me.’
Abi hesitated before answering and Damien mistook her hesitation for apprehension.
‘Do you want to call someone and let them know you’re staying with me?’ he offered, realising she may have reservations about going home with him but she had no one to call. She was totally alone.
‘Freya can vouch for my character,’ he added. Abi had no doubt Freya would approve but if she did accept Damien’s offer she wasn’t sure that she wanted anyone else to know. Besides, it wasn’t the fact that she was considering going home with a virtual stranger that was making her hesitate, she actually felt safe with Damien, but the fact that she was even considering the idea at all was what worried her. The fact that she should have reservations when she didn’t was the concern. She barely knew Damien. Was it wrong to trust him so quickly?
‘I don’t want to put Summer out of her bed.’
Damien grinned at her and Abi was transfixed by the smile lines that appeared in the corners of his eyes. It was the only time his perfect features looked real. ‘It’s my bed or Summer’s,’ he said, ‘they’re the only options.’
Abi swallowed. She hadn’t meant to imply anything untoward but Damien settled her nerves.
‘Don’t worry about Summer. She ends up in my bed most nights anyway and I’m really not going to leave you here on your own in an unsecured house. Grab what you need and come with me.’
Abi didn’t need further convincing. The idea of staying in the apartment by herself made her jittery. She knew she wouldn’t sleep and the idea of having company, of knowing there was someone just a room away, was far more reassuring. She had thought the apartment was secure and safe but after tonight’s events she wasn’t so certain. Perhaps if she still had a weapon she might have felt more comfortable but she’d returned her army-issued handgun when she’d gone on leave and she hadn’t wanted to replace it. She hadn’t wanted a weapon. She’d seen the damage they could do, and even now she knew she wouldn’t want that responsibility or that temptation. She would rather stay at Damien’s than pick up a gun.
She collected Jonty’s essentials—his water bowl, lead and the large cushion that he slept on at the foot of her bed—and carried them downstairs to where Damien was loading her dog into his car. She remembered refusing Damien’s invitation of a lift earlier in the week. She’d been worried then about Jonty messing up the pristine interior but she had no such qualms tonight, and neither, it seemed, did Jonty, who was more than happy to leap into the car.
* * *
Damien felt as if he’d only just drifted off to sleep when he was woken by the sound of a dog whining. He sat up in bed, disoriented, until he realised it was Jonty. What was wrong now?
He got out of bed, careful not to disturb Summer, and as he stepped into the hallway he saw the light come on in Summer’s room. It shone under the door. Abi must be awake. But that didn’t explain why Jonty was whining.
He should check to make sure everything was okay, but as he stretched out his hand to knock on the door the noise stopped. Should he still intrude? He had no idea. He didn’t want to disturb Abi or frighten her or make a nuisance of himself, but what sort of host would he be if she needed something and he didn’t offer assistance.
‘Abi?’ He knocked lightly and spoke through the door. ‘Is everything okay?’
He opened the door and the scent of peaches wrapped around him. Abi’s scent.
She was still asleep. Jonty was standing beside the bed, pushing his nose against her cheek. Did he want to go out?
But if Abi was still asleep who had turned the light on? He frowned. He was certain he had seen the light go on.
He was still standing in the doorway, trying to decide what to do, when Abi opened her eyes. He saw her jump when she registered his presence and he realised how it must look to her—an unfamiliar man appearing in her room in the middle of the night. He could see she was frightened. Her amber eyes were wide and unblinking. She reminded him of a deer caught in a spotlight and he felt like the hunter.
‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you.’
‘Damien?’
Her cheeks were wet with tears and she was breathing heavily as if she’d been running but he knew that was impossible. There was a sheen of sweat on her brow and her hair was damp. This wasn’t about Jonty needing to go outside.
‘I heard Jonty whining. What’s the matter?’
She sat up in bed. She was wearing one of his T-shirts and it slipped off her shoulder to reveal a pale, creamy expanse of soft, smooth skin. They hadn’t thought to grab any clothes for her, she’d been busy getting Jonty’s stuff together and he hadn’t given it a thought, so he’d lent her one of his T-shirts. It suited her, even though it swamped her tiny frame. With her messy hair and startled eyes she looked about twenty, although he knew she was ten years older than that. She pulled the damp T-shirt away from her body but it fell back as she let it go, clinging to her skin and drawing his attention to her nipples, which jutted against the fabric.
She was trembling.
Damien didn’t hesitate any longer. In two strides he was next to the bed. In the next second he was sitting beside her. In one more second she was wrapped in his arms.
He hugged her tightly to him as he tried to stop her shaking. He had gone to her without thinking. A reflex action triggered by her fragile appearance had made him react impulsively. It seemed perfectly natural to take her in his arms and she didn’t resist, didn’t protest.
It felt perfectly natural. She was small and slight and fitted into the crook of his elbow and the curve of his shoulder as if they were designed just for her. Her head rested on his bare chest and he could feel her tears damp against his skin.
‘What’s wrong?’
‘I had a nightmare. Jonty is trained to wake me.’
‘Really? He can do that?’ He made sure to keep his eyes focused on her face. The T-shirt he’d lent her was old and he hadn’t realised it was quite so thin.
Abi nodded. ‘He’s an assistance dog. It’s one of his many talents.’
‘And the light? I swear I saw the light turn on when I was in the hall.’
He wasn’t sure how to explain that but Abi seemed to know what he was talking about. She looked up at him. ‘Jonty can flick switches.’
‘You’re kidding me.’
‘No.’
‘Is he going to make breakfast for us in the morning too?’
She smiled at him and he felt absurdly pleased that he’d managed to elicit a smile from her. ‘Only for me. He’s my assistance dog.’
‘So this project you said you were involved with? You’re not just training him or taking care of him? It’s more personal than that?’
‘Yes.’
‘He’s been assigned to you?’
Abi nodded.
