Сандра Браун - Adam's Fall

One, Adam and she were just becoming accustomed to each other.

Two, Adam and she were making tremendous strides toward his full recovery.

Three, Adam and she had just been necking in his wheelchair.

Lilah tried honestly to peg which of the above reasons made her most reluctant to leave him now. True, she wanted to see him through to the finish. She wanted to be the one he walked to for the first time. She wanted to experience and share in his victory over this temporary paralysis. She wanted to kiss him again.

But that wasn't going to happen.

She wouldn't let it happen. Adam's reasons for kissing her were straight out of the textbook. Her reasons for kissing Adam were too absurd to be believed. So for both those reasons she would mark down tonight as a lapse in common sense and see that nothing like it ever happened again.

That being the case, it would be stupid to sacrifice all the progress they had made to one little indiscretion. Having to adjust to another therapist might cause Adam a severe setback. Would that be good for the patient? No. Shouldn't her decision be based on what was best for the patient? Yes.

"I don't want a replacement."

"What?" Lilah repeated her statement, more firmly the second time. "Do you realize the time and trouble Thad and I have gone to to find one?"

"I know, and I apologize."

"You could have let us know that you'd changed your mind."

"I didn't realize it until this second. Really, Lizzie, I'm sorry. Apologize to Thad too."

Elizabeth sighed with weariness. "That's okay. All those interviews made the time waiting for the baby go faster. Anyway, our hearts weren't in it. Thad and I have always thought you were the best choice. We're both glad Adam is in your capable hands."

Adam's hands were capable, too, Lilah thought. Just thinking about his stimulating caresses made her palms damp. "Well, if that's all, Lizzie, I'm going back to bed."

"You're sure you're all right? You still sound funny."

"I'm fine. Give the kids hugs for me. Kiss my good-looking brother-in-law. Bye." She hung up quickly and jerked her hand away from the phone as though it could accuse her of duplicity and manipulation.

But she couldn't as easily escape her conscience. As she pulled back the covers of the bed and slid between them, she congratulated herself on doing something so supremely noble as staying on till the bitter end.

But secretly she knew that her motives were selfish. At least in part.

"Do you always sleep naked?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you always sleep naked?"

Lilah stretched languorously between the satin sheets. She yawned broadly. Her eyes came open slowly. To a point. Then they popped wide open.

"Adam?"

"You remember my name. I'm flattered."

Lilah pushed the tousled hair away from her face, clutched a handful of satin to her breasts, and propped herself up on one elbow. "What are you doing in my room? How'd you get here?"

"You haven't answered my question yet."

"What question?"

"Do you always sleep — "

"Yes! Now tell me what possessed Pete to let you come in here."

"Pete doesn't know I'm here. I did it all by myself." Amazed, Lilah peered over the edge of the bed. Adam was sitting in his wheelchair. "You got out of your bed and into the chair all by yourself?"

"Proud of me?"

"I certainly am." She flashed him a brilliant smile, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared. "That doesn't answer my question, though. What are you doing in my room?"

"Invading your privacy."

"Exactly. Would you please leave?" Something else suddenly occurred to her. "How did you know I was naked?"

"I looked under the covers." She gaped at him with disbelief, and he started laughing. "Actually, your bikini is lying on the floor, and I don't see any nightgown straps over your shoulders."

"Oh. Well, if you'd be so kind, Mr Cavanaugh" — she coolly nodded toward the door — "I'd like to shower and dress."

"I brought you something." She had noticed the flowers, but they hadn't truly registered with her until now, when he slipped the pastel plumeria lei over her head and arranged it to his satisfaction around her neck. "Welcome to Hawaii, Lilah."

"You're several weeks late, aren't you?"

"What are you, a stickler for detail?"

Lilah looked down at the fragile, fragrant petals and touched them reverently. They were dewy and cool against her skin. "Thank you, Adam. It's beautiful."

"You know what goes with a lei, don't you?" She glanced up quickly. Adam's eyes were twinkling. "Ah, I can see that you do."

"We'll dispense with that part of the tradition."

"That part is the reason the tradition has lasted this long. Besides, I never break with tradition."

Cupping the back of her head in his palm, he drew her forward and kissed her leisurely and expertly. "That's not the way it's done," she said when he lifted his lips off hers. "It's supposed to be a peck on both cheeks, isn't it?"

"Usually."

"I thought you never broke with tradition."

"Unless your mouth and my tongue are involved."

He kissed her again before she had the wherewithal to stave him off. Finally she mustered enough willpower to say, "Go away! I've got to get up and dress."

His eyes lowered to the sheet, which was doing a poor job of concealing the full shape of her breasts. "I think you look great the way you are. So please, don't get dressed on my account."

"Specifically on your account. It took a lot of stamina and strength for you to get out of bed alone. We need to maximize that momentum."

"I have a better idea. Let's take the day off and celebrate my progress."

"By doing what?"

He ran his thumb over her lips. "By staying in bed." Then he raised his compelling eyes up to hers. "One bed. This bed. It's for damn sure we would maximize my momentum."

For a moment Lilah was captivated by his husky voice and enticing suggestion. Too soon, reason returned. Cantankerously she said, "Don't be ridiculous. Besides, you don't get a day off. Consequently neither do I."

He took her refusal good-naturedly and pushed his chair away from her bed. "It ain't gonna wash, Lilah."

"What?"

"Pretending that last night didn't happen. But I'm hungry for my breakfast, so for the time being I'll retreat." He spun his chair around and headed for the door. When he reached it, he glanced at her over his shoulder. "And I did look under the covers."

She narrowed her eyes on him. "You're bluffing, Cavanaugh."

"Oh, yeah? Love that sexy little mole just inside your bikini line," he drawled.

Before she could stammer a reply, he wheeled out. Lilah threw off the sheet and flitted across the room. She slammed the door closed and locked it, making sure both were heard. Then she stamped into the bathroom and turned on the faucets in the shower.

Adam was making a big joke out of her attitude toward last night. He thought she was being coy and wasn't taking her seriously. Last night might have appeased their libidos, but it had cost valuable ground as far as getting him to walk again. That, not romance, should be his driving force. It was critical that she reestablish herself as his therapist, not his paramour. Desperate measures were called for.

When she entered his room an hour later, he was shooting a Neff basketball into the net he'd had Pete attach to the wall. "Twenty-seven straight free throws," he boasted.

Lilah walked in as stiff as a starched shirt and yanked the basketball out of his hands. "That's enough play for now. You can do that on your own time. For the next hour and a half, we're on my time." She went to the stereo system and switched it off. Whitney Houston's voice was arrested in mid-chorus.