Aw, Cate. You mean well have to fish again? Purdue gave a mock groan, and the rest laughed. Theyd had a good time fishing. Or acted as if they had.
She served vanilla honey-bee ice cream, heaped with sharp sprinkles of dark chocolate and butterscotch, but by then, she couldnt eat a thing herself. When she put the dish down for Harm, she almost put a hand on his shoulder-just wanting the connection, needing a connection. But she pulled back in time, disappeared into the galley where she could be by herself. Safe from doing the wrong thing or saying the wrong thing.
Safe from being herself.
Harm stuck tight with his men after dinner, so once Cate shined up the galley, she disappeared downstairs to her cabin, e-mailed her sisters, rinsed out some things, took a shower. Shed turn in early, she decided.
That worked like trying to make meringue with old eggs.
She got up at midnight, grumpily scooped up blankets and a tarp, and tiptoed down the aisle, then up deck. Nothing stirred. The water slop-slurped against the boat, and outside was colder than a well diggers ankle-but the sky was putting on a breathtaking color show, shooting silvers and purples and jeweled colors in flashes of smoke. She was diverted momentarily, watching, until she heard a sound in the pilothouse.
She whirled around-but the pilothouse was dark, locked up for the night, a pale glow of instruments reflecting on the walls but nothing else visible. She was just spooked, which was the whole reason she couldnt sleep to begin with. Toting her gear, shivering hard now, she climbed the last set of steps to the top deck.
There was no Harm here tonight-or anyone else. She told herself she was crazy to feel safer out in the open than locked in her cabin, but it wasnt that simple. There were too many men between her and an exit. And when it came down to it, the only one whod have any reason to think shed be way up here was Harm.
She settled down, and maybe it was the stress, but she curled up tight and felt herself dropping off to sleep almost right away.
She never heard a footstep on the stair, never heard a breath of sound. Never felt anything or sensed anything until she suddenly felt a big, heavy push. Next thing she knew, her eyes flew open and she was hurtling over the side.
Blankets were too tangled around her to get her arms free, to grab for something, anything. Something hard cracked the back of her skullthen her hip thunked, ringing hardand then everything went black.
Harm didnt know what hed heard, but he hadnt been sleepingand whatever that thunk-thud was, the sound was discordant in the still night. His eyes popped open. He waited, but there was no other sound.
Still. It was wrong-particularly right now, when any discordant sound made him worry about another catastrophe-so he climbed from the bunk and yanked on sweats and deck shoes. Silently, he opened the cabin door and waited for several beats, trying to smell or see or sense anything that was out of the ordinary.
There was nothing. Telling himself he was being an idiot for being so hyper, he trudged upstairs, grumbled through the main salon, then the dining room, then poked in Cates galley. Nothing wrong anywhere-except in his head.
He circled outside, stepped up to the pilothouse, checked the door-it was locked, naturally, the instrument panel lit up as it should be. Nothing unusual, nothing out of place. Since hed come this far, he circled the foredeck, thinking maybe Cate had chosen to sleep topside againbut near the ladder, he suddenly saw the rumpled shadow on the deck.
He caught a single glimpse of blond hair tilted over the side, under the rail, and hurtled into a sprint. He skidded, almost fell-damn deck was slick-crashed on a knee as he got to her.
Cate. Cate. Shed been sleeping top deck, just as hed guessed, which was easy to assess from the mound of blankets and covers-and which, thank God, cushioned her fall. Still, her white face and closed eyes scared the starch out of him. He wasnt sure if or where she might be broken, but he had to shift her to a less precarious position. As swiftly as he could secure her in a safer spot on the deck, he felt the pulse at her throat.
Her heartbeat barely registered, but then suddenly beat like a drum against his fingersat the same time her eyes opened. Hey, she murmured, a lovers word the way she said itonly then she winced. Ouch. What the-?
Shhh. Shhh. Dont move at all until we figure out whats going on. Just tell me where you hurt.
Her eyes closed for a second, scaring him halfway to death and back again, but then she came through with a list of specific damages. Head. Hip. Pride.
He wanted to smile at the pride, but he couldnt. Carefully, tenderly, he ran his fingers through the scarecrow-blond curls, found a spot that felt warm and damp, with a good-size lump underneath it. Im not sure if its a good idea to move you.
Dont worry about it. Youre not moving me. Im moving myself. For darn sure, Im not staying here. Damn. She tried to push to a sitting position, and immediately fell back dizzily.
You think you were born stubborn as a goat, or was it an acquired character trait? Im serious about your not moving yet. You could have a concussion, Cate.
Then Ill have a concussion inside, where its nice and warm. Besides, my heads too hard to have a concussion. Trust me. Harm-
What?
Did you see who pushed me?
He frowned. You fell.
I didnt fall. I was pushed-yikes!
She was so tangled in blankets that she almost fell againbut this time fell against him. He was still reeling from the idea of someone deliberately pushing her when she crashed against him with an oomph and another cry of pain.
And that was it. No question she was gonna hate it-but he took charge.
Chapter 7
Cate couldnt have passed out because she wasnt some fluttery wimp who went around fainting. But when she opened her eyes, she seemed to be in Harms stateroom, flat on his bed, with his blankets snuggled to her neck. Harm was leaning over her with a warm washcloth.
Did I take a little nap? she asked bewilderedly.
Lets put it this way. If you hadnt conked out, Id have had to hit you over the head with a frying pan. My God, youre trouble.
I think something like a frying pan did hit me on the head. Holy kamoly, do I ever have a headache She tried to sit up and failed.
Im almost done. The wounds clean. Im going to put on some antibiotic first-aid cream and cover it up, and then well put ice on it. Then well check out the rest of you.
Hmm. I havent played doctor since I was somewhere around five or six.
I never gave it up. It was always one of my favorite games. Especially with girls.
I never played it with girls.
Thats why you probably gave it up. Playing with girls is fun.
Why in Gods name are we joking around?
Because, he said, I almost had a heart attack when I saw you on the deck. And Im trying to get past that so I can start thinking straight.
Lets not rush into thinking, she agreed. Consciousness was coming back. Enough to be aware of Harms bare chest. Hed gotten blood on his shirt. Her blood. She could see the stain on his shirt from the top of the bureau. More relevant, she could see the patches of blond hair on his chest, the cords of muscle in his upper arms, the intensely passionate fury in his eyes. You didnt hurt people Harm cared about, she mused. He just wasnt the kind of man youd want to rile. Your bed is significantly more comfortable than mine.
Im glad you like it, since youll be bunking in here from now on.
Im pretty positive my boss isnt going to like that.
Harm pleasantly suggested what Ivan could do to himself if the captain raised any objection whatsoever. After that, he leaned over her, so close she could breathe in the scent of his warm, warm skin. Unfortunately, his only intent was to put a bandage on the back of her head-a project that had as much chance of succeeding as a frost in the Amazon.
Harm. It wont stick. Besides which, I want to wash my hair.
Of course itll stick. It has to stick. How else am I going to put ice on it? Obviously, I cant put ice on the direct sore. He motioned to where hed clearly fetched a bowl of ice from the galley. She wondered how the Sam Hill long she had been knocked out.
You could put a couple cubes in a plastic bag. Then put the washcloth between my skin and the bag.
He looked annoyed-probably because she used the same patient tone shed use with a small child. But he did it. I guess thatll do, Ms. MacGyver. So on to the next problem. Your hip. It sounds as if it was one of your crash connection points.
Afraid so. Im just thankful I was so covered up in sleeping bags and blankets that the fall was cushioned. Still, I have to admit it hurts like hell.
Cate. His tone turned gentle, serious. I want to see it. No funny business, no joking. Id just feel better if we both saw how bad it is. I also think we should make sure there are no other breaks or injuries that need attention.
She looked at him. You knowIve been thinking about being naked with you.
Have you?
But not in this context.
I think we should put it in that other context as soon as possible. But right now, Im worried youre a lot more hurt than youre letting on. When you fall that distance, youre talking a major clunk, Cookie.
Dont call me Cookie. And believe me, Id be baying at the top of my lungs if I had anything serious to complain about. Im an A-grade whiner.
No, you arent and no, you wouldnt, Harm said patiently. Youre tough as nails. Strong as a rock. And stubborn as a hound.
Didnt your mother teach you any better than this? If you want to seduce a woman, you need to use sweet talk, not insults. She was looking right at him, and he was looking right back, but Cate felt what he was doing. Peeling off the blanket. Finding the drawstring of her sleeping pants. And then she felt his big, bare hand on her flesh. She slapped her own hand over his to stop him.
My mom tried to teach me manners. Youd love her. She kept this little switch on the top of the refrigerator, something on par with a tree twig. Threatened me with beatings my whole childhood, but never once laid a finger on me.