The oil smelled of lavender, not flowers. That meant there was no reason it should make her think of Cam and yet, she was doing exactly that. Thinking of Cam. Of how it had felt to be in his arms as he stepped into a marble tub of scented water.
Leanna blinked.
The sooner she was out of this city, the better.
She shut the bathroom door, put a towel within easy reach and eased into the tub. Oh, yes. It felt wonderful to sit back and let the heat work its magic. There was nothing like a hot bath to soothe you at the end of a long and stressful day…
Nothing like a hot bath with your lover to turn a long, stressful day into the prelude to a long, wonderful night.
Stop it!
She was not going down that path again. All those weeks, telling herself Cam would call. That he’d come for her. Tell her that he did love her, that what he’d said that last day hadn’t been true.
It had taken a long time before she’d faced reality, and she wasn’t backing away from it now.
Cam wasn’t going to come after her. He wasn’t even going to telephone. And that was okay. He’d never made promises of forever. He hadn’t fallen in love. She had…
And she still loved him.
Being here, where he lived and worked, knowing she had only to dial a number to hear his voice, was killing her. One call. Just one. She wouldn’t have to say anything, except to his secretary, and then she could hear Cam’s voice, add that memory to the others.
Suddenly the bath seemed cold. Leanna opened the drain, stepped from the tub, wrapped herself in a too thin, too small towel and opened the bathroom door…
On darkness.
Her heartbeat skittered.
How could that be? She’d left the room’s single overhead light on. Even if the bulb had burned out, light should have been coming through the window. She was always careful to leave the window locked—the fire stairs outside were not reassuring—but she never drew the drab curtains until she and Ginny were ready to go to sleep. The room faced on a brick wall. Nobody could see in, but the light that filtered in from the alley, however faint, was welcome.
Cou
ld Ginny have come back already? Could she have drawn the curtains? Could the bulb in the ceiling light have gone out?
Could all that have happened at the same time?
“Ginny?” Leanna’s whisper came out as half prayer, half question. “Gin? Is that—”
Something moved in the shadows. A figure. Tall. Broad-shouldered. A man. Leanna stumbled back in terror. Oh God, oh God, oh God…
The beam of a flashlight shone in her face. She gave a thin, high shriek, threw up a hand to shield her eyes.
“Hello, Salome,” a rough voice said.
“Cameron?” Leanna went from terrified to thrilled in a heartbeat. He was here! He’d come for her after all. She whispered his name, started toward him…
And froze when the beam of light slid down her body, lingering on her breasts with slow insolence, rising again until it reached her face. Questions crowded out the joy she’d felt hearing his voice.
How had he gotten into the room? Why was he waiting in the dark?
“You don’t seem very happy to see me.”
Leanna jerked her head away from the cold yellow glare. “The light,” she said. “I can’t see.”
The beam from the flashlight swung toward the floor. She blinked her eyes, trying to adjust to the dark. She could see Cam now, an inky blur against the charcoal shadows, moving slowly toward her.
Her heart began to race.
She’d longed to see him again and now he was here—but what did she know about him, really? He’d saved her life and made love to her. In the end, he’d broken her heart.