Foolish Deceiver Page 9

  Allie's mouth had been dropping slowly throughout his speech. She, managed to close it and swallowed deeply. 'What are you talking about?' She saw he was looking at her bandaged hand again. 'You don't think ... you're not thinking ... it was a dumb thing to do, but I'm not suicidal! I didn't put that rock through the window on purpose!'

  'What rock? What window? All I saw was a knife!'

  'And you think I tried to slash my wrists with it?' she sputtered, outraged. Realising he still had her fingers in his grasp, she jerked them free, glaring at him.

  'Didn't you?'

  'Don't be daft!' Allie enjoined. 'I was trying to get the window open. It was painted shut and I was using the knife to cut through the seal, only I needed something to use for a hammer so I found a rock. When it slipped, it took my hand with it through the pane. You must have seen the broken window!'

  Linc slowly shook his head. He looked dazed, but that forbidding bleakness had left his expression. 'When I saw all that blood, and the knife lying at your feet ... nothing else in the room registered.'

  His eyes searched her face and Allie found her anger slipping away. She couldn't hang on to it. He had jumped—no, positively bounded—to the wrong conclusion, but he had obviously been very upset by that conclusion. He'd told her he cared about her. She didn't think it had just been part of his pep-talk. He'd sounded as if he really meant it. Her smile warmed her grey eyes.

  Feeling happier with him, she was caught off guard by his sudden spurt of wrath. Standing abruptly, he strode to the door, then turned back and stalked over to look down at her. 'Why didn't you ask me to fix the window for you?'

  'I didn't want to bother you.'

  Linc snorted, turning his back on her. 'You bother me whether you want to or not!'

  That was a hateful thing to say, and Allie's lower lip quivered as she battled with hurt tears. Linc turned his head to slash her a look, and saw her expression. 'Oh, hell!' he swore fiercely. Suddenly, he braced his hands on either side of her head and bent over her, his mouth covering hers.

  It was a firm, demanding, unexpected kiss. Unprepared for it, Allie felt unchecked response explode within her. Her lips, soft and warm, moved beneath his, savouring the taste of him. She could hear his breath quicken in tune with her own, a low groan in his throat. His mouth slid from hers, along her cheek to her eyes in soft, caressing kisses. 'You bother me, Allie. Oh, how you bother me,' he whispered. 'You fill my thoughts and drive me mad with wanting you.'

  Carefully, he lowered himself to his elbows and cradled her head between his forearms. His mouth moved back to hers, drinking long and deep at that sweet fountain. At last, he lifted his head to look deep into her passion-drenched eyes. Wanting him as much as he wanted her, Allie made a movement to coax him back.

  'This isn't the time or the place, darling. The nurse is going to come in here any minute and kick me out.' He smiled down at her as he stood upright. Gently stroking the smooth flesh of her injured arm above the bandages, he said, 'You're not going to be much good at looking after yourself until that's healed. I'll pick you up in the morning and take you home with me for a few days.'

  Suddenly everything was moving too fast for Allie. Was this what she really wanted? She loved Linc, of that she was certain .. . and yet. .. She was suddenly afraid of taking the next step. This was the point where things had gone wrong with Kevin. If she slept with Linc, would he find her inadequate, unsatisfying?

  'Maybe I should call Clare. It might be better if...'

  She could see his withdrawal in his expression. 'I already called Clare to tell her about your accident. You can't stay at her place. She's got a houseful of relatives from Ontario. I gather that they're having to camp out in the living-room as it is. You'll have to stay with me ... unless maybe Elaine could look after you?' He caught her grimace and treated her to a harsh look. 'I'd forgotten. You don't like Elaine much.'

  Allie flinched at that barb. No, she didn't like his girlfriend! That was, if Elaine was his girlfriend, Allie thought, suddenly confused. He hadn't treated the other woman in a very lover-like manner the other evening, even though he had defended her. Besides, would Linc have kissed her like that, invited her to convalesce at his home, if he was involved with someone else? He wasn't that kind of man, was he?

  She looked up at him. Suddenly she felt inordinately weary. The local anaesthetic the doctor had administered so that he could stitch up her hand was wearing off, and the cut throbbed painfully. She didn't know what she should think, what she should say to Linc.

  He finally broke the uncomfortable silence. 'It wasn't an invitation to share my bed, Allie. Only my house, until your hand is healed. If you don't want to accept, then don't.' He swung around and started towards the door.

  'Linc!' Allie called after him. At the sound of his name he turned back, one eyebrow cocked in enquiry as he regarded her. She moistened her lips. 'If the offer is still open, I'd like to stay with you.'

  'It is,' he said flatly, giving no indication of his feelings on the matter.

  'Then ... er ... thank you.'

  'I'll pick you up in the morning.' With that, he turned and left the room. Allie lay on her pillow and stared up at the ceiling, too tired to sort out her tangled thoughts and emotions.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  LINC slid the black Ford into the parking space and turned off the ignition. Slewing around in his seat, he gave Allie a frowning stare. 'You're sure the doctor said it would be OK for you to go home this morning?'

  Self-consciously, Allie averted her face as she nodded her head, wishing she could wear a paper bag over it so he couldn't look at her. She knew what he was getting at. She didn't look well, what with every toss and turn of her restless night reflected in her violet-shadowed eyes and washed-out complexion. Maybe if she'd had more cosmetics she could have disguised the worst of the damages, but the lone tube of lipstick she'd found in her handbag hadn't been much help. When Linc had brought her into the hospital the previous afternoon, there hadn't been time to think of things like blusher and foundation. As it was, Linc had had to bring her in a clean shirt and slacks to wear home that morning.

  Making no move to leave the car, he stayed looking at her with a doubtful expression on his well-formed features. 'I'm really fine,' Allie assured him. He didn't seem satisfied, so she continued, 'I didn't sleep very well. You know, a strange bed and nurses barging in and out all night.' She shrugged, hoping that the hospital staff who had looked after her so well would forgive her. It had been thoughts of Linc that had barged in, kept her from sleeping in what was actually a very comfortable bed.

  'You should have asked one of them to give you something for the pain in your arm if it was bothering you.'

  Damn, he must have noticed the pink tinge of her eyelids. She had shed a few tears during the long night, but they hadn't been from pain—at least, not from the physical pain of her cut wrist. They had been tears of confusion, of uncertainty, of an unfulfilled, aching need for him.

  She looked up to meet his dark blue eyes resting on her, reading the gentle concern in them. Seeing that look, she knew she had come to the right decision after that long night of irresolution. Linc wasn't like Kevin. He was a kind, caring man. He'd never said he loved her, but perhaps that didn't matter. Words of love had come easily from Kevin—and had meant nothing. Linc had told her that he cared, that he wanted her. Coming from a man with his strength and integrity, that was worth far more than all that 'I love yous' in the world from a man like Kevin.

  'You said the doctor gave you a prescription for pain-killers? You can wait in the car while I get it made up for you. Close your eyes for a few minutes and have a rest.'

  'I told you, I'm fine. I'll handle it,' Allie said, unconsciously taking a firmer grip on her handbag where the prescription slips resided. She'd come to a decision, but still didn't know how she was going to let Linc know about it. However, letting him find out by seeing that, in addition to the prescription for pain-killing pills, the doctor had also g
iven her one for birth-control pills didn't seem to be quite the way.

  Linc's frown deepened and she knew he was about to argue. Quickly, Allie inserted, 'I've a couple of things to pick up at the chemist's. I need to go in myself.' Hoping to forestall him, she turned hastily to open the car door. Unfortunately, she'd forgotten about the sling on her right arm. Awkwardly, she twisted around to reach the handle with her left hand. The door was locked. When she stretched around to pull up the door-lock, though, she jarred her injured arm, and gasped. Biting her lip, she faced forward again, cradling her sore arm in her lap.

  'Serves you right for being so damned independent,' Linc snarled heartlessly, reaching behind her to unlock the door. Instead of pulling his arm back, he let it drop across her shoulders. Despite the tone of his voice, his fingers were gentle as he stroked her upper arm. His touch sent a warm flood of sensation through Allie that blotted out the pain of her injury.

  She turned her head and found his face was only inches from her own, his breath softly mingling with hers. His navy eyes darkened to midnight as they focused on her mouth, studying the motion of her tongue as she ran it over her suddenly dry lips. His head came closer, but to her disappointment his lips simply brushed the smooth curve of her cheek before he pulled back.

  'You're sure you don't want me to run your errands while you rest?'

  Allie blinked at him, dragging herself back to the prosaic. Finally, she shook her head. 'I'll do it myself.'

  'Well, at least let me help you get out of the car,' Linc advised, opening the driver's side door and sliding out from behind the steering wheel.

  Allie half feared that Linc would insist on coming into the shop with her. He helped her from the vehicle with all the care of a man handling fine porcelain, as though she might shatter on the pavement when her foot touched it. However, to her relief, he left her at the entrance to the pharmacy, suggesting she meet him for coffee in the cafe two doors down when she'd finished her shopping.

  They didn't linger in the cafe. Although Allie didn't want to admit it, the few minutes spent in the chemist's had taxed her small store of energy to the limit. She was feeling a little as though she was made of fragile porcelain by the time she left to meet Linc for coffee. The hot liquid revived her somewhat, but she was none the less happy to go when Linc suggested they head for home after only a few minutes.

  As they drove along, Allie stared silently out of the window at the passing scenery, her spirits sinking. Linc hadn't said much to her over coffee, and he'd been totally silent since they'd got back into the car. Maybe he hadn't hustled her from the restaurant with such speed because he had realised how tired she was. Maybe he had grown tired of wasting his whole morning on her. Although it was a Saturday, that didn't mean he didn't have work waiting for him. He didn't strike her as the type of man to confine his business to Monday through Friday. Even if he didn't have work he should be spending his morning on, he had a son. She sensed he was a conscientious, loving father. The free time that he had at the weekends to spend with his child was probably rare and precious to him.

  And she was going to be intruding.

  They were approaching the bend in the road around which lay the driveway to the cabin. Impulsively, Allie turned to Linc, touching his arm with her free hand to gain his attention. He glanced at her, then moved his eyes back to the road to negotiate the curve.

  'Why don't you just drop me off at the cabin? I don't really need to stay with you. I've still got one good hand and I can manage.'

  She saw Linc's lips firm, his eyes riveted on the road ahead. Without replying to her, he accelerated slightly as they passed the entrance to the cabin's driveway. Allie turned and watched it recede from view, before turning back to give Linc a vexed look. 'I asked you to stop,' she stated, pride and affront that he had ignored her request making her voice cold. 'I appreciate your giving me a lift from the hospital, but I'd like to go to my own home now.'

  Linc slowed the car, but only to turn into the drive of his home. Still without speaking, he drove slowly down it to the house, then braked. Switching off the ignition, he turned to look at her. 'I thought we went over all this yesterday afternoon. You agreed to stay here.'

  'Well, I changed my mind.'

  'Then unchange it,' Linc ordered harshly. He glared at her for a moment, then sighed deeply. 'You know that as long as you're wearing that sling your right hand is useless. You can't manage on your own.'

  Her grey eyes stormy, Allie turned her head away and stared down at her sling. He had a point. That morning, she'd managed to dress by herself, but the nurse had had to help her with buttons and zip, then reposition the sling. She'd also had to help her wash and comb her hair. Eating breakfast had been a challenge, since Allie had never tried to butter her toast with one hand before.

  She could survive, though.

  She knew Linc was watching her, but she stubbornly refused to look over to him. 'I just think it would be better all round if I went to my own place,'

  Allie said quietly, but very firmly.

  The moment of silence that followed was heavy with tension. Finally, Linc burst out, 'I'll probably strangle you if you tell me you don't want to impose on me. As for any qualms you may be having, I promised you that you'll be safe in my house. What more can I do—shave my head and don a monk's robe for the duration of your visit? So I've kissed you a couple of times. It doesn't mean you're irresistible. I'm not going to seduce you if you stay overnight in my. house. I'm not interested. Your maidenly virtue will be perfectly safe!'

  'I ... I ...' Allie stopped talking abruptly as his words crashed into her consciousness. Swiftly, she lowered her head so that he couldn't see the sudden tears that had sprung to her eyes. Through the blur of moisture she stared at the parcel from the pharmacy. Damn. Damn, damn, damn! She'd learned calculus and physics with the ease that most people memorised their home phone number. But she'd never learned anything from her relationship with Kevin, it seemed. She'd taken his kisses and conjured a full-scale love-affair out of them. He hadn't been interested, either—but she was boss, so he'd played along with her.

  For whatever reason Linc had kissed her yesterday, had said he wanted her, he hadn't intended making love with her. He'd told her that then, only she'd been too stupid to believe him.

  'Come on into the house, Allie,' he suggested quietly, the heat gone from his voice. 'You've had a rough morning and I think you're tired. You can have a nap before lunch. Mrs Dorcus brought back your clothes when she went over to the cabin to get something for you to wear home this morning.'

  He got out of the car and walked around to her side to open the door for her. Avoiding the helping hand he held out to her, Allie scrambled as best she could from the vehicle and preceded him to the house. He was treating her like a child, a cranky child in need of her bed. It was pointless to keep arguing with him while he maintained that attitude. He'd probably either try to bribe her with a sweetie or spank her if she did! Pride raised her head to an aloof angle, as maintaining a semblance of dignity was about the only course left open to her.

  Whether she was a cranky child or not, Allie felt much better after a sleep. She obviously needed the rest, since she slept through lunch and most of the afternoon. When she awoke, she was able to view the situation with greater equanimity. Linc was being a good friend to her, and, other than Clare, she didn't have many friends. Not only had Linc offered her his home to convalesce in, but he'd even arranged for Jason to spend the weekend with his grandparents so that the little boy's boisterousness wouldn't disturb her rest when she wasn't feeling up to par.

  Viewed from that perspective, it was immature and ridiculous in the extreme for her to feel angry and resentful because he didn't feel anything more than friendship for her. After her break with Kevin, she'd accepted that she wasn't the sort of woman that men fell in love with. Maybe her pretence of being less intelligent that she really was had temporarily cajoled her into thinking otherwise, but inside she hadn't changed. Maybe Linc
had sensed it. Maybe that was why, when Linc had said he cared, he'd only meant it as a friend.

  It wasn't a particularly cheering thought, but, as Allie pushed the covers back and swung her feet over the side of the bed, she knew it was one she was going to have to learn to live with. And she was going to have to start treating Linc as a friend, because at least his friendship was better than nothing.

  She'd start at dinner, Allie vowed. Taking up her robe from the end of the bed, she eased it over the bandages covering her right hand and arm, then looped the tie belt together with her left hand to hold it loosely closed. The bathroom was only next door, and she wanted a shower before dressing for dinner. Fortunately, one of the dresses Mrs Dorcas had brought over was still in its dry-cleaner's bag, and she could use the plastic from it to keep her injured arm dry.

  She managed the shower without too much trouble, as long as she remembered not to try to use her right hand, encased in the plastic, for anything. The warm cascade of water felt so good, in fact, that she decided to go ahead and wash her hair. One-handed, she awkwardly rubbed the shampoo through her hair, then moved beneath the spray to rinse it away. The foaming lather streamed down her face and into her eyes, causing her to yelp in pain. Blindly, she fumbled through the shower curtain to get a towel—and forgot that her right arm had been injured.

  Groaning as pain shot through the whole right side of her body, Allie pulled her arm against her midriff, holding it protectively. The next moment, the shower-curtain was whipped aside and the water was turned off.

  Tears streaming from her closed eyes, Allie heard Linc's voice ask in alarm, 'Are you all right? I heard you cry out.'

  'I've got shampoo in my eyes,' Allie explained, rubbing them with the back of her left hand. Her hand was pushed away, and Linc started drying her face with a towel. When he'd finished, he lifted her out of the bath. As she felt the soft cushion of the rug beneath her feet, Allie gingerly opened her eyes, relieved to find that they no longer smarted from the light.