keep from staring at Mike. It had been easy to take care of him while he was only semiconscious. Sheâd awakened him enough to get him to swallow his pills and make him drink water, but they hadnât actually spoken before. Sleeping, heâd been good-looking. Awake, he was sinfully handsome and dangerously intriguing.
In an odd way, he reminded her of Nelson. The statistics were the same. Both men had brown hair and brown eyes, and were six feet two inches tall. However, thatâs where the similarity ended. Nelsonâs face was ordinary. Glasses hid his eyes, which were his best feature. Her ex-husband was pale, slightly flabby, at least he had been the last time sheâd seen him naked, and had the beginnings of a bald spot on the top of his head. His chest was furry to the point of making her wonder if his family tree held the evolutionary missing link.
Mike was broad and strong, tanned with rippling muscles that made her wish he never had to put a shirt on again. His smooth skin made her fingers tingle and her palms itch. He had a strong nose and a square chin. He could have used a couple more inches of hairâshe wasnât fond of the military cropped cutâbut what was there was thick enough to make him the star of a shampoo commercial. Altogether, he was an impressive male specimen and she didnât know what on earth she was going to do with him. Fortunately, except for helping him get well, nothing was required.
âI unpacked a few of your things,â she said, pulling open the top drawer of her dresser and taking out shorts and a T-shirt. âI thought you might like to get dressed.â
âThat would be great. Maybe later.â
When she turned around to look at him, heâd already set the spoon down and was leaning against the pillows. Heâd finished all the soup and two of the crackers.
âDo you want some more?â she asked.
âNo. Iâm weaker than I thought.â
âYouâve been through a lot. What with being shot and all.â
He rubbed his chin and grimaced. âYou got this funny look on your face when you said that.â
âSaid what?â
âShot.â
âNot many people around here have much experience with that. We donât get a lot of terrorist activity in the suburbs.â
âItâs not a lot of fun.â
âYouâve got painkillers,â she said, walking toward one of the duffel bags. âDo you want one? And please, donât try to be macho and impress me. Iâve got children, Iâm immune.â
âYeah, okay.â
She dug around for the pills, then shook one out onto her palm. âYou know, I find it fascinating that you travel with so little luggage. Do you have things in storage somewhere?â
He took the pill from her and downed it with a single gulp of water. After wiping the back of his hand across his mouth, he shook his head. âNo furniture or anything. I have my work clothes. Suits, shirts, that sort of thing. I dropped them off at a cleaners in L.A. and he keeps them until my next job. But I donât need a whole lot.â
âYouâre just like my dad. He traveled light, too. If something was too much of a bother, he didnât want it around. It was one of the reasons we never had a dog.â She leaned against the footboard post and folded her arms over her chest. She knew men like Mike traveled light emotionally as well as physically. âOne day his family got to be too much bother, so he left us behind, too.â
Mike grimaced. âThatâs one of the reasons I never married. In my line of work, itâs a mistake.â
âYou never wanted a home life? Something stable, something of your own?â
âNope.â His brown eyes held hers. âNot my style.â
In her heart, she knew exactly what Mikeâs style would be. He had the looks to turn any womanâs head. He would seduce her easily, then move on. He
Arnold Nelson, Jouko Kokkonen