Free Fabulous Beast by Unknown Page A

property. Come near her again and I will take you apart piece by piece. There are plenty of other more exotic creatures on board this ship. Stay away from my tabby cat.”
    Waverly’s handsome face went through a variety of expressions as he rapidly reassessed the situation.
    Dev was pleased with the final wariness which settled into the other man’s blue eyes. He nodded in satisfaction, not feeling any compunction at all in having used nearly forty years of harsh experience and the resulting masculine assurance to quell his younger rival. Dev knew damn well he could be intimidating when he chose, and tonight he found himself choosing to be exactly that: thoroughly intimidating.
    “Good night, Mr. Waverly,” he murmured arrogantly, turning back toward the door with masterful confidence. Through the bobbing dancers he could just barely make out Tabitha’s anxious gaze as she searched impatiently for him. Dev smiled to himself, quite pleased. He remembered to inject a hint of brave suffering into his smile as Tabitha caught sight of him and came forward to take his arm once more.
    “Did you leave the tip?” she asked politely, guiding him out the door.
    “I left a tip,” he murmured in satisfaction.
    “I’m sure it will be appreciated.”
    “I can only hope so.”
    “How’s the leg?” Tabitha inquired as he leaned more heavily on her arm.
    “It aches, I’m afraid,” Dev admitted. It wasn’t altogether a sham, either, unfortunately. The damn leg was hurting a bit tonight. And so were the ribs for that matter. Forty years might buy a man enough experience and confidence to intimidate younger rivals but they also brought some less pleasant rewards such as the aches and pains generated by all that accumulated experience.
    The discomfort, however, was almost worth it just to see the warm concern in Tabby’s eyes as she led him back to his room. Dev felt the gentleness of her touch on his arm and sensed the tenderness she wanted to extend. The evening was going very well, he decided. Very well, indeed.
    “Is the leg hurting very badly?” she asked anxiously as he opened his cabin door.
    “It’s felt better,” he told her grimly.
    She chewed on her lower lip for a second. “Look, why don’t you get into a bathrobe or something, and I’ll massage it for you,” she finally offered. “Would that help? And I can put a compress on your ribs, too, if you like.”
    Dev sighed in satisfaction and tried to make it sound like a suppressed groan of pain. “That would be fantastic, Tabby. How can I thank you?” He leaned the ebony cane against the wall and steadied himself with a hand braced against the bathroom door. “I’ll be right out as soon as I change,” he told her calmly.
    He was proud of the casual tone of his voice, especially given the fact that his blood was starting to move with a heavy beat in his veins.
    She was waiting for him when he emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later. He was dressed only in a beach towel that he had wrapped carelessly around his waist. He saw the way her wide eyes lingered on his bare chest before she quickly raised them to his face. “Sorry—” he smiled easily “—I don’t have a robe.”
    “I see. Well, lie down on the bed and let me at that leg. I’ll get a cloth from the bath for your ribs, too,”
    she said industriously, looking everywhere but at his half-naked body.
    He sank heavily down onto the bed which she had already turned back for him and watched indulgently as she scurried around the room, collecting a warm damp cloth and her nerves. He liked the way his near nakedness had thrown her into awkward confusion. She was becoming increasingly aware of him, he realized. It was just a matter of time.
    Carefully arranging the sheet so that it covered as much of him as possible, Tabitha eventually settled down to the task at hand. At the first touch of her gentle fingers Dev closed his eyes and exhaled slowly.
    It was going to be a toss-up, he decided,