretty formidable ten-year
jump I've got on you, honey."
The careless endearment made her flush. She lowered her eyes to his shirt. He'd changed earlier,
before they ate. This one was Western cut and blue plaid. It suited him. It smelled of detergent and
starch, smoke and cologne. She loved being in his arms. If only she could tell him that, and explain
why she was afraid of him. But she couldn't.
He carried her into her room and put her on the bed, his eyes going hungrily over the way that
damned red and white dress clung in all the right places. It wasn't low-cut, but it displayed her high
breasts in the best possible way, and looking at them made him ache.
Shelby frowned at the expression on his face. "What's wrong?" she asked, fatigue in her soft
voice.
He straightened. "Nothing. I'll have Maria bring up the brandy. You'd better have a hot bath and
then I'll take you to the doctor. I want you examined, to make sure you haven't done any damage."
She sat up, her eyes like saucers. "Justin, I'm all right!"
"You're not a doctor and neither am I. You took a hell of a jolt and you were damned near in
shock when I pulled you out of that car." His jaw set stubbornly. "You're going. Hurry up and get
changed. Wear something " he hesitated " less sexy."
Her eyebrows arched. "I beg your pardon?" He turned toward the door. "I'll phone the doctor
while you take a bath."
She stared after him blankly. "I don't want to go to the doctor."
He just closed the door, ignoring what she did or didn't want. Taking control, as usual, she
fumed. She wanted to throw things. She was all right, couldn't he see that? She burst into tears of
frustrated temper and went into the bathroom. She felt as if her knees had been knocked out from under
her.
After her bath, she dried her hair and put on a neat white blouse and gray skirt and brightened it
with a gray and red scarf at her throat. She wondered why he wanted her to wear something less sexy,
and then felt her heart skip at the realization that he must have found the red and white dress sexy. She
smiled demurely. That was the first time since their marriage that he'd admitted to finding her
attractive. If only she could be sure that he wouldn't lose control, it might have given her enough
courage to do more than just kiss him.
way back to the house, it was almost eight o'clock and dark outside.
Justin was quiet all the way home. Shelby knew why. It was the doctor's very natural question
about pregnancy. It had embarrassed Justin and probably enraged him as well, because intimacy was
such a bone of contention between them.
"You should have told him that we could get you in the Guinness Book of World Records if you
got pregnant," he said through his teeth as he parked the car in the driveway and cut off the engine.
She turned her purse in her lap. Now that the tension was lifting, she only felt tired and sore.
"What did you do with my car? It wasn't on the highway when we came past the intersection."
His black eyes shifted toward her and then away. "You don't want to talk about it, do you?"
"I'm frigid," she said dully. "Let's just leave it at that, unless you want a divorce."
"I want a wife," he said harshly. "I want kids." His jaw tautened as he lifted his cigarette to his
mouth. "Oh, God, I want kids, Shelby," he said in a faintly vulnerable tone. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]