Janelle Denison: The Ultimate Seduction

He remained by her bedside until her breathing grew deep and even in sleep before leaving her room. He stopped at the nurses' station, flashed his P.I. badge and gave them adamant orders that other than personnel, no one was to go into her room without someone calling and asking him first.

He wasn't taking any chances with her safety.

Hands on his hips, Noah glanced around what had once been his masculine bathroom, but now shared space with Natalie's feminine toiletries, and knew his cherished bachelorhood as he'd once known it was over-at least temporarily. The thought of trading in meaningless flings for a day-to-day intimacy with a woman didn't bother him as much as it should have, though-because it was Natalie, a woman he'd been chasing for so long. A woman who intrigued him and evoked the kind of emotions that, with other women, had sent him running in the other direction, but with her seemed so perfectly, inexplicably right.

At the moment, he refused to analyze his changing emotions, because he had a job to do and his feelings for Natalie couldn't get in the way of higher priorities, like keeping her safe and protected. Once she regained her memory and was no longer in danger, then they'd focus on them.

He headed back into his bedroom, made room in his closet for her stuff and finished putting away the clothes he'd taken from her apartment. While going through her belongings, he'd learned that she favored jeans and sweats, loose shirts and bulky sweaters. There wasn't a sexy outfit to be had in all of her attire, or the kind of clingy, flattering clothes most women with her kind of figure would have worn. It was as if she'd sought to hide her assets, rather than accentuate them.

That had been an interesting eye-opener, and he'd found the rest of her small studio apartment equally revealing. Instead of the warmth and intimacy he'd expected to find upon entering, the accommodations she called home had felt cold, empty and lonely. Her apartment was a compact place where she slept, ate meals and studied, as indicated by the pile of books stacked on a corner table near the only window in the room. There was nothing to indicate she led anything more than a quiet, solitary life.

The apartment had been filled with only the bare living necessities-a box spring and mattress in the combo bedroom-living room, along with a nightstand and dresser drawers that were old and scarred and didn't even match. Her small thirteen-inch TV sat on a plastic crate, and her small dining table was flanked by two old wooden chairs. Even her cupboards and refrigerator only held a few staple items.

He'd gotten the distinct impression that she could get up and go at a moment's notice and not miss anything she left behind. There was nothing permanent to indicate she'd settled down for good in Oakland. Her belongings were meager, and he hadn't found anything to disclose who she was beyond what he already knew.

He'd even gone so far as to search drawers, hoping to find some kernel of information to help him better understand what had frightened her, but the only intriguing tidbit he'd discovered was an outdated woman's magazine she'd subscribed to with her name and a Reno, Nevada, address on the mailing label. He'd confiscated the item to help him find out about the life she'd led before moving to Northern California.

He emptied the final bag of clothes onto his bed to sort, and her intimate apparel tumbled out. He grinned as he picked up her underwear and rubbed the smooth fabric between his fingers, then inhaled the clean, powdery scent of fabric softener. He'd been surprised to find that she favored simple cotton panties when she had a body made for "barely there" lingerie, but she'd allowed a hint of femininity in the strip of lace around the waistband. Her bras were sheer, but plain, a thin, unadorned covering for her beautiful breasts.

There was nothing overtly sexy about any of her undergarments, and he'd no doubt seen racier, more provocative stuff in his years, but there was something about her no-frill approach that did it for him in a major way, if the raging hard-on straining against his jeans was any indication. Natalie was all woman, and she didn't need silk and lace to emphasize her attributes.

She was also a woman with deeply buried secrets, and he planned to discover what she'd been hiding.

Stuffing her panties and bras into a drawer he'd cleared for her, he also mixed a few articles of her clothing into his hamper just for good measure. Her college textbooks were now on his kitchen table, and he'd set the three music CDs he'd found at her place on top of his stereo cabinet.

Satisfied that his two-story house looked as though a woman lived there as well, Noah took a quick shower, shaved and made a quick call to Bobby and Cole to update them on Natalie's status and to remind them to play along with his cover of being her fiance for the time being. He returned to the hospital with a fresh pair of her sweats, socks, underwear and her well-worn Keds to change into.

When he entered her room, she was up and talking to the doctor, and when she saw him, she graced him with a smile that quickened his pulse and made him feel like a teenager with a bad case of infatuation.

"Hi," she said, and motioned him over to her bed, her expression reflecting excitement. Once he was there, she grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. "Good news. The doctor is going to release me today."

He noticed that the IV had been taken off, and she was no longer hooked to the other monitors in the room. "That's great."

The doctor jotted a note on her chart, then glanced at Noah pointedly. "She needs to take it easy for the next few days and get plenty of rest."

"Not a problem." He set her clothes on the side table, right next to a huge floral bouquet that must have arrived in his absence, then grinned down at Natalie. "I'll make sure she gets all the TLC she needs."

"Very good, then." The older man nodded his approval and slipped his pen back into his lab coat pocket. "She can change and get ready to leave, and I'll have the nurse bring in her personal items from last night."

The doctor exited the room, and Noah returned his attention to the gorgeous floral arrangement scenting the room, curious to know who had sent them. "Nice flowers," he commented, hoping his voice didn't reveal the tinge of jealousy he felt. Hoping, too, that she'd reveal their origin.

"Yes, they are beautiful." She reached out and fingered a pink rose petal, then met his gaze, her features softening with adoration. "Thank you for sending them. That was incredibly sweet of you, and the sentiment was very reassuring."

He swallowed not only his surprise, but the words of denial that immediately sprang to his lips. Whatever sentiment was written on the card attached to the bouquet had given her the impression that he'd bought the flowers for her, and his fingers itched to pluck the envelope from the center of the arrangement and read the attached note for himself.

Schooling his expression and summoning restraint and a grin, he played along with the scenario. "You're welcome."

With a long, lingering sigh, she sat up in bed and carefully swung her legs over the side of the mattress. "Well, I guess I'd better get dressed so you can spring me from this joint."

He helped her stand with his hand encircling her arm, waited to make sure she was steady on her feet, then handed her the clothes he'd brought for her. He watched as she headed toward the small bathroom, and nearly groaned at the sweet, delectable view he caught sight of.

Trying to preserve a bit of modesty, one of her hands clutched at the open folds at the back of her hospital gown to hold them closed. While she did a decent job of covering herself, he was still treated to tantalizing glimpses of the rounded curves of her buttocks that gave way to her slender, smooth thighs.