MATT COVERED THE quarter-mile in minutes. Before he reached the cottage, he heard someone running after him and guessed that Henry, too, had heard the scream.
‘That was Mrs Novak, wasn’t it?’ the man panted as he caught up with Matt. ‘You don’t think there’s an intruder, do you?’ Henry persisted, and Matt was glad the older man couldn’t see his face.
‘I hope not,’ he retorted grimly, already planning what he would do if anyone had touched Joanna.
They reached the cottage and Matt bounded up the steps to bang on the door. But there was no need to announce his arrival. The door was unlocked, and, remembering his earlier fears on Joanna’s behalf, he hoped it was she who hadn’t turned the key.
‘Joanna!’ he yelled, bursting into the parlour, and heard what he thought was a responding cry coming from the other side of the house. It was from one of the bedrooms, he thought, his nerves as taut as violin strings. What was going on?
Henry was right behind him when he reached the bedroom where the sound had come from. The door was shut, which might or might not be a good thing. But then he heard Joanna call, ‘Matt! Matt, is that you?’ and realised that whatever had happened, she was still okay.
However, when he opened the door, the sight that met his eyes was not at all reassuring. Joanna was standing on the bed, and she was obviously terrified. Her arms were wrapped protectively around her middle, and there was a look of real terror in her eyes.
She was wearing only a man-sized tee shirt that was so thin as to be almost transparent. It barely covered her thighs, due in no small part to the size of her stomach that swelled beneath the cloth. Long legs, bare and disturbingly familiar, caused his stomach to tighten in response.
But Matt definitely didn’t want to think about that right now.
When she saw him, Joanna’s relief was evident. ‘Oh, thank God, you’ve come,’ she exclaimed tremulously, forgetting for a moment that she hadn’t seen him since her arrival.
Then she saw Henry hovering behind him, and half turned away in embarrassment. ‘Um—there’s a rat; under the bed.’ A sob broke from her throat. ‘Can you get rid of it? Please! It—it’s huge!’
‘A rat?’ Matt let go of the door and came towards her, dark and disturbing in a black tee and matching shorts. Immediately the room was filled with his raw masculinity, and Joanna had to grope for a breath of cool night air. ‘Are you sure?’
‘I’m sure,’ Joanna managed shakily, and wondered if he knew she was struggling against tears. ‘It was there when I came out of the bathroom. Just—just staring at me with evil little eyes.’
Matt reserved judgement on the evil little eyes but it was obvious something had frightened her badly.
‘So where is it now?’ asked Henry, coming into the room behind him. The older man seemed unconcerned about Joanna’s appearance, and Matt gave him a half-impatient look.
‘She says it’s under the bed,’ he said, going down on one knee to scan the area in question. And then he allowed a rueful smile when he saw what was huddling beneath the wooden frame.
‘What is it? What is it?’ Joanna was shifting from foot to foot, and Matt was half afraid she was going to lose her balance and fall. ‘Can you see it?’ Then, observing his expression, ‘What’s so funny?’
Matt shook his head, sobering, and, getting to his feet again, he turned to Henry. ‘It’s a hutia,’ he told the other man. ‘I’d say the poor thing’s more frightened than she is.’
‘A hutia?’ Joanna had never heard of such a thing. ‘Is—is that a rat?’
‘It’s a rodent, certainly,’ agreed Matt, as Henry bent to view the culprit. ‘But it’s not a rat. They’re usually quite harmless. People actually keep them as pets. God knows how it got in here.’ He turned to Henry again. ‘Who was the last person in the cottage?’
‘I suppose that would be me,’ said Henry unhappily. ‘I came and checked the place out before I went to the airport. I might have left the doors open for a while. It was so hot, and I wanted the breeze to blow through.’
Joanna tried to calm her erratic heartbeat. What a perfect way to start her stay on the island. She’d never screamed like that before. But then, she’d never been so frightened either. Matt probably thought she was a complete idiot.
‘Can—can you get rid of it?’ she asked, trying to behave more calmly now that it seemed that there was no danger.
But she was embarrassed that the older man was there.
Matt looked thoughtful. ‘Well, we can,’ he said, in answer to her question. ‘But the whole place will have to be fumigated before you can stay here.’ He turned once more to Henry. ‘Why don’t you go and get the SUV and we’ll bring Mrs Novak back to the villa?’
Joanna’s lips parted. ‘Your villa?’
‘You can’t stay here tonight,’ he added, aware that his panic on her behalf had given way to a kind of resentment. What chance did he have of keeping his cool when even her scream could tear his nerves to shreds?
He scowled. It was hard to be gentle with her when seeing her like this had aroused all the carnal instincts he’d been trying so hard to deny. For pity’s sake, he’d spent the latter half of the evening trying to drown the knowledge that Joanna was here and he still wanted her. Had he ever stopped wanting her? He didn’t want to know.
Meanwhile, Joanna, hearing the censure in his voice, assumed his attitude towards her hadn’t changed. Bringing her here had been a way to prove his dominance, and after the cottage was habitable again, she’d try and make sure she didn’t need his help again.
With Henry on his way back to the villa, Joanna hesitated only a moment longer and then dropped down onto her knees. But she was aware her heart was still racing and the baby had been unusually quiet for the past half-hour. Shocked into immobility, she thought uneasily. Honestly, whatever that creature was, it had scared both of them half to death.
‘Would you like me to carry you into the bathroom,’ asked Matt, noticing her uncertainty, but to his relief Joanna shook her head.
‘Um—I don’t think that will be necessary,’ she said a little breathlessly. But she needed to put some clothes on before Henry returned. ‘Will—will that—what did you call it? Hutia? —will it try to escape?’
Matt regarded her critically for a moment, and then gave in. ‘It’s probably more frightened of you than you are of it,’ he said, his tone softening. ‘It’s not gonna leap out at you, if that’s what you’re afraid of.’
Joanna nodded and wriggled until her legs were hanging over the side of the bed. Her tee shirt had hiked up to the tops of her thighs, but that couldn’t be helped. It was a bit late now to be feeling embarrassed, and she was wearing panties, after all.
The cotton trousers she’d travelled in were draped over one of the chairs nearest the door, her slip-ons on the floor beside them. It was only a little distance, she told herself firmly. If the creature hadn’t been disturbed by Matt and Henry kneeling down to peer at it, why should it bother her?
Matt was standing watching her. He had his arms folded, legs apart, his narrow-fitting shorts moulding his powerful thighs. Why did he have to look so damn sexy? she wondered, sliding her bare feet to the floor. It was becoming harder and harder to remember that this was the man who had ruined the last months of her father’s life.
She straightened up, and as she did so something brushed by her ankle. She managed to stifle the scream that rose in her throat, but she couldn’t prevent herself from rushing headlong towards the door.
She certainly hadn’t intended to touch Matt. She just wanted to get away from the bed. But when he put out his hand to stop her reckless flight, she didn’t think before wrapping her arms about his waist and cuddling close to him.
Apart from anything else, her panic had robbed her of any resistance. ‘What—what was that?’ she choked, her face pressed to the muscled hardness of his chest. Her hands spread against his back, accidentally connecting with the wedge of flesh exposed when he’d bent down and his tee had separated from his shorts. Struggling to ignore the smooth dampness of his skin beneath her fingers, she said hurriedly, ‘I felt something touch my ankle. Was it the—the hutia?’
‘Probably,’ said Matt stiffly, aware that it was only the swell of her pregnancy that was keeping her from feeling his instant arousal. Dammit, he had to stay away from her or God knew what he might be tempted to do. With his tone flattening, he responded, ‘It’s gone now, anyway. You can let me go.’
But Joanna didn’t want to let him go. With her lungs filled with the sensual heat of his body, it was difficult to think coherently about anything. She fought valiantly for breath before saying, ‘Where—where do you think it went?’
‘I have no idea.’ Matt sighed, his hands closing on her trembling shoulders. The fabric of the shirt was so thin that he could feel the dampness of her skin through the cloth, but he forced himself to ignore the intimacy of the moment. ‘I imagine it’s found its way out of here.’
She swallowed. ‘You don’t think it could have gone into the bathroom?’
‘I don’t think it was heading in that direction, no.’ Matt stepped back. Then, belatedly, he seemed to remember her condition, his eyes lowering to her stomach, bringing another wave of heat over her body. ‘You’re okay, aren’t you? You didn’t hurt yourself?’ He paused. ‘Or the baby?’
‘I don’t think so.’
She ran an exploring hand over her bump and felt the reassuring thrust of a foot against her palm. She smiled, relieved that the baby was active again, and saw the way Matt’s expression had changed to one of concern.
‘You’re sure?’
‘I’m sure.’ She hesitated. ‘Would you like to feel him?’
Matt’s pulse quickened in spite of himself. ‘I—well, sure,’ he said half unwillingly, and she took his hand and laid it against the rounded curve of her stomach.
Almost immediately, he felt a powerful little kick against his hand, and he pulled away with a grunt of protest. ‘Strong, isn’t he?’ Joanna asked, smiling again. ‘How would you like to feel that in the early hours of the morning?’
Matt shook his head. ‘I can’t imagine.’
But he could, actually. It was amazingly easy to anticipate lying beside Joanna and sharing the intimacies of the pregnancy. Comforting her when the baby’s activities kept her awake, holding her in his arms until she and the baby went back to sleep.
Yet that was exactly the opposite of what he should be thinking, he reminded himself irritably. ‘Why don’t you get dressed and put a couple of things in a bag?’ he added shortly, moving towards the door. ‘When Henry gets back, we’ll be leaving.’
‘Okay.’ Joanna cast a nervous glance towards the bathroom. ‘You’re sure it’s gone?’
‘I’m sure,’ said Matt, his patience shredding. ‘Henry probably left the door open when he left and it will have made its escape.’
Joanna’s lips tightened, seeking a defence. ‘I could say it’s your fault for making me come here,’ she retaliated, hating the fact that right now she needed him more than he needed her. ‘I should have stayed in England, with my mother and Lionel.’
‘Let’s not start that again,’ said Matt wearily, glancing about the room and noticing the pair of drawstring trousers on the chair. ‘Here.’ He handed them to her. ‘Do you have a shirt you can wear?’
Joanna took the trousers out of his hands. ‘I expect so,’ she said, stopping briefly to take a silky patterned smock from the open suitcase lying on the ottoman at the foot of the bed. She walked swiftly into the bathroom. ‘I won’t be long.’