O'Halloran's Lady by Fiona Brand

Author:Fiona Brand
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2012-11-11T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Too surprised to protest, Jenna grabbed at his shoulders to steady herself. “I haven’t heard of this remedy.” The muscular hardness of his thighs beneath hers and the furnace heat of his chest and arms were not exactly comforting, but he had definitely driven out the shaky chills and given her something else to obsess about.

One big hand curled around her nape, pressing her head against his shoulder. “It’s not textbook.”

She inhaled O’Halloran’s warmth and scent. Okay, now he was definitely flirting with her, but the rumble of his voice, the steady pound of his heart, was soothing. She gave up the idea of bolting and stayed in place. “I could use another drink.”

He pressed the tumbler of sherry into her hands and waited until she drank. “Can you remember if he said anything?”

A flashback of the black balaclava and the pale glint of his eyes made her stiffen. She couldn’t prevent the small shudder that went through her.

“Have another sip, it’ll help.”

Obediently, she took another mouthful of sherry, then a second, waited for the warming effect, then tried to think. “Other than a nasty name, nothing. The only thing I really noticed was that he was angry. Make that very angry, and it was personal.”

Her stomach tightened at the thought that someone in her past hated her enough to break into her home, wait there while she was in the house, then attack her, even knowing O’Halloran was outside. “I must know him. When I looked into his eyes...” She frowned, trying to catch an elusive wisp of memory.

“We can work through that later. What else did you notice? The colour of his skin, the way he talked, the way he smelled.”

She closed her eyes. The instant she did that, O’Halloran’s heartbeat seemed louder. She forced herself to relax, concentrating on the soothing regular beat, the cosy encircling warmth of his arms.

Taking a breath, she deliberately visualised the moment she had stood in the doorway, poised to hit the stalker with the vase. She tensed as she recalled the blackness filling the doorway then the shock of realisation when she had seen the glint of his eyes. “European. He had light skin and eyes. He was tall, because I had to look up, but not as tall as you. Maybe about six-one.”

She thought back and remembered one other detail. “He smelled like new appliances. When I bought a new dishwasher and washing machine for the house and unpacked them, it was that smell. The polystyrene packing, I guess.”

“That gels with the vehicle he used to make his getaway. It was an appliance van.”

She straightened and stared into O’Halloran’s eyes. “You got the number.”

His mouth kicked up at the corners in that mesmerising way. “I got the number.”

A dizzying sense of triumph and satisfaction spiralled through her. As scary as the stalker was, she thought, he wasn’t nearly as scary as O’Halloran. She had wondered what had been taking O’Halloran so long; now she had her answer. He had been busy outsmarting her stalker.

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