Janelle Denison - The Ultimate Seduction

"You snore," she said in amusement.

"I'm sorry." He cringed at that bit of information, instantly contrite. "Did I wake you?"

"No, actually it was a cute snore and not at all obnoxious."

He laughed, the rumbling sound sending a pleasant vibration along her nerve endings. "Well, it's certainly good to know that you think my snores are cute, but don't tell anyone else because, for one thing, I'll never hear the end of it and, for another, it'll be a huge blow to my masculinity."

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me." She smiled, curious to know if they shared any other private intimacies. "I need something to drink. Is there any water?"

"Sure is." He raised the top of her mattress so she was sitting up, then rilled a plastic glass on the tray next to her bed. Bringing the straw to her lips, he watched her take a drink, his concerned gaze roaming over her face. "You sound better than I'd expected this morning, but how are you really feeling?"

She swallowed one last gulp of cool water, relieving her dry, scratchy throat. "My head is throbbing and I feel bruised, battered and achy. Like I got hit by a car."

He chuckled lightly at her wry tone and tipped his head. "You remember?"

"Not much, if anything at all." She sighed and settled back against her pillows. "Actually, one of the nurses told me what happened when I asked last night. That's how I know. I'm still kind of sketchy on the details, though."

He took a long drink of water from her glass and set it aside. "That's okay. It'll eventually come to you. I'm just glad to see your beautiful eyes are wide open and clear. You gave us all quite a scare."

"Us all?"

Nodding, he perched his hip on the mattress next to her waist and placed her hand between his. His thumb drew lazy patterns over her knuckles. "Me, my brother, Melodie, Bobby, and everyone at Murphy's."

She thought hard to place who those people were. Struck with a sudden dull ache at her temple, she pressed her fingers against the sore spot. "The names are familiar, but why can't I place their faces?" she asked, annoyed with her inability to do so.

He hesitated, his gentle caresses stopping. Then he asked very carefully, "Didn't the doctor tell you?"

By the tone of his voice and the troubled look marring his brows, she was certain she wasn't going to enjoy what he had to say. "Tell me what?"

He released a deep breath. Now that the issue had been brought up, it was obvious that he felt obligated to carry it through. "About your amnesia."

"Amnesia?" Her voice rose to an incredulous pitch, and she experienced an adrenaline rush of distress. "But I remember you." Which was why she hadn't been overly alarmed at the other little things she couldn't recollect. But now that he'd used the word amnesia, her lack of recall made more sense, not that she liked it one bit.

"And thank God for that." He tenderly brushed her hair away from her cheek, his fingers lingering on her skin. "But there are other things you might not remember."

Well, she certainly couldn't argue with his statement. Stunned, she could only shake her head in wonder and fear. How strange it was not to recall certain parts of your life, yet know other things so instinctively. Like her inexplicable emotional and physical connection to Noah.

"Tell me what the doctor told you," she asked, and listened to him explain her level of amnesia, and that while she might be able to remember certain aspects of her past and current life, other things might not be clear at all.

She shook her head in shock. "Is this retrograde amnesia permanent?"

"Not according to the doctor," he reassured her. "You suffered a huge trauma when you hit your head, and he said that you'll start remembering things in bits and pieces over the course of the next few weeks or months. He's confident that you'll have a full recovery in time."

She shivered as a chill rippled through her. "But in the meantime, I've only got half a memory? How frightening is that?"

He gave her hand a tender squeeze. "I know it has to be scary, but I promise I'll be here for you."

Knowing she could count on Noah brought her immense comfort, because at the moment she was feeling incredibly alone and vulnerable. "Thank you."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." He bent close and brushed a kiss on her cheek.

His lips were warm and sensual, the scent of him musky and all male. His morning stubble lightly chafed her skin, eliciting a stirring of desire in her blood. Her heart beat hard and fast in her chest, and she was surprised that the monitor she was hooked up to didn't go haywire. When he lifted his head again and met her gaze, his eyes were dark and intense.

She exhaled a slow breath as they stared at each other. She craved and wanted this man in inexplicable ways that defied her current state of mind, and all she knew for certain was that the feeling was honest and true. She trusted her instincts where Noah was concerned, because, for now, her gut intuition was all she had to depend on.

A nurse walked into the room, shattering the intimate moment between them. Noah sat back in his chair as the woman came up to the side of her bed and started adjusting the IV drip. She wore a pastel smock, and the badge hanging around her neck identified her as Shirley Richards, RN.

"You're awake," she said pleasantly, and smiled at Natalie. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"As good as can be expected."

The nurse nodded in understanding. "I'll give you another dose of medication to help with the aches and pains. You'll be sore for a few days, but you're darn lucky that you didn't sustain any internal injuries." She wrapped a blood pressure cuff around her upper arm and pumped it full of air.

As Shirley took her vitals, she glanced across the bed to Noah, then back at Natalie. "You've got yourself quite a fiance there," she said genuinely. "He was determined to stay with you and has been by your side all night long waiting for you to wake up."

Her eyes widened as she was dealt another dose of shock to deal with. Her fiance? She and Noah were engaged? She snuck a peek at her left hand and saw no evidence of an engagement ring but knew that didn't mean anything at all. Undoubtedly, this man was part of her life in some capacity, and when Noah didn't deny or correct the woman's comment, she had no choice but to believe it was true.

And belonging to Noah wasn't an unpleasant thought at all.

"I'm thinking you might need to use the rest room, yes?" Shirley asked once she'd written her numbers down on the chart in front of her bed.

Natalie smiled sheepishly. "That would be nice."

"You should be okay to get up on your own, but I'll be here to help you the first time, just to make sure your legs are steady and you don't get lightheaded. And then there's all the IV stuff that can get in your way." The nurse transferred her professional gaze to Noah. "Can you give us about fifteen minutes to do the girl stuff?"

"Sure." A wry grin canted the corner of his mouth and he stood. "I need to use the men's room myself."

He winked at Natalie and turned for the door. She watched him walk out, eyes drawn to his wide shoulders, his strong, lean body and his confident swagger. No matter how she racked her brain trying to recall something as important as an engagement, her mind remained frustratingly blank.

Regardless of her unreliable memory, one thrilling, exciting thought took precedence: this gorgeous, breathtakingly sexy man was all hers.

After taking care of personal business, Noah washed his hands, then splashed cool water on his face, trying like hell to push away the guilt eating at his conscience. He dried the dampness from his skin with a paper towel and shoved his fingers through his hair in a paltry attempt to tame his unruly morning hair.

Natalie believed he was her nance. When the nurse had made that announcement, he'd witnessed Natalie's surprised expression and had held his breath, waiting for her to ask him if it was true. Much to his relief she didn't question the woman's casually tossed words, which saved him from outright lying to Natalie's face. For now.

Bracing his hands on the edge of the porcelain sink, he stared at his reflection in the rest room mirror, noting the lines of exhaustion at the corners of his eyes. Undoubtedly, he was lying by omission, because he planned to use the fiance pretense to his advantage, to remain as close to her as possible so he could protect her until he nailed the source of her fears the night before. And he knew there would be more fabrications as they became necessary and until she fully regained her memory-all for her own good. For him, it was one hundred percent a safety issue.

He suspected she didn't remember the threat that had scared her, and that made her even more defenseless and too damned vulnerable to the guy she'd run away from. He was beginning to think she was the target of a stalker. What else could explain the hysterical words Natalie had spoken last night before getting hit by the car? I'll never be safe. He won't go away.

Right now, with her amnesia, she didn't have the advantage of knowing something was wrong, and her instincts might be skewed by memory loss. Her vulnerability put her too much at risk for another encounter that might turn hostile.

And there was no way he'd allow anything else to harm her, not if he could help it.

He left the rest room and stopped at the vending machine in the waiting area. Buying a roll of the strongest mints available, he promptly tossed three of the peppermint Life Savers into his mouth and chewed. While he waited a few more minutes before returning to Natalie's room, he came up with a game plan. He'd ask her casual, no-pressure kinds of questions and see what she did and didn't recollect. He refused to feed her any information or outright tell her the truth about what had led up to the accident, because if she didn't remember, he knew it would only cause her panic and paranoia.

He popped three more mints for good measure, and when he arrived back in her room, she was settled back in bed with a breakfast tray on the small table in front of her. She was still wearing her hospital gown, but her hair had been combed and was smoothed back behind her ears.

She glanced from her meal to him and wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Blech."

He chuckled as he came up beside her. "That bad, huh?"

"While I can't recall what my favorite breakfast food is, I'm sure this isn't it. Watery scrambled eggs, oatmeal that looks like paste, and dry, cold toast." She indicated each item on her tray with a point of her finger. "The only thing that looks worth eating is the fresh fruit."

He had to agree that her breakfast didn't look at all appetizing. "Then eat the fruit and drink your apple juice, and I'll try to sneak in something good later."

She grinned. "How about a pepperoni pizza?"

He chuckled at her enthusiasm, glad to see she was quickly gaining back her energy. "A big ol' pizza box is a bit obvious, don't you think? That'll have to wait until you're home."

"Home?"

The frown creasing her brows told him that she was having a hard time placing where she lived. Which was perfect for him. "My place. We just moved in together."

"Oh." The one word escaped on a breathy note of sound.

He played his cards very cautiously, not wanting to upset her in any way. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"Well, no, not really." She shrugged. "I mean, if we're engaged, that would make sense."

She was so trusting that he had to push aside another wave of guilt that assaulted him-and remind himself that it was the only way he could keep her safe.

She sighed softly. "I just feel like I'm learning who I am all over again. Or at least parts of who I am."

"That's how it'll be with certain aspects of your memory, according to the doctor." Since she wasn't digging into her breakfast, he filched a grape from the compote and lifted it to her mouth. When her lips automatically parted, he slipped the piece of fruit inside. "We'll do lots of talking and that might spark those repressed parts of your memory."

While her mouth was currently occupied, he casually brought up another subject, wanting to know what she might recall about her past. "Do you want me to contact someone in your family to let them know about your accident?"

"I don't have any family," she said automatically.

Surprised, he asked, "You remember that?"

"Yeah, I do," she said, equally stunned by the knowledge. "You were testing me, weren't you?"