Secret Nights at Nine Oaks Read Online Free PDF Page B

Claude had a fit when he came back and in thickly accented Cajun, he shooed them both out.
    Cain was already at the door. “See, told you.”
    She mimicked him, making a face, then thanked Jean Claude and left the kitchen.
    Cain was several steps ahead of her, and at the foyer, she stopped, realizing he’d just dismissed her from his mind. He confirmed it when he entered the library and closed the door. The sound echoed up thehall, and Phoebe wondered when he’d grown so unfeeling, then rethought that, recalling his comforting touch in the kitchen. She could still feel the warmth of his hand on her skin. But it felt as if he were running from her now.
    What was it about her that made him so standoffish and cold? Their one moment of past history? Or was it something else? And what really made him retreat into Nine Oaks and never leave?
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    Back at his desk, Cain focused on work, making calls to his plant and crop operations managers and reading over a half-dozen status reports. Anything to keep his thoughts focused when they were easily distracted. With Phoebe. Knowing she was somewhere near.
    Roaming. Being Phoebe. Driving him nuts.
    Leaving his chair, he moved to the shelves of books and selected a ledger from last year. His gaze caught on a drawer he knew housed racks of DVDs and he opened it, scanning them for one film he knew P.A. DeLong had written. He popped it into the player, saw her pen name on the credits and kept watching.
    A half hour later, he was in a chair, involved in the paranormal plot so twisted and tense, he gripped the armrests. He glanced at the clock, then shut it off, yet stared at the blank screen for a moment, thinking that maybe someone in Hollywood had put the word out that her assault was staged. Just the rumor would have been publicity enough. Or had Kreeg’s lawyers done that? Phoebe’s pseudonym suggested she didn’t want to be known for her controversial work. She liked hiding behind it. The thought brought a smile as he returned to his desk.
    But concentration eluded him. Was this to be the pattern of the next couple of weeks? He’d be bankrupt if he wasn’t careful, he thought, shaking his head and plowing into work.
    Sometime later, the intercom buzzed. “Sir?” Benson said. “Miss DeLongpree is outside.”
    Benson sounded a little tense, and Cain frowned, tapping the button. “She has free rein of the place, Benson.”
    â€œBut it’s dusk, sir. The dogs are out.”
    Cain cursed, leaving his chair, then flung open the French doors to the library and raced out onto the stone veranda. His gaze shot around the landscape.
    The Dobermans were running across the side lawn at top speed with teeth bared. His attention shifted to the figure a good distance away and to his left.
    He called her name, and Phoebe turned, waving. Cain ran, pushing himself faster, knowing if he didn’t outdistance the dogs, the animals bred for defense would tear her to shreds.
    â€œPhoebe, the dogs!”
    She looked at the dogs running toward her and froze. Horror rocketed through him as the Dobermans leaped at her. They knocked her to the ground, pinning her.
    Cain commanded the animals, but they merely hesitated, and sliding to his knees, he yanked at the dog’s collars.
    Then he heard Phoebe laugh and focused.
    The dogs weren’t attacking. They were licking her face.
    She giggled. “All right, guys, you weigh a ton, back off.” Still the dogs nuzzled her, tails wagging like whips in the air.
    This time, Cain shouted a command at the dogs, and the pair of black Dobermans jumped back and sat still.
    Instantly, he ran his hands over her damp face, shoulders, her bare legs.
    â€œYou’re trying to use this as an excuse to feel me up, right?”
    Braced over her, he ignored her teasing, then demanded, “They didn’t bite you?”
    â€œNo. They were greeting me.”
    â€œGreeting!” he roared.
    â€œYeah.