Gentle Pirate (13 page)

He was out of the vehicle and opening the door on her side before she could uncurl from the seat and do the job herself.

"Inside, Kirsten," he instructed briefly. "And don't you dare tell me to get lost now that you're safely home," he warned, taking her keys and opening the apartment door. "In fact, it would be an excellent idea if you didn't open your mouth until I give you permission!"

Kirsten lifted her chin in an unconsciously defiant little gesture and swung around to face him as soon as the safety of her own threshold had been achieved. He might have done her a favor this evening but that didn't mean he could talk to her in that tone, she thought grittily. But before she could open her mouth to give voice to her opinion of overbearing males, his right hand shot out and closed over her lips. She regarded him with startled wide eyes across the huge hand silencing her. With a mental effort she quelled the tingle of apprehension he had elicited.

"Listen to me, young woman, and listen good. I've got some personal business to attend to which will take me about twenty minutes. When I'm through I'm coming right back here and we're going to sit down and hash out a few pressing matters. Nod your head if you understand," he ordered, not moving his hand. There was nothing else for Kirsten to do but nod.

"Good. We progress. Now, while I'm gone I want you to take a hot shower and get into some warm clothes. It's a mite chilly outside to be running around in a dress that looks like it belongs on a Las Vegas showgirl, in case you hadn't noticed. Is that clear?" Again she nodded, feebly. He removed his hand, stepped out the door, and closed it firmly behind him. "Lock it, Kirsten," he called and then she heard his footsteps on the walk leading to his apartment.

Kirsten scurried to the window, curiosity about his "personal business" much stronger than her inclination to obey his orders about the hot shower, although she still felt chilled. She felt a lot colder, though, when Simon's door opened and closed and he reappeared with Liz Wilford in tow.

Kirsten's fingers clenched the curtain in sudden anger that evaporated as quickly as it had arisen when she saw how Liz was protesting the dismissal. Simon, Kirsten was elated to see, ignored the other woman's obvious feelings in the matter and calmly stuffed her into the Mercedes. A moment later the big car purred to life and disappeared out of the parking lot.

Simon was right about the shower, Kirsten admitted to herself as she rubbed her limbs vigorously with a thick yel-low towel afterward. Then she padded barefoot into the bedroom and chose a fluffy, cuddly robe and her warmest pair of slippers. Her hair, which had been worn down, was sadly wind-tangled and snarled so she spent several minutes pulling a brush through it and finally pinned it on top of her head in a knot. She was adjusting the last pin when Simon's distinctive knock sounded.

She hurried into the living room and opened the door, not yet certain how she intended to deal with him but knowing that the look on his rugged features earlier hadn't anything in common with the viciousness she had seen on Roger Townsend's. For a reason she was not prepared to investigate closely at the moment, the fact reassured her. She was not so naive, however, she acknowledged privately with a small gulp, as to believe the next few minutes were going to be particularly pleasant. Simon might not be about to resort to physical violence but that didn't mean he would be unable to make the full force of his feelings felt!

Kirsten had lined up several carefully casual phrases that could be used to greet the lion and perhaps soothe his temper, but one glance at Simon's face as he crossed through the door and she decided to keep her casual comments to herself. For the moment.

His quick gaze swept from topknot to fluffy slippers and came to rest on her scrubbed face. Without a word she turned and led the way back into the living room.

Uncertainly choosing a seat on the couch where she had made some effort to mend the ripped cushion after the vandalism incident, Kirsten watched Simon stride across the room and take a seat in the largest chair available. Even that sturdy piece sagged slightly as it received his bulk. But of course it didn't have the nerve to collapse under him.

"I'm glad you find the situation amusing, Kirsten," Simon remarked dryly, leaning back to stretch out his long legs. They were still encased in the expensive material of the suit he had worn that evening. The jacket had been discarded, although he still wore the long-sleeved white shirt and tie.

Instantly she wiped the hesitant smile from her face and wondered if Simon had learned his particularly effective method of intimidating people from the Marines. Marines! Her world seemed overflowing with them! Didn't anyone join the Army or the Air Force these days?

"That's better," he remarked, studying her now sober expression. "We'll get along famously if you've learned to curb that tongue of yours so quickly!"

Kirsten resisted the impulse to snap at him, but it took great effort. Instead, she tried to appear composed and regal, imagining herself to be a queen granting an audience to her privateer. One made some allowances for such men when it came to matters of court etiquette because it was well known that they tended to be a very individualistic lot. And one did, after all, owe them some small payment for their services…

"First things first," Simon began with more than a touch of the severe business tone he used so much at work. "Why did you find it necessary to abandon Roger Townsend's car?"

"I asked him to take me home and he insisted on going to his apartment first. I got out at a convenient stop sign," Kirsten said simply, meeting Simon's eyes directly. He nodded.

"The man made a pass at you?" he demanded. "Probably no more of a pass than you made at Liz Wilford. In fact," she added reflectively, "probably not as effective a pass, since I didn't go home with him as Liz did with you!"

"We are not discussing Liz Wilford. We are discussing you," Simon said very distinctly. "I want to know why Roger Townsend is showing such an interest in you. Did you lead him to believe you would make a pleasant, easy conquest with which to occupy himself on a Friday evening?"

"No!" Simon's scathing comments infuriated Kirsten to the point where she instantly forgot her determination to be regal. She bounded to her feet, small hands bunched into fists at her sides. "If all you're going to do is hurl insults at me, you can get out! Now!"

"Sit down, Kirsten," he said in a quiet tone that brooked no nonsense. In spite of herself, she sat. "There is no indication that Roger Townsend was interested in you until I appeared on the scene. He and Liz seemed quite content with each other, in fact. So why the sudden shift in attention?" He was still leaning back, to all appearances totally relaxed, his hand absently loosening the knot of the tie. But Kirsten wasn't fooled. Simon Kendrick, to her possibly overactive imagination, seemed a large lion now who had only to extend a casual paw in order to keep an irritating kitten in line. And if that kitten continued its bold ways, then a deep growl would sound a warning. Few kittens would dare push beyond the limits implied by those means of control and Kirsten didn't think she was one of them!

"I've told you why I went out with Roger," she mumbled sullenly, not looking at him.

"I'm well aware of your reasons for dating
him
," Simon nodded impatiently. "We'll get to them later. What we're talking about now is why he asked you out."

"Is it so hard to believe that he might simply like me?" she retorted, feeling abused.

"The man doesn't have enough intelligence to appreciate you, little owl."

Kirsten swung her wide-eyed gaze back to him at that. What did Simon mean?

"No, I don't mean to insult your basic feminine attractions, honey," he continued in a lighter tone, "but common sense indicates a man like Townsend rarely does anything without an ulterior motive."

For a full minute Kirsten traded hard looks with him and then Simon gave a small sound of exasperation. "I didn't mean what I said earlier, little owl, about you letting Townsend think you would be another conquest to add to his collection, so unruffle your feathers. I know you wouldn't stoop that low to scare off me." The words were soothing, cajoling, and Kirsten did, indeed, feel as if her feathers were being stroked back into place. Simon, she suspected, knew exactly what he was doing. One minute he was threatening and the next gentling. One was so grateful for the latter that one tended to overlook the former, she thought grimly. Suddenly it was just too difficult to withstand his tactics. Perhaps if the interview had taken place in the morning when she was feeling more fit, she thought with resignation, she might have been able to hold her own. As it was, the hour was too late and Simon was too overwhelming sitting here in her living room as if he had every right.

"Roger thought that if you were interested in me, I might be able to use the… association in order to keep tabs on your thoughts about certain Silco employees," she whispered, her eyes on the lighted aquarium. There, now he had his explanation. Would she get one about Liz?

"Certain employees such as himself?" Simon prompted.

"Probably. We never got too far into the matter. I think I remember him promising to take care of me and my job after you were gone. Shortly after that I made my exit. He was drunk, I think," she added, still not looking at him.

Simon growled. "I warned him not to touch you…"

"So I heard! What right did you have to do a thing like that, anyway?" Kirsten demanded, irritated all over again at the recollection. Her eyes flew back to his, surprising an uncompromising hardness there.

"You will learn, honey, that when it comes to you I intend establishing whatever rights I choose. And now that you're almost mine. I don't want another man's hands on you." So matter-of-fact, the words, Kirsten thought in stunned disbelief. Before she could get the angry comeback out of her mouth, however, he was speaking again, leaning back into the chair as if the next part of the interview wasn't going to be as tense.

"Okay, now for the fun part," Simon announced dryly. "Are you ready to admit the truth of why you agreed to go out with Townsend? We've established his motivation in the matter; let's get yours straight, shall we?"

"I've already explained that to you!"

"The truth, Kirsten. Come on, honey. I bet you've already admitted it to yourself, why not to me? You know you'll be uneasy until you do."

"I thought Roger would be a nice, civilized date! That's the sum of the matterl" But Kirsten couldn't bring herself to look at him while she lied. Her eyes switched back to the aquarium. Amazing how calming an influence an aquarium could be in a household, she thought illogically.

"Kirsten, don't try my patience anymore this evening. For both our sakes!" Simon snapped.

What did that mean? Kirsten felt her fingers clasp more tightly together in her lap. Was he really in danger of losing his temper with her? What did she really know about this man, after all? What if he did lose control of himself and decide to use his physical superiority against her? Unable to resist, she turned once again to meet his steady gaze and knew a vast relief at what she saw there. No, there was no viciousness or brutality in that look. Yet. But there was an implacable desire for the truth. Instinctively she knew she wasn't going to get to bed that night until he had his answer.

"When I accepted his invitation I thought it was because I wanted to try dating an-another kind of man," she got out in such low tones it was amazing he could hear her. "But, I guess there was another reason, too…"

"Yes?"

"Deep down I suppose I wanted to let you know you couldn't monopolize me…" she whispered, unable to shift her gaze now that it had meshed with his.

"Wanted to let me know I couldn't monopolize you, Kirsten? Or wanted to see what I would do if you threw down the gauntlet?" he suggested almost gently.

"I…" She broke off, not feeling up to agreeing with him out loud, but knowing he spoke the truth. She despised herself for it. What was wrong with her? She would not be a coward about the matter! Why not admit the foolishness of her actions and get it over with? Kirsten took a deep breath.

"A little of each, I think," she said very firmly but very softly. There. It was out. Whatever else she thought herself at the moment, she did not have to include cowardly among the adjectives! The knowledge gave her spirits a small lift and she met Simon's eyes determinedly. Let him make of it what he would!

"So now you're wondering what the next move is, aren't you?" he queried in a tone that gave absolutely no hint about what he was thinking. He must have found her actions incredibly immature, Kirsten realized with an inner grimace. A man like this who was always so straightforward in his dealings with others must find her petty dating game disgusting. It was, she added morosely to herself. She had known almost from the first that she wasn't agreeing to the date with Roger simply because she found the man attractive. She never
had
found him attractive, so why had she pretended to herself that he represented an interesting alternative to Simon?

"Simon," she replied, ignoring his comment on the "next move." "it's getting very late. I'm grateful for the rescue tonight and I admit that you were right and I was wrong. I should never have gone out with Roger Townsend. I would appreciate it if you could bring yourself to overlook my rather childish behavior, forego any further scolding, and let me go to bed." He couldn't have missed the genuine tiredness in her voice, she thought. It was requiring considerable effort for her to keep her tone level.

An unexpected smile lit Simon's expression as he studied the slender, erect little figure she made in her robe and slippers with her hair piled on top of her head. The faint amusement at the corners of his mouth made Kirsten wish she had put on jeans and a shirt.

"But you really don't want me to leave without telling you what's going to happen now that you've ignored my request not to date another man, do you? Just think of how nervous you'll be tonight, wondering about the future, honey. You'll sleep much more soundly when you know what it holds."