Free Right Of Possession by Jayne Castle Page A

propped up in bed picking unenthusiastically at poached eggs and grapefruit. He looked up with a bleak, rueful expression to meet her eyes as she sat at the foot of the bed, Xavier in her lap. "I know I must have embarrassed the hell out of you at that restaurant and Lord knows what you must have thought of me later!" He shook his head and swallowed a bite of the rosy grapefruit carefully. He'd explained that one of the symptoms of his complaint included a sore throat. "All I can say in my own defense is that I was probably coming down with this bug yesterday and went a little crazy. The main part of the fever hit me last night. I certainly was looking forward to seeing you again, but I sure didn't intend to make all those nutty demands about marriage!"
    Reva smiled a little uncertainly, freeing Xavier, who had taken a notion to leave the comfort of her lap in favor of investigating the contents of Josh's breakfast tray. She watched him affectionately as he padded across the quilt, her hands idly brushing cat hair from her expensive designer slacks. Gray cat hair discovered at various location around the apartment and on her person had become a fact of life since Xavier had moved in. Reva accepted it
    philosophically and merely brushed it off when she found it on the cushions of the chinoiserie-style furniture or on her clothes. She had gotten dressed before she cooked Josh's breakfast and, in addition to the well-made camel slacks, she wore a soft, plush velour pullover striped in deep jewel tones. ,The sun-washed hair was brushed into a loose curve around her shoulders, held back over one ear by a cloisonne comb, and her bold frames were perched aggressively on her nose. She peered consideringly at her guest through the lenses and her smile widened.
    "I don't know whether to be offended or not!" she chuckled, feeling vastly more relaxed around the large man in her bed now that he was meekly sidelined with the strange malady. "You mean you haven't spent the past four months dreaming of coming back here and forcing me into marriage?"
    He groaned feelingly and she giggled at his rueful expression. "Don't tease me, Reva," he pleaded. "I feel bad enough as it is! I came here to Portland to spend some of my time off with someone I'd come to consider a very close friend. I expect I was a little upset by having to waste half a week locating you and then finding you out on a date. Typical male reaction compounded by the beginnings of a fever. Forgive me?" The honey-colored eyes watched her with genuine pleading and the hard line of his mouth was twisted wryly.
    "Of course I do, Josh," Reva relented at once, thinking how harmless he looked this morning compared to the returning warrior of last night. She had really let her imagination run wild all those months ago. The thought made her bite her lip and she realized she had an apology of her own to make. "Do you forgive me for thinking you were some sort of cutthroat mercenary?" she asked with a self-deprecating smile.
    He returned the expression and nodded his head. Then he raised a hand to the back of his neck as if the motion had escalated the headache. "Damn!" he muttered, "I feel weak as a kitten. No offense, Xavier," he added to the cat, who was politely eyeing the remains of a poached egg. "I'm sorry to make a nuisance out of myself, Reva. It's very decent of you to let me stay here while I recover after the way I behaved!"
    "Well, you can't go to a hotel in your present condition. You could fall and hurt yourself during a dizzy spell like the one you had a few minutes ago coming back from the bathroom. Besides, how would you eat?" Reva pointed out logically.
    "Room service?" he suggested weakly.
    "Nonsense. You need good food when you're ill, not greasy french fries and hamburgers, which is probably what you'd order," Reva contradicted briskly, getting to her feet to tidy the covers around him. "Do you want some hot tea with lemon and honey? Very soothing on the throat," she