Free Notorious by Iris Johansen

and I need my rest.”
    Carey chuckled. “I can see you’re fading away.”
    “I need to go over this scene,” Mallory protested. “And I’m not a child to be sent to her room for a nap.”
    “Who’s sending you to your room? You’re going to my suite, and I’m going with you.” Hepulled her down the hall. “I know damn well you probably wouldn’t rest if I left you to your own devices.” He slanted her a smile. “You’re clearly a project that needs close monitoring.”
    He threw open a door and pulled her into a large bedroom. The furniture was simpler, the colors bolder than in her own suite. Crimson brocade draperies were pulled back from the long windows and matched the coverlet on the king-size bed. “Lie down.”
    She stared at him warily.
    He shut the door and kicked off his loafers. “Lie down,” he said again as he crossed the room and pulled the drapes closed. Dark, softly intimate shadows invaded the room. “Take off your shoes and loosen your clothing.” He stood there, waiting. “Come on. Do you need me to help you?”
    “I don’t mean to stay very long. I need to get that scene right.”
    “There’s plenty of time.” He watched her until she settled herself on the crimson coverlet before moving to stand over her. “A three-hour nap and I’ll let you work two hours before dinner.”
    “Let?”
    “Poor choice of words.” He lay down beside her, not touching her, his gaze on her face. “Open mouth, insert foot. You already know what a rough bastard I am.” He rested his cheek on his fist. “Go to sleep.”
    She chuckled suddenly. “You expect me to go to sleep with you lying there staring at me?”
    “Why not?”
    “Because I feel as if I’m being stalked.”
    “If I was stalking you, you’d know it. I’m not subtle.”
    “If you insist on staying here, why don’t you go read a book or something?”
    “Because I kind of like lying here and looking at you,” he said simply.
    She felt an odd melting sensation and quickly lowered her lashes to half-veil her eyes.
    “When I’m away from you I forget how beautiful you are. It always comes as a fresh shock.” He leaned over and gently passed his hand over her lids, closing them. “But it’s even better now. I like the way you look with your black hair all silky and mussed on my pillow.” His voice, deep,rich and musical, came softly through the darkness. “And I … like taking care of you.”
    A touch of wonder had threaded his tone. “You sound surprised.” She yawned. “Haven’t you ever—”
    “Shh.” She could feel his big body shift on the bed as he drew her close.
    She went rigid and then relaxed when she realized there was nothing in the least sexual about the embrace. The heaviness of his arms held only comfort and loving tenderness.
    “Isn’t this nice?” he whispered, his lips brushing her temple. “You’re as soft and cuddly as Old Joe.”
    “Old Joe?”
    “When I was a kid, I had a toy giraffe named Old Joe.”
    She drew closer. “Why old?”
    “He had old eyes. They looked like they’d seen the birth of the earth.”
    “Most kids have teddy bears.”
    “Old Joe and I understood each other.”
    Because Sabin had been forced to be old before his time too, she wondered drowsily. Withoutthinking, she slid her arms around him and burrowed her face in his shoulder. “I had a panda bear. Actually, I still have him. He’s packed away with some furniture and books in a warehouse in Chicago.”
    “Most kids seem to have bears. They’re cuter than giraffes.”
    She nodded. And their eyes weren’t old and weary but bright black buttons, suitable for a child’s world. “Where’s Old Joe now?”
    “Lord only knows. Go to sleep.”
    She was already half-asleep, she realized. “You, too?”
    “I’ll try later.”
    “You should find him.”
    “Who?”
    “Old Joe.” Her voice was barely audible. “You should hold onto things you care about. You shouldn’t have let him go …”
    She was