Irresistible Force (A K-9 Rescue Novel)(52)

Though she was much too tired to respond, Shay was very aware of James  as he bathed her. She absorbed the careful passing of his hands over her  body with pleasure. She luxuriated in how tender he was as he shampooed  the blood from her hair while keeping the water from soaking the  bandage on her brow. The feel of his strong fingers working the  washcloth as he soaped her shoulders and back and then her breasts and  stomach seemed to smooth out some of the pain of the many scratches.

Too tired to do more than follow his instructions, she braced her hands  on his shoulders and balanced first on one foot and then the other on  the edge of the tub as he washed her legs. His touch was impersonal but  thorough.

They didn't talk. Yet she was vibrantly alive to the emotions running  beneath his surface calm. Fully aware of his tenderness, and of a barely  contained anger he didn't voice but she knew would remain a good while.  He had failed to protect her. That was all he'd said to her about the  ugly volatile feeling. The misery in his eyes made her want to cry for  him. But she wasn't ready to carry that burden yet. Maybe she wouldn't  need to.

He stopped every so often and just held her for a moment.

He hadn't undressed. His tee and pants were soaked by the time they were  done but she supposed he was letting her know without words that this  was not an erotic encounter. He understood she was much too exhausted in  body and spirit for that.

She would have to give a statement to the deputy, the state police, and  the fire department before she would be allowed to head back to Raleigh.  But all that could wait until the morning.

She didn't need the look on James's face each time their eyes met to  tell her how lucky she was. But she had survived. And nothing was wrong  with her that time, sleep, and peace wouldn't cure.

When he was done washing her, he toweled her down until her skin tingled  and quickly ran a comb through her hair as she sat on the commode. He  had brought in a medic kit from his cruiser. After checking the bandages  on her arm and brow to make certain they were dry, he applied  antibiotic and new bandages to the minor cuts and abrasions the  emergency room staff had not bothered to dress. She wondered briefly if  taking care of Bogart had made him such an efficient groomer, but she  was too tired to tease him about that. He produced a tee from his duffel  and dressed her in it before tucking her into bed.

Maybe she said thank you. And maybe she went out like a light. What she  remembered was that sometime later, he slid into bed beside her. And  Bogart, who'd kept watch over the whole bathing routine, slept at the  foot of the bed.

She felt safe. Cherished. And happy.

* * *

"You're beautiful."

"I'm a mess. I have a black eye, a bruised chin, and five stitches above my eyebrow."

"You're beautiful, anyway."

James leaned over her and kissed her very lightly, afraid that even the  pressure of his lips might be too much for her bruised body.

They were in her bedroom, in her bed. It was late afternoon. She'd slept away most of the day while he'd been in and out.                       
       
           



       

After her interviews with law enforcement the day before, James had  wrapped her up in two blankets, buckled her into his cruiser, and  brought her back to Raleigh. She didn't remember returning to her  apartment, or really much of the rest of that day. She slept and ate a  little when he pressed her, and slept again. Bogart, who evidently had  been put on guard duty, never left his post at the foot of her bed.

This afternoon, she'd awakened to late autumn sunshine slanting in through her blinds and felt, well, close to normal.

James told her everything he had learned from Jaylynn, and what he had  pieced together on his hellish drive from Charlotte to Raleigh, and then  up to Gaston Lake.

When he was done, she filled in what he couldn't have known.

Other than to ask for occasional clarification, he listened to the story  of her ordeal at the cabin without comment. But the expression on his  face told a different story. It was by turns stern, and sympathetic, and  more than once she glimpsed his quiet anger surge into a white-hot rage  that frightened her. No one had ever been that angry or hurt on her  behalf.

When she reached out for him, he pulled away a little. She saw it in his eyes, the emotional retreat, and wondered.

"I failed you." Judging by his expression, that was the most difficult sentence he'd ever uttered.

That's when she understood. And it nearly broke her heart. He was  shouldering responsibility, blaming himself for things he might have  done differently when it had been impossible to know everything that was  going on.

She lifted a hand to his cheek, forcing him to look at her. "You didn't fail me. You saved me."

She watched him struggle with her gratitude, shadows of doubt darting in  and out of his sky-blue eyes. "Without you, no one would have come to  look for me for a long time. You came, even after I told you to stay  away. You saved me."

He blinked first. And then he pulled her toward him, kissing her with  all the warmth she could ever hope for. When he let her go, she knew  that once more, the hurt and pain was in her rearview mirror, and this  time it was receding fast.

"Pizza?" Shay said suddenly.

James laughed. "You have me in your bed and you want pizza?"

Shay smiled. "Fill me up with pizza and I promise to think of a really nice way to repay you."

He wasn't gone long but he returned with more than pizza. He tossed a  copy of the day's newspaper on the bed. "Check out the headline."

"Bank Executive Dismissed for Misuse of Funds." Below the headline was a  picture of Eric Coates. The article stated Eric Coates had been fired  after an employee-not her name but another woman's!-accused him of  sexual harassment. It went on to say that during the initial  investigation other concerns had come to light, including  misappropriation of bank funds, as well as other instances of violations  of bank ethics. The matter was being further explored to determine if  legal action should be taken.

James tapped the picture. "You know anything about that?"

Shay met James's inquisitive stare with a sly smile. "I haven't had a  chance to tell you everything that happened while you were gone."

She related her last confrontation with Eric. And how she'd decided to  risk everything and take her accusations of sexual harassment and  misconduct to the bank president, Mr. Cadwallader Jones. To judge by the  article, either her accusation had caused someone else to come forward,  or Cadwallader Jones knew more about Eric's activities than she  thought, and her accusation was simply the catalyst to oust Eric.

By the time the only things left in the pizza box were crumbs and a  smear of sauce, the subject had turned once again to Shay's more  immediate worries.

"I can't believe I burned the cabin down."

"It's not a complete loss." James pulled a string of cheese off her chin  and ate it. "The living area will need a lot of repair. But the fire  didn't take the roof."

"Small comfort. The contents are ruined. I have no idea how I'm going to repay my uncle and aunt for the damage."

"We could rebuild it for them."

Shay didn't dare look at him. Her emotions were too close to the surface. "You would help me do that?"

"Yeah. It would give us something useful to do while we argue."

The tears came quickly, spilling out over her lashes.

James put an arm around her, surprised that she should break down now,  but pleased she had turned to him instinctively for comfort.

After a moment, Shay pulled back so she could meet his gaze. She didn't  ask the question forming in her thoughts but stared at him because the  answer was already there in those blue eyes. He wasn't going anywhere  anytime soon.                       
       
           



       

"You're sure?" Okay, the woman in her needed to hear the words.

"Shay, I owe you-"

Shay put out her hand to stop him from speaking. But the moment her  fingertips touched his lips a frisson of emotion raced through them to  travel deep inside her. She took her hand away. After all they'd been  through, he was what she wanted most.

After only a second, his sky blues crinkled at the corners and his mouth lifted in a smile. Enough said.

For the first time in her life, she wasn't afraid of the future. She didn't want to hide anymore.

She brought his head down for a kiss at the same time she arched up  under him so there would be no mistake about her intent. She wanted to  be Shay Appleton, completely open and alive with lust and love and  tenderness for James Cannon.

"Your head and body," he murmured against her mouth.

"Hurt like hell," she whispered back. The words vibrating on their lips were sexy as hell. "Make it better."