Raising the Stakes

Too many questions, Dawn thought, but she wasn’t about to tell him that. “Exactly.”

He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. It brought him closer to her. “Is Teddy my competition?”

His voice was suddenly soft and low. It made her think of gravel laid over thick velvet. She looked up and her pulse leaped. Her rescuer was watching her through dark-lashed, pale blue eyes. His hair was coffee-brown and thick. With a little start of surprise, she realized that he was good-looking. Very good-looking.

The back of her neck tingled and she was trying to decide whether the sensation was pleasant or not when he reached out and touched his finger first to the bear’s button nose and then to hers. That was all he did, just brush her nose with the tip of his finger, but terror raced through her. She took a step back but there was nowhere to go. The car was behind her; he was in front of her. He was big and strong, he was crowding her, and suddenly the old panic was clawing for purchase in her throat.

“Don’t!”

She thought the word had come out a shout but the look on his face told her it hadn’t, that it had been a pathetic whimper, and for the second time since the stranger had come into her life, she had reason to despise herself.

“Hey.” He stepped back. “I didn’t mean—”

“I know you didn’t,” she said quickly. “I just—it’s the heat. And this thing with my car. My boss will be—”

“Sure.”

“—he’ll be wondering if I—”

“Absolutely. Come on. I’ll get you to work in no time.”

Stupid, she thought as she followed him to his car. She’d fought so hard to come this far—was the simple touch of a man’s hand really enough to send her scuttling back into her cave? Giving in to the fear was like giving in to Harman. It was letting him beat her into submission without lifting a hand, and she had long ago decided she’d choose death over that. Besides, she knew how to handle simple flirtation.

“Are you coming?”

She looked up, smiled, got into the car and waited until he’d gone around to the driver’s side and settled behind the steering wheel.

“Actually,” she said lightly, “you were right.” He looked at her questioningly and she felt foolish. Obviously he’d already forgotten that teasing line about the bear being his competition. “About my bear.” God, if only the floor would open and swallow her. “About—about him being…” She took a breath. If he didn’t remember what he’d said, she didn’t have to explain it. “I love teddy bears,” she said inanely. “I always have.”

That eased the tension. He laughed, turned the key and blessedly cool air washed over her.

“Well, that’s good to know. Still, I have to admit, I’ve never gotten the brush-off because of a stuffed bear.”

She almost said she doubted if he’d ever gotten the brush-off at all. It was hard to imagine a woman—a normal woman—not being flattered by his interest.

The nape of her neck tingled again. Once, years back, Harman had lunged at her and she’d tumbled backward and grabbed a frayed electric cord as she fell. The sensation that had shot through her body had been something similar to this. Not pleasant. Not unpleasant. Just—just incredibly startling.

The memory, not of the sensation but of Harman, made her shudder.

“You okay?”

Dawn blinked. He was staring at her. By now, he most likely regretted offering her a ride. He probably thought she was crazy.

“Are you cold? I can turn down the AC, if you are.”

“No. No, I’m fine.” She flashed a bright smile. “I was just thinking about how late I’m going to be.”

“I’ll talk to your boss, if you’d like. I can verify your story about your car dying.”

“Oh, he’ll believe me. It’s just that this is my first day on a brand-new job.” She hesitated. “I wonder… Could I use your cell phone?”

He handed her the phone, watched while she punched in a number. She was a puzzle. She’d jumped like a cat when he’d touched her, but other times there was an unsettling stillness to her, as if part of her was standing back and observing things.

He tried not to listen while she spoke to someone. Her boss, probably. She sounded worried; she said she was sorry a couple of times and that she’d be happy to work the night shift to make up for it. He glanced at her, taking in the blouse, the tailored skirt, the jacket lying across her lap, the long legs encased in silky-looking stockings. She was dressed for an office. What kind of night shift did a woman work in a suit? In stockings? Or was it panty hose? His imagination kicked in, took him on a brief but fascinating trip, and he looked away from her and stared straight out the windshield. She was edgy and he was thinking about stockings and pantyhose. It wasn’t a good combination.

“Thank you.”

Gray looked up. She held out the phone. He took it and put it back into his pocket.