"I should have guessed, especially with the kitten. That was to take
Hannah's mind off it?" She stared at him, frozen in mind and body as she realised he thought Matthew had just recently left her.
She couldn't let this continue, it was too awful, but as she opened her mouth to explain he knelt at her side again, his face rueful.
"Hell, there couldn't be a worse time for twenty questions, could there?
Just relax, Lydia, I'm going to phone a doctor to check out that bump on your head--' “No! “She caught hold of his arm.
"I'm OK, really, I don't want any fuss. Please, Wolf--' “Lydia, you are going to see a doctor. “His eyes lingered on the gash on her forehead again.
"It's just a surface wound, but you may have concussion--' " My mother will be here shortly and she'll stay the night. “She was gabbling, but she had to get him out of here before her mother arrived or Hannah came back and said something that would betray her.
"She knows?" he asked quietly, indicating her head. "She phoned just as it happened. Hannah told her."
"I think that was me." He stared at her with brooding eyes.
"I was ringing to ask if you could come in a few minutes early to do a short prefix on that report. When Hannah answered the phone and said you'd fallen and needed help, I came straight here. Fortunately I hadn't left the office, so I was on the doorstep, so to speak." He leant forward and stroked a strand of hair off her face as he spoke, his flesh warm and firm. She felt the contact in every nerve of her body.
"You were very quick," she managed faintly. "Tell me about it." He smiled a crooked smile that would have made her weak at the knees if she wasn't already.
"Fortunately I didn't -meet a police car on the way."
Was this the icy, distant individual she knew? she asked herself unbelievingly. The aloof, cold tycoon who had everyone jumping through hoops at the office, including her?
"Now, first things first." He eyed her consideringly as he stood up, shrugging his big black overcoat off his shoulders and slinging it on a nearby chair as he strode into her small, gleaming kitchen and lifted the stepladder off the floor.
"I'm going to clean you up a bit and then ring my own doctor--' As she made an exclamation of protest he raised an authoritative hand.
"He's an old friend too and won't mind taking a look at you as a personal favour. Then, if we need to contact your mother, we will, otherwise..." He glanced across at her as he filled a basin with warm water as though he administered first aid to con cussed secretaries every day.
_"You can ring her in the morning," he finished quietly. "I guess she has been pretty upset by.. what's happened, too?" The brief pause made her blush scarlet. She had to say something, she had to, even if he was furious-- "Mummeee." Hannah's voice was a plaintive wail, and as Lydia made to rise Wolf gestured her back on the sofa sharply.
"Lie there and don't move," he said firmly. "Where's the damn cat?" As he whisked Tiger up in the palm of one hand Lydia struggled into a sitting position despite his ferocious glare.
"I need to say goodnight to her, reassure her." She gulped deep in her throat as the room waved and spun. "Please, Wolf, she'll be awake all night--' " I'll carry you and the moggy, then. “He plonked Tiger in her arms and, as before, picked her up as though she weighed no more than a feather. It was a bit of a struggle up the narrow stairs, but she was oblivious to his careful maneuvering . She could feel his heart beating steadily through his shirt, his jacket having been discarded along with his coat, could feel his arms strong and hard as they cradled her to him, see his dark face inches from her own and the smell of him... It was all around her, making her dizzy with an intoxicating delight that was more dangerous than any concussion.
I don't believe this is happening, she thought helplessly as he carried her into Hannah's small bedroom, depositing her and the kitten on the side of the bed, and waiting in silence while she cuddled her daughter and settled her down.
"Mummy needs a rest now, sweet-pea." She rose as he spoke; she didn't thin
k she could stand a repeat journey in his arms, but he frowned at her grimly before indicating Tiger.
"Hold that." She did as she was told, and the next moment was being carried from the bedroom despite murmured protests.
"Shut up, Lydia." He felt, rather than saw, his way downstairs and once in the lounge proceeded to bathe her head, very gently, before phoning the doctor. That accomplished, he disappeared into the kitchen again and reemerged with two cups of strong sweet tea.
She was mesmerised by the unusual and dangerously sweet feeling of being looked after for once, and petrified that he would begin to ask questions about Matthew now they were alone. He didn't. He talked softly and inconsequentially about a hundred and one things until the doctor arrived.
Wolf let him into the lounge and watched silently while his friend examined her head and established the facts.
"Nothing to worry about, but I'd like you to take it easy for the next day or two." The good-looking, warm- eyed man smiled down at her gently.
"You're going to feel a trifle sore in the morning, with a head that will be worse than any hang-over you've ever had."
"I've never had one," she replied honestly.
"Is that so?" The professional smile faltered just a little and then recovered magnificently.