‘I thought you had to get to the hospital?’ Beth cut in pointedly, her brows raised in challenge.
Nick’s mouth thinned. ‘I do. But—’
‘Will you just go, Nick?’ she said impatiently. ‘The sooner you go then hopefully the sooner you’ll be back. I do have a life of my own, you know,’ she added pointedly. ‘One that doesn’t revolve around Nick Steele’s wants and needs!’
‘And what would you be doing now if you weren’t here?’ he challenged impatiently.
‘None of your business.’
Nick knew she was being deliberately awkward. He simply didn’t have the time right now to argue with her. But when he returned later this evening he intended making sure he found the time…
‘Fine,’ he bit out tersely. ‘Bekka is waiting for you on the sofa in the sitting room, wrapped up warm in front of the fire, with the three cats draped all over her. The dog is in the kitchen, so take care if you have to go in there to get Bekka some more medicine. There are plenty of drinks and food in the fridge—’
‘I believe I’m intelligent enough to work all those things out for myself.’
But not, it seemed, intelligent enough to know when not to prod and poke at a sleeping tiger…!
Nick had found himself thinking of this woman far too much the past four days. Remembering how good Beth had felt when he’d held her in his arms. How responsive her lips had been against his. How aroused he had been by her. How badly he had wanted her!
How badly he still wanted her, Nick acknowledged.
How did this ultra-sensitive and consequently prickly woman still manage to look sexy, with her face bare of make-up, her auburn hair brushed back from her face and secured in a ponytail, and wearing a long and baggy jumper that appeared to be several sizes too big for her?
Nick had absolutely no idea, but somehow Beth Morgan managed to do it!
He nodded abruptly. ‘I should only be a couple of hours.’
‘I’m sure that Bekka and I will manage just fine without you,’ Beth assured him.
Nick’s eyes narrowed in warning. ‘Just carry on the way you’re going, Beth…’
She arched auburn brows. ‘And what?’
His smile was feral. ‘I’ll let you know when I get back.’
She gave him a wry smile. ‘And am I supposed to live in fear until then?’
Nick gave a slow, warning shake of his head. ‘You’re playing with fire, Beth.’
Beth felt a quiver of apprehension run down the length of her spine as she looked up into those narrowed grey eyes. Or could it be expectation…? She was deliberately baiting this man, she knew. Couldn’t seem to help herself. Couldn’t stop herself from forcing a response from him. Any response.
The promise of retribution she could read in those mocking grey eyes warned her that she wasn’t going to like that response if she carried on deliberately baiting him.
Or that she might like it too much…!
She drew in a shaky breath. ‘Just go to the hospital, Nick,’ she advised heavily.
Nick continued to look down at her frowningly for several long seconds before giving an abrupt nod of his head. ‘Plan on having dinner with Bekka and me later.’
She bristled. ‘Isn’t it usual to ask rather than assume?’
He gave a humourless smile. ‘Where you’re concerned? No.’ He gave a shake of his head. ‘On the assumption you’re going to refuse to accept any payment for sitting with Bekka—’
‘You assume correctly!’ she snapped.
Nick nodded. ‘The least I can do is offer you dinner.’
‘Offer, yes. Assume, no. Besides,’ Beth added, ‘you already gave me dinner four nights ago. Unless…’ She looked up at him suspiciously. ‘When you said “plan on” having dinner with you and Bekka were you actually implying that I should cook it first?’
He chuckled throatily. ‘Not much gets past you, does it, Beth?’
‘You do want me to cook dinner!’ she gasped incredulously.
‘You know the old saying—“feed a cold, starve a fever”.’ Nick shrugged. ‘And obviously Mrs Bennett isn’t here to do it. Of course you could just leave Bekka to my less than proficient skills in the kitchen…’
‘You—I—’ Beth’s eyes were now flashing a deep blue in disgust. ‘Just go, Nick,’ she advised again in carefully modulated tones.
‘I’ll be glad to, now I know the problem of dinner is settled,’ he agreed brightly.
‘Nothing is “settled”, Nick,’ she warned him firmly.
‘Sure it is.’ He gave her a triumphant grin before leaving.
Beth stood in the hallway fuming for several long minutes after Nick had gone.
He was the most arrogant, infuriating—
She had told herself all of this before! Several times, in fact. And yet here she was, back at Nick’s house, taking care of Bekka, and with the added expectation on Nick’s part that she would cook dinner for them all this evening…!
‘I see that you’re feeling better, Bekka,’ Nick said thankfully when he returned early that evening and entered the kitchen in search of his young daughter and Beth, and found the two of them in there preparing dinner together, along with the huge cross-breed of a dog that Bekka had adopted six months ago. There was definitely some Irish Wolfhound in there, if Paddy’s colouring and size was anything to go by—or perhaps it was just wolf!
‘Daddy!’ A happily grinning Bekka rushed over to give him a hug. ‘How’s Mrs Bennett?’
‘Well enough to come home tomorrow,’ Nick assured her as he returned the hug, at the same time giving the traitorous Paddy a censorious glare as the mutt completely ignored him to lean slavishly against Beth’s leg, looking up at her adoringly. Nick usually had a fight as to whether or not the dog would even let him into his own house, and in the few short hours he had been gone Beth had managed to tame the beast.
The whole household seemed to be falling under this woman’s spell!
‘Dinner smells good,’ Nick muttered, as Bekka returned to stirring something in a saucepan on top of the cooker.
‘Let’s hope it tastes the same way,’ Beth drawled, telling Nick that she still hadn’t completely forgiven him for emotionally blackmailing her into making dinner—primarily for Bekka’s sake, but for the two of them, too.
In truth, Nick was no longer sure that it was a good idea, either, as he inwardly acknowledged that the highly domestic scene
