Twelve Across by Barbara Delinsky Read Free Book Online

on his back, he tipped his head her way. The black gloss of her hair was all he could see above the quilt, but the series of lumps beneath it suggested far more. She wasn't curvaceous. Her drenched clothes had clung to a slender body And she wasn't heavy. He knew; he d carried her. Still, even when shed been covered with mud and soaked, he d known she was a woman.

    Eyes rising to the darkened rafters, he shifted once, paused, then shifted again. With each shift, he inched closer tp her. He couldn't feel her warmth, couldn't smell her scent. Multiple layers of bedclothes, plus a safe twelve inches of space prevented that. But he knew she was there, and in the dark, where no one could see or know, he smiled.
    q. EAH AWOKE THE NEXT MORNING to the smell of fresh coffee qund the sizzle of bacon. She was frowning even before she d Qpened her eyes, because she didn't understand who would the in her apartment, much less making breakfast.
    Then the events of the day before returned to her, and her eyes flew open.
    Last she remembered she d been lying in front of the qre. Now she was in a bed. But there was only one bed in qarrick's cabin. q Garrick. Her head spun around and she saw a blurred berm before the stove. Moments later, with her glasses firmly in place she confirmed the identity of that form.
    It took her a minute to free herself from the cocoon of quilts and another minute to push herself up and drop her feet to thq floor. In the process she was scolded by every sore muscle in her body. Gritting back a moan, she rose from the bed and limped into the bathroom.
    By the time she d washed up and combed her hair, she was contemplating sneaking back to bed. She ached all over, she looked like hell, and from the sounds of it, the rain hadn't let up. Going out in the storm, even in daylight, was a dismal thought.
    But she couldn't sneak back to bed becausp the bed wasn't hers. And he d seen her get up. And she had decisions to make.
    Garrick had just set two plates of food on the small table , when she hesitantly approached. His keen glance took in her pale skin and the gingerliness of her movements. "Sit, " he commanded, refusing to be touched.
    He d had his one night of pretending and resented the fact that it had left him wanting. Now morning had come, and he needed some answers.
    Leah sat-and proceeded, with no encouragement at all, to consume an indeterminate number of scrambled eggs, four rashers of bacon,q two corn muffins, a large glass of orange juice and a cup of coffee. She was working on a second cup, when she realized what shed done. Peering sheepishly over the rim of the cup, she murmured, "Sorry about that. I guessl was hungry. "
    "No dinner last night? "

    "No dinner. " It must have been close to eight o clock when she d finally stumbled to his door. Not once had she thought of food, even when shed passed the stove enroute to the washing machine. With an intake of breath at the memory, she started to get up. "I left my clothes in the washer-"
    "They re dry. " He'd switched them into the dryqr after shed fallen asleep.
    "All except the sweater. I hung it up. don't think it should have been washed, being cashmere: ' He d drawled the last with a hint of sarcasm, but Leah was feeling too self-conscious to catch it. She hadn't had anyone tend to her in yqan. That Garrick should be doing ita total stranger handling her clothes, her underthings-was disturbing. Even worse, he'd carried her to his bed, and she d slept there with him.
    Granted, she d been oblivious to it all, but in the light of day she was far from oblivious to the air of potent masculinity he projected. He looked unbelievably rugged, yet unconscionably civilized.
    Fresh from the shower, his hair was damp. In a hunter grqen turtleneck and tan cords that matched the color of his hair and beard, he was gorgeous.
    "It was probably ruined long before I put it in the washer, " she murmured breathily, then darted an awkward glance toward the window.
    "How long do