Stanislaskis - 01 - Taming Natasha by Nora Roberts

Author:Nora Roberts [Roberts, Nora]
Format: epub
Published: 2010-05-23T04:00:00+00:00

He touched her again, just a hand to her hair. "Do you think everything

through?"

Her eyes were eloquent when she looked at him. "Yes."

"Then think about this. It wasn't my intention to seduce you—not that I haven't

given that a great deal of thought on my own, but I didn't see it happening with

my daughter sick upstairs."

"You didn't seduce me."

"Now she's taking potshots at my ego."

That made her smile. "There was no seduction. That implies planned persuasion. I

don't want to be seduced."

"I'll keep that in mind. All the same, I don't think I want to dissect all this

like a Music major with a Beethoven concerto. It ruins the romance in much the

same way."

She smiled again. "I don't want romance."

"That's a pity." And a lie, he thought, remembering the way she'd looked when

he'd given her a rose. "Since chicken pox is going to be keeping me busy for the

next week or two, you'll have some time. Will you come back?"

"To see Freddie." She shrugged into her coat, then relented. "And to see you."

She did. What began as just a quick call to bring Freddie a get-well present

turned into the better part of an evening, soothing a miserable, rash-ridden

child and an exhausted, frantic father. Surprisingly she enjoyed it, and made a

habit over the next ten days of dropping in over her lunch break to spell a

still-suspicious Vera, or after work to give Spence a much-needed hour of peace

and quiet.

As far as romance went, bathing an itchy girl in corn starch left a lot to be

desired. Despite it, Natasha found herself only more attracted to Spence and

more in love with his daughter.

She watched him do his best to cheer the miserably uncomfortable patient on her

birthday, then helped him deal with the pair of kittens that were Freddie's

favored birthday gift. As the rash faded and boredom set in, Natasha pumped up

Spence's rapidly fading imagination with stories of her own.

"Just one more story."

Natasha smoothed Freddie's covers under her chin. "That's what you said three

stories ago."

"You tell good ones."

"Flattery will get you nowhere. It's past my bedtime." Natasha lifted a brow at

the big red alarm clock. "And yours."

"The doctor said I could go back to school on Monday. I'm not 'fectious."

"Infectious," Natasha corrected. "You'll be glad to see your friends again."

"Mostly." Stalling, Freddie played with the edge of her blanket. "Will you come

and see me when I'm not sick?"

"I think I might." She leaned over to make a grab and came up with a mewing

kitten. "And to see Lucy and Desi."

"And Daddy."

Cautious, Natasha scratched the kitten's ears. "Yes, I suppose."

"You like him, don't you?"

"Yes. He's a very good teacher."

"He likes you, too." Freddie didn't add that she had seen her father kiss

Natasha at the foot of her bed just the night before, when they'd thought she

was asleep. Watching them had given her a funny feeling in her stomach. But

after a minute it had been a good funny feeling. "Will you marry him and come

and live with us?"

"Well, is that a proposal?" Natasha managed to smile.

"I think it's nice that you'd want me to, but I'm only friends with your daddy.

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