Always by Iris Johansen Read Free Book Online Page A

years living on the edge of danger had bred that wariness? she wondered with a fleeting sympathy. “I didn’t mean to startle you. I just thought we should get that discussion out of the way.”
    “I didn’t expect you.” He pointed to the breakfast bar across the room. “Sit down. I’ve made you a chef’s salad and a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich. Do you want coffee or milk?”
    “Coffee.” She hesitated a moment, then walked over to the navy-blue cushioned stool he’d indicated. So much for her aggressive, businesslike behavior. Donahue was treating her with the casual intimacy of an invitedguest, making it impossible for her to respond with the belligerence she would have chosen to display. “This isn’t necessary. If you’d just let me go back to the hotel, you wouldn’t have to bother with KP duty.”
    “It’s no bother.” He crossed the room and set the wooden salad bowl in front of her. “All we have on hand is a bottle of Italian dressing. Will that be all right?”
    “Yes, but …”
    He wasn’t listening. He was at the refrigerator taking out a bottle of dressing and a container of cream. He set the two items before her. “I usually make coffee a little strong. I hope that’s all right.”
    “Fine.” With barely contained impatience, she watched him pour two cups from the pot on the counter. “I’m not really hungry. I want to talk—”
    “Eat. We’ll talk later.” He smiled faintly. “You’ll need your strength.”
    Lisa cast him a rebellious glance and reached for the coffee. She almost choked as she took asip. “A little strong! Good Lord, what did you use to brew it? Tar?”
    He frowned and tasted his own coffee, then immediately made a face. “Sorry. I’ve had to have it this strong to keep me awake for the last twenty-four hours. I must have automatically made it the same strength this time.”
    “You haven’t slept for over twenty-four hours?” she asked, startled.
    “Closer to forty-eight, not counting the catnap I took on the plane from L.A.” He took her cup to the sink and poured it down the drain, then did the same with the coffee in the coffeemaker on the countertop. “I’ll make a fresh pot.”
    “Why?”
    He glanced over his shoulder. “What?”
    “Why did you stay awake? You couldn’t have been afraid I’d escape. I was practically a zombie.”
    “I made you a promise,” he said simply. “You seemed worried about …” He paused. “About being alone when John brought you to the villa. I promised I wouldn’t leave you.”
    She felt a sudden flutter of warmth, which she was quick to suppress. “That sounds remarkably sentimental for a man in your profession.” She looked down at the plate in front of her. “Are you sure you weren’t just afraid I’d kick the bucket and leave you to face a murder charge?”
    He frowned. “I’m sure. I don’t lie, Lisa. If I make a statement, then you can be damn sure it’s the truth as I see it. I don’t deny I was worried about you, even though the doctor at the lab assured me you’d safely sleep off the effects of the overdose. You could have been more obliging and reacted as they predicted. First you woke up earlier than they said you would. Then you zonked out again and proceeded to sleep like Rip Van Winkle. I’ve never been so scared in my life as when you decided to oversleep the lab boys’ estimate, but it was for you I was frightened, not myself.” He reset the strength level on the coffeemaker and turned to face her. “Alex told me the other night that he thought I’d finally run across something Icouldn’t handle. I denied it. I wouldn’t deny it today.”
    She averted her eyes and took a bite of her sandwich. “Not many men could handle a kidnapping with aplomb.”
    “The kidnapping I can handle. It’s what happened between us on the beach that I’m having problems with. I think you know that.”
    Lisa looked up swiftly and felt a wild tremor run through her. His eyes held the