No, Nick would drive back to Louisville, or die trying. However, the alternative was waking him up and suggesting that he spend the night with her. Ha! Mercy wouldn’t willingly borrow that particular cup of trouble. It seemed her only choices were: Send him out into the rain, or let him sleep until morning.
He does look harmless enough now that he’s asleep
.
What a day, thought Mercy. First the flood. And then Nick Devereaux. Two disasters in one day. Resigned, she got up and pulled a light blanket from the downstairs closet and covered Nick. Even in sleep he took her breath away. His chiseled jaw showed the shadow of his beard, and his lashes were ridiculously thick and long. Without a doubt, Mercy knew, this man would make beautiful babies.
Too bad she wasn’t in the market for a man to clutter up her life. Nick almost made her wish she were.
The first time she felt the featherlike touch, Mercy sleepily brushed at the sensation tickling her cheekwithout opening her eyes. She might even have recaptured sleep if her well-trained nose hadn’t caught the scent of coffee, and when the touch turned into a gentle caress on her neck, realization ripped through her. Mercy’s eyes snapped open just as she heard Nick Devereaux’s smooth, creamy voice confirm her worst suspicions.
“Mornin’,
chère
,” he said as he rubbed his knuckles one last time down her neck and over the collarbone exposed by the loose T-shirt in which she slept.
He sat on the edge of the brass bed as though he brought her coffee every morning. Gone were the shadows beneath his eyes, and his shirt hung open all the way now. Now she could see that the small gold medallion on the diamond-cut chain was of St. Christopher, patron saint of children and travelers. Mesmerized by the need to find out if the medal was as warm as his body, Mercy reached up.
“Oh, for God’s sake!” She snatched her hand back just in time.
Nick chuckled, but wisely said nothing.
Closing her eyes, Mercy counted calmly while dragging her hair away from her face. One … two … three … When she told Nick to get his butt out of her bedroom, she wanted to do it without anger. Four … five … six … She opened her eyes.
Struggling to maintain her composure, Mercy sat up, pulling the thin, satin-edged sheet with her. Although the old UCLA college T-shirt wasn’t particularly revealing, she found herself wishing for a granny gown and a thick down comforter. Seven … eight … nine …
“You do take a while to focus on the world whenyou wake up, don’t ya, darlin’?” Nick asked with a sexy grin, and offered her the “dolphins are people too” mug.
…
ten
, she finished silently.
“Sometimes the world is pretty hard to take first thing in the morning,” Mercy informed him as she plumped the feather pillows behind her. She took the coffee from his hand, but before she could coolly ask him to leave, Nick stood up and planted his hands on his hips.
“Pretty hard to take? Well, darlin’, you’d better be ready to take whatever comes your way if you gonna let strange men sleep in your house and then leave your bedroom door unlocked!”
Frustrated because Nick had managed to make a good point, Mercy retaliated with, “I don’t recall
asking
you to sleep over! You collapsed in my chair. What was I supposed to do with you? Put you in a car and let you kill someone when you fell asleep at the wheel? And I didn’t lock my door because it doesn’t lock!”
“Well, it should!”
“Well, it doesn’t.” Mercy sipped her coffee and glared at him. “I’m not stupid. I called the hospital and verified that you really do work there. The girl in Emergency was happy to talk about the charming Dr. Devereaux. But despite her assurances, if I’d known you weren’t housebroken, I’d have barricaded the door! Where were you raised anyway? In a barn?”
“Close, darlin’, real close. On the Bayou Teche in a little shack with
He does look harmless enough now that he’s asleep
.
What a day, thought Mercy. First the flood. And then Nick Devereaux. Two disasters in one day. Resigned, she got up and pulled a light blanket from the downstairs closet and covered Nick. Even in sleep he took her breath away. His chiseled jaw showed the shadow of his beard, and his lashes were ridiculously thick and long. Without a doubt, Mercy knew, this man would make beautiful babies.
Too bad she wasn’t in the market for a man to clutter up her life. Nick almost made her wish she were.
The first time she felt the featherlike touch, Mercy sleepily brushed at the sensation tickling her cheekwithout opening her eyes. She might even have recaptured sleep if her well-trained nose hadn’t caught the scent of coffee, and when the touch turned into a gentle caress on her neck, realization ripped through her. Mercy’s eyes snapped open just as she heard Nick Devereaux’s smooth, creamy voice confirm her worst suspicions.
“Mornin’,
chère
,” he said as he rubbed his knuckles one last time down her neck and over the collarbone exposed by the loose T-shirt in which she slept.
He sat on the edge of the brass bed as though he brought her coffee every morning. Gone were the shadows beneath his eyes, and his shirt hung open all the way now. Now she could see that the small gold medallion on the diamond-cut chain was of St. Christopher, patron saint of children and travelers. Mesmerized by the need to find out if the medal was as warm as his body, Mercy reached up.
“Oh, for God’s sake!” She snatched her hand back just in time.
Nick chuckled, but wisely said nothing.
Closing her eyes, Mercy counted calmly while dragging her hair away from her face. One … two … three … When she told Nick to get his butt out of her bedroom, she wanted to do it without anger. Four … five … six … She opened her eyes.
Struggling to maintain her composure, Mercy sat up, pulling the thin, satin-edged sheet with her. Although the old UCLA college T-shirt wasn’t particularly revealing, she found herself wishing for a granny gown and a thick down comforter. Seven … eight … nine …
“You do take a while to focus on the world whenyou wake up, don’t ya, darlin’?” Nick asked with a sexy grin, and offered her the “dolphins are people too” mug.
…
ten
, she finished silently.
“Sometimes the world is pretty hard to take first thing in the morning,” Mercy informed him as she plumped the feather pillows behind her. She took the coffee from his hand, but before she could coolly ask him to leave, Nick stood up and planted his hands on his hips.
“Pretty hard to take? Well, darlin’, you’d better be ready to take whatever comes your way if you gonna let strange men sleep in your house and then leave your bedroom door unlocked!”
Frustrated because Nick had managed to make a good point, Mercy retaliated with, “I don’t recall
asking
you to sleep over! You collapsed in my chair. What was I supposed to do with you? Put you in a car and let you kill someone when you fell asleep at the wheel? And I didn’t lock my door because it doesn’t lock!”
“Well, it should!”
“Well, it doesn’t.” Mercy sipped her coffee and glared at him. “I’m not stupid. I called the hospital and verified that you really do work there. The girl in Emergency was happy to talk about the charming Dr. Devereaux. But despite her assurances, if I’d known you weren’t housebroken, I’d have barricaded the door! Where were you raised anyway? In a barn?”
“Close, darlin’, real close. On the Bayou Teche in a little shack with
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