Free Deadly Sanctuary by Sylvia Nobel Page B

didn’t.” My annoyance increased when I noticed he wasn’t really paying attention to what I said but was instead studying my bare thighs. “Could you…could you just get rid of them for me? Please?”
    He nodded slowly. “I’ll do it, but it’s going to cost you,” he said with mock seriousness.
    God, the man was exasperating. I gave him the evil eye and said, “Taking advantage of a woman in distress certainly would never occur to you. Right?”
    “Never.”
    “So what do you want?”
    “Dinner.”
    “Dinner?”
    “That’s it.”
    “Okay. You’ve got a deal.” I gestured toward the house. “Now would you please…”
    Smug-faced, he left and I wondered if there was some kind of therapy that would address my phobia? One thing did please me, however. Two months earlier, this much stress would have caused a major asthma attack. This time I’d handled one without the inhaler.
    He came out carrying one of my new pink pillowcases. There was a wriggling lump at the bottom. I shivered again and said ungraciously, “Why did you use my new pillowcase?”
    “Oh, excuse me. I didn’t think you’d care that much about how I disposed of them.” Impishly, he shoved the bag toward me. “Do you want to transfer them to a color you do like?”
    I jumped back. “Get them away from me! You might as well burn that with them in it, cause I’ll never use it again!”
    He shook his head at me sadly as if I were mentally deficient. “Calm down. I’m not going to kill them,” he said quietly. “Tarantulas are perfectly harmless and they’re an important part of the environment.”
    “Please. I don’t need a biology lesson. Just do something with them.”
    I watched him walk across Lost Canyon and when he returned the pillowcase was neatly folded in his hand.
    “Mission accomplished,” he said with a grin. It took every bit of will power I possessed to walk back into that house. I made him walk ahead of me into each room as my gaze darted back and forth from every corner and into every nook and cranny. Sunday or not, Mr. Jenkins, the exterminator, would be hearing from me first thing in the morning.
    Bradley gallantly offered to clean the tub which I accepted. In a nonchalant manner he handed me the two pairs of panty hose that were hanging over the shower curtain. “Nice texture,” he said fanning one eyebrow at me.
    When he finished, he folded his arms, leaned against the doorframe. “If you like I’ll stay in here with you while you shower. Just to keep a lookout, of course.”
    He looked wicked and devilishly attractive. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d end up sharing such an intimate situation with him.
    “You’re too kind,” I said pushing him out the door. By the time I’d showered and dressed, I was angry.
    What kind of a sick mind was at work here? And to what purpose?
    There was no time to style my hair as I’d planned, so I brushed it until it lay in soft curls around my bare shoulders.
    Satisfied with my appearance, I grabbed my shawl and camera bag. I checked to make sure the arcadia door was secured and then swept into the living room.
    “I’m ready,” I announced in a breezy voice. “Let’s go.” Bradley eyed me appreciatively and gave a low whistle. “Wow! Pretty snazzy.”
    “Thank you,” I said with an exaggerated curtsy.
    “I must say I liked your other outfit too.”
    My cheeks flamed. “Because you’re a gentleman, I know that particular fact won’t go beyond this room.”
    A fiendish twinkle danced in his eyes. “Who told you I was a gentleman?”
    He looked so full of orneriness, I couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re a hard man to deal with, Bradley Talverson,” I remarked as he seated me in his truck after we’d left the house.
    “And a hard man is good to find,” he quipped.
    The mood lightened, I settled back in the seat and watched the remains of the sunset glow on the horizon like the scarlet embers of a dying fire. Lost in thought, I said