The Lone Wolf's Craving

That soft drawl slid over his body like warm silk. Again.

He noticed the guy behind the desk just stood there, the phone still gripped in his hand. So Luke wasn’t the only one who thought the whole damn package was irresistible. When he turned his eyes toward the other man and lifted his brows, the guy put the phone down with a quick click, his face turning red. “Can I get you anything, Ms. Bradley?”

How about a fire extinguisher, so she can put you out?

As if he himself was any better at containing that particular fire.

One side of his mouth quirked. Was Nick absolutely sure this was his kid? Because he just wasn’t seeing the resemblance.

Kate smiled at the desk clerk, hiking the shiny metal links of her purse onto her shoulder. “I think I’m good. Thank you, though.”

No thinking needed. She was good.

Giving himself an internal eye roll, he motioned toward the door. “Are you ready? I know a place a couple of miles from here.”

Once in his little car and heading down the road, he noticed Kate flinching periodically as they passed other cars.

“It still seems so strange to be driving on the left. I keep thinking someone is going to honk at us. Or worse.”

“You get used to it.” Not that she was going to be here long enough for that. So exactly how was he supposed to shine up Nick’s halo while avoiding tarnishing his own any further? By returning that little article of clothing she’d left behind a few days ago? “There’s a paper bag in the glove box. You might want to take it with you.”

She tugged on her seat belt as if needing a bit more breathing space and stared at the latch in front of her. “I think I’ll wait until we get back to the hotel, if that’s okay. My purse is pretty small.”

She knew exactly what was in there. He’d had half a mind to take the easy way out and toss the panties into the garbage, but he hadn’t. Luke had never been one to shy away from things that were uncomfortable, even when it had come to his folks’ poverty...his dad’s drunken anger. He’d just stood there and faced it down unblinking. “Don’t forget them. I’d hate the wrong person to go digging through that glove box.”

“Like your next conquest?”

Maybe she’d gotten wind of his reputation, as well. He really was going to have to appear a whole lot more boring at work. “I was thinking more along the lines of Nick—your father.”

Kate’s face drained of all color and she turned to stare at him. “You promised you wouldn’t say anything about that.”

Hell, the woman really didn’t think much of him, did she? Luke rarely gave his word, but when he did, he moved hell and high water to keep it. He’d learned the hard way that most promises were quick on the tongue and easily broken. Not by him, though.

And yet he’d made two pretty big promises in the last couple of days. One to Nick and one to his daughter. “I already told you I’m not going to tell him.”

He stopped for a red light, shifting down to first gear and glancing over at her. “What happened at the hospital stays between the two of us—no one’s going to hear it from me.”

Her eyes closed for a second, and she nodded. “Thank you. I couldn’t bear it if anyone thought I was...”

“If anyone thought what?”

“It’s not important.”

If that soft sigh was anything to go by, it was important. At least, to her. But if she wanted to tell him, she would have. It was probably best to stick to neutral topics anyway, since the purpose of this outing was to discuss Nick’s treatment, extol his virtues and then each go their merry way.

The light turned green, and Luke eased back into traffic. “Nick’s going to make a full recovery, by the way. He had some shrapnel—leftover from an old wound—that shifted. It got a little too close to his spinal cord for comfort. He’s just finishing up his course of physical therapy and then he’ll be free to go about his business.”

Kate twisted in her seat and stared at him. “That’s wonderful. So he won’t have any permanent damage?”

“No.” Unlike himself, who carried a permanent reminder of his time in Afghanistan. “His physical therapy is taking a little longer than expected because of some nerve damage, but after that he should be good to go.”

“Maybe I can help. I’m a physical therapist.”

She was? Luke frowned. He’d been thinking along the lines of socialite, so the fact that she was a PT came as a complete surprise. “I don’t know...”

“I’m licensed, specializing in LSVT.”

Luke’s head was still spinning at the revelation as he turned another corner. He’d known plenty of physical therapists, but Kate looked nothing like the professionals who’d hauled his ass out of bed after the injury that had nearly claimed his leg. Who’d propped him upright and goaded him into taking his first shaky steps.

Although remembering the lean muscles beneath his hands as he’d lifted Kate onto that sink, he shouldn’t be that surprised. And imagining those hands working on his body...

Good God.

He swallowed. Nick would not be happy to know the thoughts racing through his mind right now. For the life of him, he couldn’t think of anything to say, so he asked the obvious question. “LSVT?”

“It’s a specialized voice therapy for Parkinson’s patients.”

Ah, so she wasn’t the brute-strength type of therapist after all. “Nick will need occupational therapy, not speech.”

“Part of LSVT deals with the physical aspects of Parkinson’s.” Her chin tilted stubbornly.

He tried again. “Your father doesn’t have Parkinson’s.”

“Yes, he does, he’s in the early...” She let out a soft sigh. “Oh. That’s right. It’s still hard for me to think of Nick as my father. I’m sure I could help him, though. I’ve already checked online, there are several hospitals here in England using LSVT. It could be useful, even though he doesn’t have Parkinson’s.”

What had made her check on that? Was she thinking about staying in London? “I’m sure he’s getting everything he needs at the hospital’s PT center.”

“But what about when he’s not there? I could help him with some extra exercises...help his wife out with him. Maybe it would give me a chance to get to know him better.”

Luke wasn’t sure Tiggy would welcome the reminder that Nick had fathered another child. Especially not in her condition. But it wasn’t up to him. That was a decision the couple would have to make on their own.

He pulled into the parking lot of the Indian Palace Restaurant and set the handbrake. “Nick and Tiggy are under a lot of stress right now—with the surgery and everything. Now might not be a good time.” Unhooking his seat belt, he waited for her to follow suit. “Listen, we’ll eat, and I’ll fill you in on his surgery and prognosis, and then you’ll have a better grasp of his situation, okay?”

“Good. That’ll give me more time to convince you.”

Not good. He might not be the one she needed to convince, but all he could think was that it might be fun to let her try, anyway.

* * *

Kate took a quick gulp of water and then another, her mouth on fire. The smoldering sensation of swallowing hot coals continued as she sucked air in and out through pursed lips in a desperate effort to get some relief. “Oh, my God...” Huff, huff. “That’s so good.”

The man across from her gave her a quick grin. “Your face is pink. And your accent is really coming through.”

“Because I’m on f-i-ire.”

She put every Southern bone she had into that last word. The food was just-this-side-of-pain spicy. And she loved it. It was hard to get good Indian food in the States, but Luke had assured her that Londoners loved it. And they were evidently not afraid of a little spice. Or a lot, in this case.

“Well, when you decide to go hot, you go all the way, don’t you?”