Page 61 of For the Birds

“Okay, but not for much longer. I have to gosoon.”

He pushed me back down and kissed me until I was mindless and boneless. He grinned down at me. “Wait there.”

As he got out of bed, he pulled off the sheet and tossed it onto the floor.

“Is your plan to keep me naked so I can’t leave your house?” I asked as he disappeared into his bathroom.

“Not originally,” he said, his voice muffled. I heard a cabinet open and then running water. “But it’s not a badidea.”

He was back out a few seconds later with a glass of water and two bottles in his hand. He sat down next to me as I sat up, then handed me the water as he opened the first pill bottle.

“Who would believe that big bad Skeeter Malcolm would be playing naked nurse withme?”

He grinned and handed me two pills. “I’ll play naked nurse with you any day of theweek.”

I swallowed the over-the-counter pain killer while he unscrewed a prescription bottle and dumped a pill into mypalm.

“That’s not the bottle Tim Dermot gaveme.”

His eyebrows shot up. “I thought I made it clear that I was going to supply your antibiotics. You can’t trust him, Rose.”

I popped the pill into my mouth and took a sip of the water.

“You know you’re not leavin’ until you tell me every detail of what happened last night, right?”

And things had been going sowell.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said. “I’m supposed to be neutral, remember? No more runnin’ to you with my problems.”

“You’ve absolutely lost your mind if you think I’ll ever agree to that, so start talkin’.”

I shot him a glare, but I figured he had a right to know since there was a chance the same guys had taken Scooter. “I’m not having this conversation stark naked.”

He took the glass of water from me and put it on the nightstand. “If you’re sitting there telling me this is my last chance to see you naked, then you definitelyare.”

“James . . .”

I tried to lean forward to get the sheet he’d tossed onto the floor, but he snaked an arm around my waist and hauled me back, pinning me down on the bed. “Start talking . . . unless you plan to spend all day here with me.” He leaned over and started to kiss my neck. “Although I’m likin’ thatplan.”

I had to admit it was tempting, much too tempting, but I had actual work to do, not to mention a parrot to find along with the task of looking for James’ brother. “They kidnapped me in the carnival parkinglot.”

His head rose and his jaw clenched as he searched my face. “And where the hell was thatvet?”

“He had to leave for an emergency.”

“And he just left you in the damned parkinglot?”

“Calm down, James,” I said, trying to sit up, but he held medown.

“Calm down? Any asshole who allows his date to get kidnapped doesn’t deserve her.” An ornery look filled his eyes. “But I’m noticin’ a trend, Lady. How many boyfriends have let you get kidnapped?”

I scowled. “Levi’s not my boyfriend.”

“No shit. He dumped you in a parkinglot.”

I pushed out a sigh. “He didn’t dump me. I was about to call Maeve.” I told him about the kidnapping—how one of the guys had surprised me from behind while the other drove up. “They knocked me unconscious, and when I woke up, I was in the trunk of the car and we were at the warehouse.”

He listened silently while I told him about cutting myself free and callinghim.

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