Spellbound in His Arms Read Online Free Page B

the car? That possibility he
didn’t even want to think about.
    He shook his head to clear his thoughts and watched the
nurse enter Jackie’s room again. He needed to concentrate on the case. He
couldn’t, however, get Jackie out of his mind. The thought of her haunted him,
overwriting any attempt for rational thinking and making him want nothing else
than to sweep her into his arms and keep her there forever.
    I need to get hold of myself!
    There were so many unanswered questions and so many
things he still didn’t know about this case. But he intended to find out. He
hadn’t come all the way from Athens to go back empty handed.
    Constantinos Demiris and Dimitris Apostolou—the man who
raised Michael and loved him like a real father—drowned trapped inside Constantinos’
sailboat during a bad storm. But, witnesses from another ship close by talked
about an explosion right before the storm got real bad.
    Michael was now sure their deaths were no accident, and
he was determined to find out what had really happened to them. He owed them
that much.
    ***
    Jackie woke up and looked around surprised and
disoriented. A voice echoed through her mind, calling her name. Tortured by a
pounding headache, she reached up and touched bandages wrapped around her head.
    What in God’s name has happened to me? Where am I?
    She felt someone touch her hand and turned startled
towards a nurse in a starched white uniform bending over her.
    “What’s going on? Where am I?” Jackie whispered.
    “You’re at the General Hospital of Corfu” the nurse
replied softly in English.
    Jackie looked around, recognizing the sterile
environment of a hospital room. “Why? What happened?” she inquired worriedly, trying
to clear her thoughts.
    “You were in a car accident,” the nurse replied. “But
don’t worry” she went on, seeing the shocked expression on Jackie’s face.
“You’re going to be just fine.”
    “What’s wrong with me? How long have I been here?”
    “Please don’t get upset,” the nurse urged her. “You’re a
very lucky young lady and there’s nothing wrong with you except a cut on your
head. How are you feeling?”
    “My head hurts,” Jackie admitted. “And my entire body
feels very stiff.”
    “It’s absolutely normal. You’ll feel a lot better soon.”
    “But how long have I been here?” Jackie insisted
uneasily.
    “Not long. Just overnight. Don’t you remember anything?”
    “No,” Jackie replied, even though scattered memories
started coming back to her. Flashbacks from the mansion…the moments of horror
that she experienced in there, trapped in the dark, until she stared into those
amazing blue eyes….
    “Hi there. How are you feeling?” The voice deep and
sensuous brought her back to reality.
    Turning slowly, she saw him standing at the door.
She drew a sharp intake of breath and her eyes widen. His face and arms were
badly scratched and his clothes blood-stained and in terrible condition. “What
happened to you? Are you all right?” she asked.
    “I’m fine,” he replied, giving her a reassuring smile.
He moved closer to her bed, as the nurse quietly left the room, closing the
door behind her.
    Jackie gazed into his eyes and felt lost, as time seemed
to stop. He reached over and touched her hand, and she felt her skin burning
from his touch. He was so big and masculine…and so close.
    She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and let it out
slowly, trying to calm her senses. She couldn’t believe his mere presence was
enough to throw her off balance.
    “What’s wrong?” he asked concerned. “Are you in pain?”
    “No,” she whispered. “I’m fine.” Even though, deep down
inside, she wasn’t sure about that at all.
    What is the matter with me? How can I let myself get
carried away like this? She had come here for one
reason and one reason only and she couldn’t allow herself to be distracted by
him. She wasn’t about to jeopardize her assignment. He wasn’t to be trusted.