The door opened, and Caleb appeared in the doorway, dressed in a charcoal gray suit with black dress shirt and tie. His eyebrows lifted as he greeted her dryly, “Good morning to you too.”

“Sorry. Good morning. Thank you for your help last night.” She tried to focus on her strategy, but her body had taken an immediate interest in his presence, which was very distracting. And very upsetting.

His lips quirked in an appealing expression of dry amusement. “You’re welcome.”

Kelly let out a deep sigh, noticing how Caleb’s eyes lingered first on her bare neck and shoulder, and then lower, where her nipples were poking out through the thin cotton of the shirt. After a pause, she said, “I really do appreciate your help, Caleb. But I don’t want you to ask me any more questions. My problems are my own, and I don’t want anyone else dragged into them.”

“And if I want to be dragged into them?”

“That’s too bad. I had no choice but to accept your help last night, but still, that doesn’t mean we’re anything but strangers.”

Caleb’s eyes narrowed, as if she had surprised him. “I guess that’s true. How are you feeling?”

She shrugged. “Good enough. I still have a headache.”

“Well, stay here and take the day to recover,” he told her, using a textured, persuasive voice that would be irresistible to most women.

Even Kelly had to fight to resist. “I can recover on my own. If you’ll just get me to my car—”

He shook his head in quiet exasperation. “I’m not going to take you to your car. There’s no reason for you to run off before you’re fit to do so. The doctor said you needed complete rest today, and maybe tomorrow too. You should stay here. I’m not going to tie you up and torture you in the basement.” His eyes blazed hot briefly. “Unless you ask very nicely.”

The sexiness was probably second nature for him. He was curious about her now—and liked playing the hero—but she was still just a sexual object to him.

It was good. It was the only advantage she had in this room, and it didn’t matter that his words had evoked a disturbing series of erotic images. Of Caleb doing things to her—things she still wanted him to do.

She groaned softly and settled her head against the pillow. Arching her back slightly, she stretched her body in a way that tightened the shirt against her breasts. She noticed another flare—this one less obvious, more real—ignite in his eyes. “I can’t even think about sex right now,” she lied. “So don’t be hoping to live out some sort of twisted fantasy. I’ll stay here for a little while, until I’m feeling better. But then I’m going to leave.”

“But—”

“We’re strangers. We’re strangers. Why are you insisting on helping me?”

“Out of the goodness of my heart?” The upward lilt at the end made the words an ironic question.

She suppressed a quick laugh at the wry humor, hating herself for thinking he was funny.

“At least stay here today,” he said after a moment. “You’re not in any shape to drive, and you’re safer here than anywhere else.”

“Safer?”

Narrowing his eyes, he said slowly, “My understanding was that someone came after you last night. I assume they’re still after you.”

That was exactly what he was supposed to think. “Caleb—”

“Kelly, just stay. At least until I get back.”

“Maybe.”

He reached over and put a hand on her shoulder, and Kelly almost jerked away from the touch of his warm hand. “Promise me. Promise me you’ll be here when I get back.”

He was really laying it on thick. Pulling out a whole armory of persuasive intensity and cool charisma in order to keep her where he wanted her.

And, if she hadn’t kept reminding herself who and what he really was, it would have worked on her.

Master of manipulation. Lying bastard.

But Kelly smiled at him. “I’m not promising anything.”

“You’ll be here.” He sounded smug, absolutely confident that she would do what he wanted her to do. “In the meantime, make yourself at home.”

“I’m not here on vacation. And I’m not planning to raid the refrigerator or have a long soak in your hot tub.”

“Why not?” He gave her a decidedly flirtatious glance over his shoulder. “You’re welcome to raid the wine cellar too, although you might wait until the headache is gone. The tub in this suite should be decent, but the best one is in the master bath. You’re welcome to use it if you’d like.” He cocked an eyebrow. “But I warn you, it has very powerful jets.”

Kelly saw his face blurring in front of her eyes as she processed the fact that they were actually flirting. But she made herself hide it and playfully threw one of the throw pillows from the bed in his direction as he started to leave the room.

It bounced off the back of his shoulder before it fell to the floor.

She could hear his chuckle as he moved down the hallway. Warm, husky, sensual.

Her whole body tightened in response to the sound of it, which just made her hate him even more.

—

She stayed in bed for a few more hours. Once her headache was mostly gone, she got up, took a shower, and ate some of the lunch that had been carried up to her room.

Her clothes from the night before had been freshly laundered, and the housekeeper found her a pair of more comfortable shoes, so she wouldn’t have to go around in her heels. So she got dressed, clipped her hair up into a heavy knot, and went out to explore the estate.

Kelly would have expected any home of Caleb’s to be cool, modern, and stylish, but the house was an old brick Georgian that had been beautifully updated, full of both character and comfort. The house was built on a large piece of land, so she wandered around, peering at the lake, the stables, and the stretches of grassy lawn. She avoided the wooded areas. There wasn’t much else to keep her occupied, and she figured walking around was a predictable thing for a guest to do. She knew she was probably being watched by Caleb’s security—he had more surveillance than she’d expected to find—so she couldn’t do anything that looked suspicious. But it was a sunny day and warm for April, and the walk and fresh air revived her considerably and banished the final symptoms of her concussion.

There was a high wall surrounding the whole estate, and—as she approached it—she noticed the iron gate that led to the road.

It wasn’t open, but it wouldn’t be very hard to get beyond it, if she were coming from inside and not from outside. She studied it idly, thinking through what she would do tonight, until a man—obviously security—stepped out into the open between her position and the gate.

He didn’t say anything, but his presence there was meaningful. Obviously he’d been told that she wasn’t supposed to leave.

But surely even Caleb wouldn’t dare to keep her here as a prisoner.

—

She took a short nap in the middle of the afternoon, knowing it would be wise to catch up on her sleep, since she wouldn’t be doing much of that tonight. At about five thirty, she took her towel and the bathrobe she’d been offered up to Caleb’s master bathroom.

It wasn’t as if she were really in the mood for a long, luxurious bath. She was getting edgier by the minute, thinking about what would happen when Caleb returned from work. But he’d offered, and it was a good idea to accept the invitation.

She was tempted to snoop in his bedroom, but it was far too early to try something so risky.

Instead, she went into the huge bathroom, shut the door, took off her clothes, and drew herself a hot bath.

After dumping some of the bath salts she found into the enormous tub—the salts appeared to have never been opened, so she assumed Caleb wasn’t in the habit of taking baths himself—Kelly turned on the jets. She lowered herself into the water and shuddered in automatic pleasure.

Caleb hadn’t been lying about how powerful they were.

It was a very good bath, and Kelly soaked for a long time, closing her eyes and doing her best to release the tension in her body.