Handful of Dreams by Heather Graham Read Free Book Online

mocking. “Not, ‘Gee, thank you, I wasn’t planning on drowning today.’ How the hell did you get into that situation to begin with?”
    Her eyes flashed to his with such fury that he was certain she was going to be all right.
    “I was sorely aggravated!”
    “Ah, the trials of youth, Miss Anderson! Give yourself a few more years—life is full of aggravation. You can’t go throwing yourself in the water every time it comes your way.”
    “I did not throw myself in the water!” she snapped. “I did not plan on drowning today. Nor did I expect to come home and find you! Nor can I understand—knowing your very frank and abusive opinion of me—why the hell you bothered to drag me out. Now, will you please get out of here?”
    There was no expression on his face. When he chose, his emotions could be totally shadowed and secret. “I’ve no wish for your physical injury, Miss Anderson,” he said flatly. “I’ll get out as soon as you get out, because I sure as hell don’t want you to lose consciousness again and drown in a bathtub after I went through all the trouble of hauling you out of the ocean.”
    “I wouldn’t have been in the ocean if it weren’t for you, so don’t tell me about your trouble!”
    David sighed with pointed weariness. “If you want me out, Miss Anderson, you get out. And don’t be ridiculous. I undressed you and got you in there.” He turned around impatiently, grasped a towel, and dropped it next to the tub over his shoulder. “Are you happy now? You can wrap yourself up and I won’t look.”
    “Thank you,” she said stiffly.
    But a second later he was whirling around again, alarm glinting in his eyes as he heard a plop. Her head was beneath the water. He knelt desperately by the tub and grabbed her arm. She came up, staring at him again with that ridiculously innocent and wide-eyed alarm.
    “Damn!” he proclaimed anxiously. “I warned you—”
    “I’m all right!” she gasped out. “I was just rinsing my hair.”
    “Your hair?” He released her arm.
    “It was salty—”
    “Oh, Lord!” David groaned, falling back to his haunches with relief.
    “I’m sorry!”
    “Think nothing of it,” he muttered, rising and turning around again.
    A second later she murmured, “I’m up.”
    He turned around again, just in time to see her wincing as she gingerly touched a spot on her scalp behind her ear.
    “What is it?”
    “Nothing,” she began, but he was already next to her, pushing back her wet hair, frowning as he studied the bump.
    “That must be the problem,” he appraised quietly. His eyes met hers. “Nasty bump.”
    “I think I was thrown against one of the boulders,” Susan murmured nervously. “I was almost back to the sand, and then …” She shook her head, then shrugged, trying not to jump away from his touch, trying not to tremble at it.
    “I’ll get an ice pack,” he told her. But before he quit the bathroom, he paused at the door and warned her, “Don’t come down the stairs without calling me.”
    “I’m fine. I’m really fine. It’s just a little sore.”
    “You’re not fine,” David said impatiently. “You had enough water in you to fill a kiddie pool, and it took several minutes in a hot bath for you to come to. Call me.”
    He started out again.
    “Mr. Lane!”
    David paused and slowly turned around. He felt himself tempted to grin again. There she was, a towel clutched to her breasts, water dripping down the length of her legs, from her hair to her shoulders, and she was very primly addressing him as Mr. Lane.
    “Yes?”
    “You’re drenched yourself, you know,” she reminded him. Her lashes fell over her cheeks, as if she were sorry she had spoken. “The water was cold. You’ll catch something yourself if you don’t change.”
    He did grin. “I intend to change, Miss Anderson. As soon as you’re downstairs by the fire, and as soon as I’ve given Jerry a call back to tell him you’re conscious with a lump on your head,