The Tycoon's Temporary Bride: Book Four (8 page)

The fact that her stuff was stacked near the
door meant he was ready for her to leave. He probably had a lot of
work to catch up on, work he’d set aside to take care of her. And
then there was the matter of his daughter. She could be taking up
precious time he should be spending with his child.

She brought her gaze back to his face and
offered him a warm smile even as the thought of leaving his tender
loving care, of perhaps never seeing him again caused a dull ache
inside her. “Thank you, Adam. Thank you for coming when I called,
and for taking care of me for these past three days. But I’m
feeling a lot better now, so—”

“Well, that was the idea. Getting you
better.”

His voice was as soft and tender as his eyes.
They seemed to massage the hurt, desolate places inside of
Tashi—places the human eye couldn’t see—just as effectively as his
hands had massaged her aching body throughout the past three
nights.

“Yes,” she said. “That was the idea, and now
it’s time for me to return to my apartment so you can get on with
your life. I know I can never repay you, monetarily—” Well, she
could, but he’d want to know where she got the money. “But if
there’s ever anything I can do to reciprocate your kindness, just
say the word. I can babysit for you.” She tossed out the lie
easily, knowing that the first chance she got, she was leaving
Granite Falls. She’d finally come to terms with the possibility
that the FBI agent who’d helped her escape that night was dead. He
was never coming to explain anything to her. There was no reason
for her to stick around and put Adam’s, his daughter’s, and his
parents’ lives in jeopardy.

His brows furrowed. “Babysit? And whom would
you babysit for me, Tashi?”

“Your daughter. Tiffany.”

He threw back his head and laughed.

Tashi swallowed the cry of humiliation that
rose to her throat. “You probably have a long list of professional
nannies, huh? Why would you trust a stranger with your
daughter?”

“No. It’s not that,” he said, his laughter
fading to an arresting chuckle. He crouched down in front of her
and held her hands in his. “Tiffany isn’t my daughter. She’s my
goddaughter. I was spending quality time with her that day you and
I ran into each other. Dr. LaCrosse—Erik is her father. I don’t
have any children, Tashi—not yet, anyway, nor do I have a wife,” he
added as if it was important for her to know that.

“I feel so foolish. I thought…” Her voice
trailed off. She’d known that he wasn’t married, but it was a
relief to know he didn’t have any children either. She didn’t know
why she felt that way, but there it was, a scintilla of elation
that he hadn’t reproduced with any other woman. But was he involved
with anyone? The article she’d read on the Internet hadn’t
specified about his private life, and she’d been too sick to dig
any further into his background.

“You’d really do anything to return my
kindness?” he asked softly, rubbing the pads of his thumbs across
the insides of her wrists, sending sparks shooting through her
blood.

“Anything.” Her voice shook.

“Stay.”

“What?”

“Stay. Stay here with me. You may be feeling
better, but you still don’t have your full strength back. Erik said
it would take at least a good week or two before you’re feeling
yourself again. And that’s with you eating three healthy meals a
day and staying off your feet. You need someone to take care of
you, Tashi. The fact that you called my hotel looking for me that
night tells me that you have no one else. Am I right?”

Tashi tugged her hands from his and wrapped
them around her middle. The invitation was tempting, but the
repercussions could be deadly for Adam. “Why? Why are you being so
kind to me?”

“It’s the right thing to do.”

“Meaning you would do the same for a stray
dog.”

He tilted his head to one side and gazed at
her. “Where’s this sudden hostility coming from, Tashi?”

It seems like the only way to get you out
of my life
. “I have to get back to my apartment,” she said,
attempting to rise from the bed.

He placed his hands on her shoulders and
pressed her gently back down. “You can’t go back to your apartment.
Not yet.”

Panic rioted inside her. “Why? What
happened?”

“Nothing. It needs to be cleaned and
fumigated. There were rodents running about the night I took you
out of there. And you need a new refrigerator. Remember how you got
sick?”

She dropped her gaze to the floor. Tashi had
never felt so ashamed of where she lived before, of the image of
her in that place branded in Adam’s mind. She’d been too sick to
think or care about it, but sitting now on Adam’s white bed, in his
white palatial bedroom, in his mother’s white satin clothes, she
felt the heat of humiliation creeping through her.

“I’ll talk to your landlord and have him
replace the fridge,” Adam said, obviously unaware of her
dilemma.

Her head shot up. “No. You can’t talk to my
landlord.”

“Why not?”

“It’s not his responsibility. The previous
tenant left it there. It’s my responsibility to replace it.”

His eyes narrowed. “Can you afford to replace
it? Do you even have a job, Tashi? How do you survive?”

Alarm and anger rippled along Tashi’s spine
conquering the spaces where humiliation had occupied seconds ago.
She hadn’t even realized what she’d done until she was halfway to
the door.

“Tashi.”

She glanced over her shoulders to see Adam
sprawled on the floor where she’d pushed him in her haste to
escape, a stunned look on his face. “I’m sorry, Adam. I don’t mean
to seem ungrateful, but I have to go.”

She gave no thought to taking off her clothes
in front of him. It didn’t matter. He’d already seen all of her
that was to be seen. She dropped the robe and the nightgown on the
floor and pulled her dress over her head.

“Tashi, I’m sorry if my questions upset you,
but you can’t leave like this.”

Tashi felt miserable for treating him so
unkindly after all he’d done for her, but it was the only way to
keep him safe. She turned as he came up beside her. “I’m sorry,
Adam, but I need to go. I have to go, and I can’t tell you why.
Just—just let me go.”

“Okay,” he said, raising his hands in treaty.
“I’ll take you back to your apartment, but only after you eat
something. You haven’t eaten since breakfast. You slept through
lunch so I know you must be starving. I made you a chicken
casserole. It’s warming in the oven.”

Tashi’s stomach growled at the mention of
food. She was hungry, and there was nothing at her apartment to
eat. Since she didn’t have a fridge, she would have to live on
takeout until she figured out her next move—what state, what town
she was moving to, and how to go about obtaining a new identity.
She would love to leave the country, but using her name to obtain a
passport would definitely raise a lot of red flags. Maybe after she
assumed a new identity...

Tashi never thought her life could have
gotten any more complicated after that night in New York City.
Fifteen months ago, she’d gone into hiding after killing a man who
intended to hurt her. And since then, she’d been living with guilt
about the one who’d died to save her. Now here she was, running
again to save another who wanted to help her.

An inner torment gnawed at Tashi as she faced
the harsh realities of a life of loneliness. Until she knew what
happened in that house after she escaped, until she knew who was
after her, she could never have friends, or a…

As her fears mounted, she had an overwhelming
need to rest her head on Adam’s chest and feel his arms about her
one last time. Until the day she’d bumped into him, it had been
months since anybody had hugged her, so long since she’d felt the
warmth of human contact. She longed to be close to him again, kiss
him even. But she throttled back those feelings for his sake. If
she showed any weakness now, he would be more adamant about keeping
her around.

“Tashi? Will you eat something first?”

His gentle voice pulled Tashi out of the
cocoon of anguish wrapping around her. “Yes. Okay. I’ll—I’ll eat.
Then you’ll take me to my apartment?”

“Yes.”

“No more questions?”

“No more questions.”

Adam watched relief settle into her features
at his promise to cease questioning her. He knew she was pushing
him away because she was afraid for him. She was all alone in the
world, but when the one person she’d reached out to in her hour of
dire need offered to help her, she panicked.

“Come.” Taking her hand, he led her out of
the bedroom, across the hall, through the living room and into the
dining area. Her hand felt almost as small as Tiffany’s clasped
within his. She was so frail, a strong gust of wind would send her
toppling to the ground.

He seated her at the table that was already
set for two. He brought the casserole from the oven and served her
a good portion, then he got the pitcher of vegetable and fruit he’d
juiced while she was in the bathroom and filled up their
glasses.

“Thank you,” she said, attempting to give him
a smile. “It smells delicious.”

“Too bad you don’t have a refrigerator to
take some home for later. When do you think you’ll have one? I can
bring some food around for you.”

She dropped her head, picked up her fork, and
immediately began eating.

Was she trying to shut him up or was she that
hungry? Maybe a little of both. Adam smiled inside at her subtle
wit as he lowered his weight into the chair across from her and
picked up his fork.

They ate in tacit silence, and he kept
filling her dish and her water and juice glasses while questions
she’d asked him not to ask swam around in his head. Questions like
who were the ‘they’ she’d mentioned the other night? Why did ‘they’
want her dead? Was she afraid to be around him because ‘they’ had
hurt or killed someone she loved?

Adam tensed as he recalled Tashi’s reaction
when he’d tried to bathe between her thighs the other night. She’d
been weak and feverish one moment, then the next had suddenly
become violent, jabbing her elbows into his ribs and fighting to
get out of the tub. Had someone sexually molested her? His stomach
crunched at the thought, and a need for revenge he never knew was
in him sizzled through Adam.

Her attempt to shield him from danger wired
his resolve to find whoever had hurt her and make them pay. She was
a damsel in distress, but a fighting, independent, strong-willed
one, totally different from those in his past who’d expected him to
fight their battles and save them from their plights.

Tashi was trying to save him by pushing him
away. But if he granted her wish, Adam knew that he would regret it
for the rest of his life. Strange, since he knew nothing about
her—but there it was anyway—that nagging feeling in his gut, that
knowing
in his heart that his cousin and his friends said
they’d gotten when they first met their wives.

He’d never felt that with Claire, or Denise,
or any other woman he’d ever dated.

“What’s in this drink?” she asked, breaking
into his thoughts.

He looked up to see her twirling the juice
around in her glass. He smiled. “Um, let me think… Uh—cucumber,
broccoli, squash, kale, carrots, celery, ginger…” He furrowed his
brows. “An apple, an orange, a banana, and yes, a couple slices of
lemon. Do you like it?”

She nodded. “It’s tasty. I never knew fruits
and raw vegetables could taste this good blended together.” She
gave him a bright smile, making his heart flip over in his chest.
“This is what you’ve been feeding me for three days? Along with
warm broth?”

Adam finished his juice and set his glass
noiselessly down on the black placemat. “Yes. It’s a great way to
get your vitamins and other nutrients without the fiber. And fiber
you did not need. The natural sugars and salt provide electrolytes
that help to balance the water and pH level in your blood and
strengthen your muscle function. You lost a lot of electrolytes.
That’s why you were still feeling a little achy and lightheaded
earlier. How do you feel now?” He placed his elbows on the table
and leaned in a little toward her.

“A lot better. Thanks.” She rubbed her tummy
and flashed him another demure smile that made his heart skip
another beat. “You know a lot about treating salmonella poisoning,”
she added over the rim of her water glass.

“Well, I’m in the food industry, so…” He
spread his hands. “And Erik gave me instructions on how to take
care of you. He called this morning to see how you were. He’s been
calling everyday, actually. He’d like to see you again to give you
a good bill of health.”

She shook her head. “No, I’m fine. Please,
thank him for me.”

Meaning:
I won’t be around much
longer
. The thought caused a dull ache in his gut.

Her lips parted slightly. “You’re a good man
to take me in and care for me, Adam Andreas. Nobody but my uncle
has ever been this kind to me.”

Through the glass-topped table, he watched
her hands fold and unfold on her lap. “Where’s your uncle?” he
asked as casually as he could.
Why hadn’t she called
him
?

She averted her gaze for a brief moment by
looking out the wall of glass overlooking Mount Washington and the
Presidential Range. She turned back to him. “He’s dead.”

Sadness dulled her voice and the glimmer of
light that had returned to her emerald eyes. “How did he die?”

“He had pancreatic cancer. It’s been almost
two years.”

Adam let out the breath he’d been holding
since she mentioned her uncle. He’d expected her to say that he’d
died at the hands of whoever was after her. “I’m sorry. It sounds
like you were very close.”

“He raised me since I was four years
old.”