Page 36 of Dangerous

The press of her body against mine felt good too. She was warm and soft and solid, and she smelled like wine and woman. My cock stirred predictably, but I ignored it. Holding a woman like this, with no expectation of it turning sexual, was a new experience, and I found I liked it.

A lot.

Eighteen

Mira

The violent urge to puke out my guts ripped me from my sleep, as it had for the past many days now. I rolled out of bed and ran for the bathroom, making it to the toilet just in time.

It took me more than twenty minutes before my stomach finally settled down enough that I realized I was wearing the same clothes as I’d been in the night before, rather than my sleep attire.

I frowned at the toilet seat as I rested my forehead against it. Come to think of it, I had no recollection of going to bed last night. The last thing I remembered was the boring alien movie Blaine forced me to watch. I must have fallen asleep on the couch. Which begged the question—how had I made it from the sofa to my bed?

The only logical explanation made me pull my head back up with surprise. Blaine must have carried me. Huh.

A dry heave made my contemplations come to a halt as I crouched over the toilet again, but nothing came up this time. Probably because my stomach was completely empty.

Maybe I should bite the bullet and go see a doctor. If it was a stomach bug, it was really persistent. And perhaps I should also stop having wine with dinner—it probably wasn’t helping things.

When my stomach finally settled down again, I cleaned my teeth and changed into fresh clothes before I went downstairs to forage for my usual breakfast—crackers and ginger ale. To my surprise, Blaine was in the kitchen when I came down, sitting by the counter on one of the bar stools and eating a bowl of cereal. If I hadn’t felt so queasy, I might have appreciated the way his chiseled chest strained against his T-shirt or his triceps flexed when he lifted the spoon.

“Morning,” I grumbled as I shuffled to the cabinet that held my stash of crackers.

“You look like shit,” he said. Just what every girl wants to hear first thing. “Are you sick again?”

“Still.”

His dark brows pulled into a frown. “I’ll get Rob to make you an appointment with our doctor. Are you too ill to work today? I just got a call about a meeting this afternoon.”

Despite how poorly I felt, I perked up at that. I missed using my brain, and there was only so much sudoku a girl could play before going bonkers. Sitting in on business meetings might not be as stimulating as seeing patients, but it beat hanging around the house all day.

“Yeah, I should be fine in a couple of hours. Can we go look at some shops after? There’s this artisan confectionery shop I’ve been dying to go to.”

A hint of a genuine smile played over Blaine’s sensual lips. “Perhaps. We’ll see if you’re feeling well enough.”

I made a grimace at him as I sat down with my box of crackers. “Yes, Dad. And I’ll also clean my teeth and look before I cross the road.”

Blaine laughed and patted me on the shoulder before he got up to put his bowl in the dishwasher. “Be ready at three—I’m getting Rob to drop you off.”

I stared into my box of crackers in silence for a while after I’d heard the front door close behind him. After he gave me Walter, my wonderful Lipizzan gelding, I knew things had changed between us. Nothing was said, but itfeltdifferent. Calmer. Like we had a mutual respect and understanding.

It was what I’d wanted, of course—to gain his respect and with it, his trust. But I hadn’t expected it to feel like this. Like everything just fit into place, somehow.

Perhaps it was my frustrating, physical attraction to him that made it seem like something deeper, just because we got along now. Yeah, that was probably it—my mutinous ovaries trying to make it out like there was more going on between us so they could get a chance at throwing themselves at him again at the earliest convenience.

Traitorous little bastards.

I grabbed a cracker and stuffed it in my mouth, savoring its bland saltiness and the immediate, calming effect it had on my nausea.

Getting along with Blaine was a vital next step in my plan. I had to keep my goal in mind, or I would never be free again.

But why did my heart suddenly cringe at the thought of betraying him like that?

“So Blaine saysyou’re sick. You look okay though—what’s up?”

I glanced at Rob out of the corner of my eye as he navigated the big Range Rover through the city streets. There was something oddly endearing about having the burly bodyguard seemingly concerned about my health, even if it was a somewhat surreal experience.

“Just a lot of nausea and throwing up. It comes in waves—right now, I’m fine and dandy.”

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