Page 23 of A Treasure Worth Seeking

Every time she came unbidden to his mind, he had comforted himself with the fact that she would soon be gone and he could start acting like a rational human being again. Now she was informing him that she wasn’t leaving. Dammit! She had defied him at every turn. What made him think she would go all meek and obedient now?

He sprang out of the chair. “Like hell you aren’t, Miss O’Shea.”

She hadn’t expected this strong a reaction from him at all, and for a moment she could only stare up at him with wide, questioning eyes, her lips parted in surprise. She had no idea how utterly feminine and defenseless she looked.

Then her shock turned to anger and she stood up, leaned over the desk, and met him head on. “I’m not leaving. My sister-in-law needs me. You just admitted as much not two minutes ago. What are your objections to my staying here with her, Mr. Barrett?”

“They are too numerous to name.”

“You haven’t got one valid one,” she accused.

“I don’t need one!” he roared, taking the glasses from his nose and flinging them to the desk top. “If I say you don’t stay, you don’t stay. I meant what I said to the Winslows, and the same goes for you, Miss O’Shea.”

She stood upright and folded her arms across her chest, tilting her chin back in an angle of challenge. “You can threaten me all you want, Mr. B

arrett, but I’m not bullied easily. If you called the police to have me bodily removed, I’d scream bloody murder. What do you think that would do to Melanie’s frame of mind? She’s formed quite an attachment to me. You’d have two hysterical women on your hands. Besides that, I’m Ken’s sister. That automatically gives me the right to be here.”

She had him! She knew she had won by the way he spun around on his heels, jerked at the knot of his necktie, and strode to the window. Wise enough not to press her point, she waited for him to speak.

“If you do anything to jeopardize this operation, you’re out.” He still had his back to her, and when she didn’t respond, he faced her. She nodded.

“Entertain Mrs. Lyman, keep her mind off her missing husband, and stay away from me.”

His arrogant conceit piqued her, but she curbed her sharp tongue. “I intend to,” she said coolly.

“What about Billy Bob or whatever the hell his name is? Won’t he be clamoring for you to go back to Houston?”

It took a supreme effort to control her fury. He knew damned well what Bart’s name was. He never overlooked or forgot anything.

“Bart,” she said bitingly. Then, “Yes, he’ll be worried. I’ll have to call him and my staff and explain that I’ll be here for a while.” She held up both palms when she saw he was about to interrupt. “I won’t tell them why.” She drew a deep breath. “If that’s all, General, I’d like to return to the barracks.”

His lips compressed into a thin line and his glacial eyes were intimidating as he bore down on her with long, angry strides. “This may all seem like a big game to you, Miss O’Shea, but I assure you it’s not. I’ll not tolerate any sass from your smart mouth.”

His eyes went to her lips with the intention of reinforcing his command, but instead, the hard, imperious glare softened to an anguished plea. Erin noticed that his hands were clenching and unclenching at his sides. His eyes moved up from her lips across her nose and cheekbones to her own eyes. She melted under his fervent gaze.

The moment was so static with tension and suppressed sexual longing that both of them trembled under the assault of emotion. Each vividly remembered an incident better forgotten, but more treasured for its prohibitive, secretive nature.

Finally Lance tore his eyes away from her face and cursed under his breath as he went back to the desk and flopped down in the chair. “You can start now by leaving me alone. I’ve got work to do.”

She didn’t answer him, but left the room. Had she turned around, she couldn’t have missed the painful longing nakedly revealed in his eyes as they followed her.

* * *

It was uncannily easy for her to adjust to the routine of the house. She used the telephone extension in Melanie’s bedroom to check in with Spotlight as she had promised to do.

“Good afternoon, Spotlight,” the bright voice answered.

Erin laughed. “I’d forgotten the time difference. It is afternoon in Houston, isn’t it?”

“Hi there, stranger,” Betty, her secretary, chortled. “Did you find who you were looking for?” she asked excitedly.

Even before Lance had intimated that she shouldn’t discuss Ken’s disappearance with anyone, she had decided not to burden her friends with her troubles. She answered, “Yes, I found him. Or at least I found his wife who has welcomed me with open arms. Ken is out of town for a few days.”

“You mean he doesn’t even know yet?!”

“No. We want to surprise him.” Erin quickly changed the subject. “How are things there? Any major catastrophes I should know about?”

“No. Only a few minor ones we’ve managed to stumble through. You relax and have a good time.”

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