Undercover Passion (8 page)

He looked up, startled.

“I think it's time,” she said softly.

He blinked at her. “Time for what?”

She smiled at him. “For you to kiss me again.”

His gaze shifted uneasily. “I don't dare try that. Your cat is still on guard, you know.”

“She won't hurt you.”

“I never knew a cat yet who would follow orders.”

She prodded him with her foot again. “I'll protect you, then.”

He looked at her for a long moment. She was sure he was going to move toward her. But he did something odd instead. He winced, as though he was forcing himself to do something he didn't want to do, and he looked away again.

“Forget it, Abby,” he said roughly. “You don't want to go kissing a guy like me. There's no future in it.”

Future! What was he talking about? The future could take care of itself.

“Guys like you are the only kind worth kissing,” she said lightly, hoping he didn't detect her disappointment. It would have been nice if he'd looked a little more interested. Instead, she got the feeling he was looking toward the door, wishing it would open and give him an escape route.

Ordinarily that would have been the end of it for her. She never pushed into situations where she wasn't wanted. But for some reason she couldn't let it go tonight. She couldn't really believe he didn't feel any attraction. Not after the way he'd kissed her earlier that evening. Just thinking of it made her breath come a little faster. Nobody else's kiss had ever had that effect on her.

“Abby, you deserve a man who will treat you right. A man who has a future for you. Someone who has your type of background and your type of friends and—”

“Maybe you're right,” she broke in. If she let him go on, he would be putting her on a pedestal so high she was bound to break a leg falling off. “Maybe I do deserve some fabulous mythical paragon of excellence.”

Uncoiling from her comfortable place at the end of the couch, she began to move toward him.

“But I don't want that, Daniel O'Callahan.” She touched his cheek and smiled into his eyes. “I want you.”

“You want me.” He echoed her words mindlessly, grabbing her hand and pulling it away.

“No, Abby. Listen, you're crazy. You don't re
ally want me. You want some nice guy who will treat you nice and take you to the country club and play tennis and do what's right. I'm not like that. I work the streets where things get ugly. I hang out with people you wouldn't let in your front door. I'm used to having things a little rough, a little dirty.”

Something was quivering deep inside her. He was making her absolutely insane with wanting him.

“You seem okay to me.”

He swore softly, turning his shoulder as though to stop her from coming closer and his eyes looked very dark. “Abby, I'm barely housebroken. I don't belong with a nice girl like you.”

She pulled her hand back and placed it on his bare chest, spreading the fingers against his smooth, hard flesh and gasping softly at the feel of him.

“Why don't you shut up and kiss me?” she murmured breathlessly.

He hesitated. He was still going to try to get out of it. So she took matters into her own hands—literally—wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down until she was rewarded with a
shuddering groan that seemed to come from deep inside him and his mouth took hers.

The room faded. Reality lost all importance. The only thing that seemed to matter was the sweet, hot taste of his tongue, the feel of his hands on her skin, the way her body was responding to his, as though she'd found a new world, a new state of being, and she never wanted to leave it again. He smelled so good, felt so smooth and hard, she was on a long slide to something new and she was ready to go.

But it all crumbled quickly, and he jerked away from her, rising and looking down at her, his green eyes a bit wild. He ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head, breathing hard.

“Okay, that's all,” he said. “I'm getting out of here. If the shirt's still wet, I'll wear it anyway.”

She looked up at him, feeling cold without his touch, not sure what he meant. “But—”

He shook his forefinger at her. “No more out of you. I know where all this passion is coming from.”

She blinked, trying to clear her head. She was still fuzzy from his kiss. Maybe she always would be.

“You do?” she said, wishing she knew what the heck he was talking about.

“I do.”

She frowned. “No, you don't.”

He held up his hand. “Save it for the funny papers, lady. I've got your number and I'm already gone.”

She sat where she was, frowning in bewilderment as he made his way down the hall and came back, his shirt hugging that wonderful chest.

“Thanks for the tea,” he said, avoiding her gaze. “And for washing my shirt. I'll see you later.”

“Alligator,” she whispered dreamily.

He glanced at her once, hesitated, then shook his head and made his way out the door. “Good night,” he called back. And then the door closed with a solid sound that seemed to seal a bad bargain.

She sat for a moment wishing she understood why he'd felt he had to leave. She was so disappointed. She'd finally found a man she could fall for and he was trying to avoid her. Closing her eyes, she called up the kiss again. That had been pretty spectacular. No doubt about it, that kiss was going to keep her warm for a long, long time.

D
aniel paced restlessly in front of the hospital entrance, looking up at the rain clouds gathering and waiting for his old partner. Jimmy had promised to drop by and pick up the samples he'd prepared to be tested at the lab. The answer to the mystery could be right there in the brown paper bag he held. He would know soon enough.

“Hey there, handsome.”

He turned at the sound of the woman's voice, instinctively going into a subtly defensive posture. It was the redheaded nurse whose name,
he'd heard from his grandmother, was Arline. He relaxed, but only a little.

“Morning,” he said gruffly.

“You waiting for me?” she said with an impudent smile. “Or am I out of luck again?”

He hesitated. He didn't like this. If he thought she was just bantering, he could banter right back. But he was pretty sure she'd been love-bombed so she was basically a walking robot of flirtatiousness and not to be taken seriously. Just like Abby had been last night. How was he supposed to handle women like this? It was creepy.

“I do have something I wanted to ask you,” he said, avoiding her question. “Have you been doing anything with the new Healthy Living Clinic?” As if it weren't obvious.

“Sure.” She bobbed her head. “Dr. Richie is a genius.”

“So I've heard. Listen, what kind of therapies are you into?”

She grinned, curling a strand of her long red hair around her finger. “I'm open to suggestion,” she said teasingly. “What do you have in mind?”

“I'm talking about things at the clinic,” he said, ignoring the implications in her flirta
tiousness. “What are you taking? Anything besides the vitamins?”

A cloud came over her face and she lost the love look. “That is between me and Dr. Richie.”

Daniel sighed with exasperation. He was losing patience with this case. He'd heard this evasive answer before. What was with the guy? Did he coach these people to make these slippery answers? If so, that seemed even more damning.

“Look, I'm just wondering because, uh, I was thinking about losing some weight, getting in better shape.”

“Oh, sure.” She grinned again, humor dancing in her eyes. “What are you
really
doing?” She wrinkled her nose. “You're already in great shape, from what I've heard. They say you were very macho with the open jacket and no-shirt look at the seminar the other night.”

He groaned silently. “Where did you hear about that?”

“It's all over the hospital.” She sighed with a longing that made him wince. “I only wish I'd been there.”

“So you don't go to the seminars anymore?”

“No.” She shook her head. “Actually, I think
I've lost all the weight I need to right now.” She struck a pose that showed off her generous attributes to a fault. “What do you think?”

“I think too many woman are asking me to judge whether they're fat or not,” he muttered, frowning. But he had to admit the truth. “You look pretty good to me.”

“Really?” She sparkled. “Thanks. And just for that, I'll tell you what worked best for me.”

“Okay. Shoot.”

She leaned close and whispered it. “The atomizer. It changed my life.”

“The atomizer?” He stared at her, bewildered. “What atomizer?”

She shook her head teasingly. “That's it. I'm not telling any more. You'll have to date me to find out anything else.”

Before he could answer, Jimmy came striding toward the entrance and he didn't have time to quiz her further.

“Hey, Danny boy,” Jimmy said in his usual friendly manner. Tall and dark, he was as handsome as they came, the sort of man who turned women's heads.

Arline looked once, then twice, then turned
her considerable charms his way and Jimmy's eyes widened.

“Well, hello, gorgeous,” she said provocatively. “Where've you been all my life?”

If Daniel had any doubts about how quickly the love-struck of Portland General Hospital could transfer their affections from one love interest to another, he got the proof of it just watching Arline go after Jimmy. It made him laugh.

But then he thought about Abby, and that wasn't so funny. There was no doubt in his mind that her sudden interest in him was artificially produced by something from the clinic. And once she quit taking whatever it was that she was taking, she would back away from him as fast as she could. And that thought put him in a very gloomy mood.

“Sorry, darlin',” Daniel said once he'd seen enough. “Jimmy's married.” Grabbing his friend's arm and beginning to pull him away, he looked back and said, “Say bye-bye, Arline.”

“And go find yourself another victim,” he muttered for only Jimmy to hear.

“Hey, she's pretty cute,” Jimmy said, looking a bit woebegone.

“And you'll be pretty dead if Nadine finds out
you've been flirting with her,” he said, mentioning Jimmy's wife.

“Nadine who?” Jimmy said, but he was laughing. Then he sobered abruptly. “You won't tell her, will you?”

“Nothing to tell,” Daniel said with a smile. “Here are the samples I told you about. Let me know what you find out.”

Jimmy took the bag from him. “Will do. Hey, the captain was asking about you yesterday.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah. I told him you were doing okay.”

“Oh, yeah. I'm doing great.”

As great as a cop on administrative leave and under suspicion for something he didn't do could be doing. If he stopped to think about all the years of dedicated service he'd given to the department, only to be treated as though he was guilty the first time someone accused him of wrongdoing… Well, that was one reason he was pursuing this hospital mystery, so he wouldn't have a lot of time to think about it.

Jimmy hesitated, obviously noting the bitterness in Daniel's voice. “Well, okay. I'll call you when I know anything.”

“Okay. And, Jimmy…” Daniel gave him a crooked half grin. “Thanks. I really appreciate it.”

Jimmy's smile was open and genuine. “Any time, buddy. Any time.”

Daniel went back into the hospital and took the elevator to the floor where his grandmother was. He got off just in time to see Ella Crown pushing her way past an older man he thought he recognized from the other night at the seminar.

“Don't you get in my way, old man,” she was saying crossly. “I don't have any time for your shenanigans.”

“Come on, Ella. Give us a little kiss why doncha?”

“Wilbur Mason, you keep your kisses to yourself. I don't need 'em.” And she stomped off toward the elevator, leaving Wilbur behind looking dejected.

Daniel had to grin. It was a cinch Ella hadn't been delving into the secrets Dr. Richie had to offer. But from the looks of things, she was about the only one.

He turned into his grandmother's room and found himself face to face with Abby, who was
sitting in a chair beside the bed. She looked up and favored him with a smile so warm, he felt instant sunburn.

 

He stopped dead. Didn't Abby remember what had happened the night of the seminar? There was no hint of it in her smile.

And here she was, dressed in a pink that gave her a cuddly, inviting aura, making her round places look even rounder and her soft places look even softer. It was as though someone had taken what tempted him most and added a decorative wrap guaranteed to add to the temptation. A cunningly baited trap if he ever saw one. He might as well go home and drink himself to death. It was all over.

“Good morning,” she said brightly. “I brought Phoebe those brochures I promised her. And I've just been telling her all about what a success the seminar was the other night.”

He looked from one woman to the other. Tight as two peas in a pod. What was this, a conspiracy?

“And I was telling Abby about the cruise I'm going on next month,” Phoebe chimed in. “I'm so
excited. It's been ten years since I've been on the
Northbound Queen
, sliding past those icy cliffs in Alaska. I can hardly wait.”

His heart sank as he dropped down into the second chair. It was more than a conspiracy; it was doom breathing down his neck. How could she be getting her hopes up this way when it was clearly impossible for her to go on a cruise? She wasn't as sure on her feet as she used to be. There was no way he could let her take off on a ship all by herself, especially after spending all this time in a bed in the hospital. Didn't she see that?

And then there was the money situation. And his suspension from the force, making everything worse.

“Howard and I used to love the cruises,” she was telling Abby, talking about her late husband. “You can't imagine how much fun it is. All that delicious food. The sea air. The fabulous shows at night. It all takes you away to a different world. Made us feel like royalty.”

“It sounds wonderful,” Abby agreed rather distractedly. Her attention was focused on Daniel and she couldn't hide it. She turned to look at him.

“So,” she asked, looking at him archly, “what did you have for breakfast?”

He leaned back in his chair, his long legs out in front of him, and he stared at her, nonplussed. So she did remember some things about that night. That was a relief, he supposed. At least she wasn't blanking out on reality totally.

“Hey, I've got a perfectly good grandmother to ask me questions like that,” he said gruffly. “I don't need nagging in stereo.”

Abby looked shocked but he could see she was exaggerating for effect. Her eyes were sparkling with laughter. He was going to have to work very hard at keeping his distance today. Every time he looked at her, he could almost taste her again.

“You call that nagging?” she said. “Oh, brother. You obviously have never had much experience with the real thing.”

“And I suppose you have?”

“You bet I have.” She laughed, throwing back her head in a way that made him want to grab her and kiss her like crazy. “My parents are champs at it. Olympic level. Gold medal shoo-ins.”

He gave her a skeptical look. “Just because
you've learned from the best doesn't give you carte blanche to try out your skills on me.”

Their eyes met and immediately parted again.

“Well, I didn't mean to nag,” she said a bit defensively. “But I am concerned that you start eating better. You can't run on those good old youth batteries forever.”

He didn't know if he was more annoyed or flattered that she cared enough to try to browbeat him into the nutritional lifestyle. No one but his grandmother had ever tried to do that before. He supposed he ought to appreciate Abby's interest in his welfare. If only he believed it was for real.

“Okay, listen. I'm giving you this as a gift.” He waited until she was looking into his eyes again, then he gave her a grimace of satisfaction. “I stopped at the Hungry Corner and had a three-egg omelet this morning. Satisfied?”

Her eyes actually did light up. “I'm so glad!”

His wide mouth tilted in a half smile. “Yes, it appears I may just live another day.”

Abby grinned. “And for that, you can thank a chicken, mister.”

Phoebe laughed out loud, and then Daniel
couldn't help but join her, with Abby pealing in a moment later.

“You two,” Phoebe said as she regained her composure. “The way you do go on. One minute I'm afraid I'm going to have to call in a referee to keep you from coming to blows, and the next you're chortling together like old friends. Make up your minds! Friend or foe?”

“Both,” Daniel said acidly. “We've got issues.”

“Do we?” Abby said, looking surprised.

“Yes,” Daniel said firmly. “Only we can't talk about them.”

She blinked at him, looking blank. “Why not?”

He shrugged. He couldn't tell her the whole truth. Still, he had to say something. “I don't know. It seems to be a rule or something.” He glared at her, leaving no doubt that he didn't want to go on with this line of conversation.

“Oh.”

That obviously left her puzzled. What the hell. She was hardly the Lone Ranger when it came to puzzlement. He was puzzled by everything life was throwing at him right now.

A nurse came in to check Phoebe's temperature and blood pressure, and Daniel and Abby rose
and stepped outside to give her some privacy. They stood side by side, leaning against the hallway wall.

“Listen,” he said, giving Abby his hard-as-nails stare, developed over the years to make perps come clean. “Tell me about the atomizer.”

“The atomizer?” Her puzzlement was deepening in a regrettably believable way. “What atomizer?”

“The atomizer used by the clinic.”

Her brow furled, making her look cuter than a beagle puppy, and she thought hard, then shook her head. “I don't know anything about any atomizer,” she told him.

He believed her. He had experience with liars and what they were was exactly what she wasn't.

“You've got the new product list printed, don't you?” he asked.

She nodded. “I can look again, but I'm pretty sure I've got a handle on the whole line now, and I haven't seen anything about any atomizer.”

He caught a hint of her scent, and glancing down, his gaze fell on her beautiful mouth and suddenly all thoughts of atomizers faded from his mind. Here she was, pretty in pink and close
enough to grab, and he wanted her so badly he could hardly see straight. Who cared about the clinic? Who cared if her attraction to him wasn't real? He wanted her anyway, wanted her so much he actually glanced at the next-door room, wondering if it was empty, before he caught himself and let out an unpleasant expletive.

“Hey,” Abby said, looking disapproving, “watch out. There are children around.”

For some reason that made him laugh, and she joined in, although it was obvious she had no idea what was so funny. Her gaze met his and something passed between them. Daniel steeled himself. This was no good.