Laura Martin - Perfect Strangers

‘Hey! What on earth’s the matter?’

Olivia closed her eyes and allowed herself the brief pleasure of pressing her face against the soft suede jacket. ‘There’s something. . .something horrible in there,’ she declared unsteadily, aware of her heart racing fit to burst, unsure whether it was entirely due to her sudden fright or the fact that she was in such close proximity to Jake Savage.

‘What sort of thing?’

‘I. . . I don’t know. It’s so dark and I can’t find the damn light switch, but—’

‘It’s frightened the hell out of you,’ he finished for her. His voice was calm. ‘Funny how appearances can be so deceptive, isn’t it?’ he murmured softly. She could feel the masculine hardness of his body, the warmth of his breath on her face. ‘Now what on earth made me imagine that the sophisticated Miss Hamilton could handle any situation, no matter how daunting? You’re shaking like a leaf!’

‘I. . . I don’t like the dark very much,’ Olivia admitted unsteadily. ‘But it’s not just that; there really is something horrible. I don’t know what it is, but it felt absolutely disgusting!’

‘OK, calm down.’ The deep voice was soothing and immensely reassuring. ‘I’m here.’ Olivia heard the suitcases fall to the floor and her heart increased its hammering tenfold as she felt the pressure of strong masculine arms around her shoulders. ‘There’s no need to panic.’ Firm fingers moved sensuously in a circular motion. ‘I can still feel your whole body trembling, do you know that?’ His voice trailed to a halt and Olivia sensed the change in him, so that when he spoke again it was no surprise to hear a softer, more intimate note to his voice. ‘Such a fiery character on the outside. . .’ he lifted a hand and tilted Olivia’s chin so that he could look down into her face ‘. . .but not quite so hard on the inside, eh?’

Their souls met and the feeling of knowing assailed Olivia once again. She didn’t understand what was happening, why she should feel this way about a man she had only just met.

She wanted him. Shock coursed through her body at the revelation and Olivia pulled away jerkily. ‘Do you think you could. . .take a look?’

Jake released her without a word, she heard a reassuring flick and instantly the room was bathed in the glare of a naked bulb. They were in a large, pleasantly shaped room. Low beams criss-crossed the ceiling; a big inglenook fireplace dominated one whole wall. Olivia swallowed and forced herself to get a grip, self-consciously taking several large steps away from Jake Savage’s broad frame. ‘It was over there,’ she murmured, hardly daring to meet the probing gaze, ‘behind that old sofa.’

She stayed by the door, watching as he crossed to the place she had indicated. There was a sharp intake of breath and then a sigh. ‘It’s OK, nothing to be frightened of.’ He pushed the sofa out of the way and Olivia tentatively moved forward. ‘Just a battered, bruised and half-starved mutt.’ Jake crouched down and placed seemingly knowledgeable hands onto the matted, blood-smeared fur. ‘Which, surprisingly, is still alive!’ There was a note of triumph in the deep tone. He turned suddenly and she saw the expression of urgency that accompanied it. ‘Hurry! Run out to my car and grab the black case that’s on the back seat.’

‘Right!’ Olivia wheeled around, not pausing to question or consider his order. She gripped his raincoat around her shoulders, dashed out into the pouring rain and returned in less than half a minute with the large black case as requested.

‘You’re a doctor?’ She couldn’t keep the note of surprise from her voice as she watched Jake flick open the case and pull out a stethoscope.

‘Vet.’ He nodded towards the unmoving, furry mass. ‘Pretty fortunate dog, huh?’

Olivia frowned, her eyes switching to the miserable-looking animal on the floor. ‘It doesn’t look very fortunate. You honestly think you can save it?’

He didn’t answer immediately. There was silence and immense concentration as he listened to the dog’s heartbeat. Finally he lifted his head. ‘Looks hopeful. There’s a reasonable beat, considering the state he’s in. He’s weak from lack of food, of course, and there are a couple of bad gashes.’ Jake carefully lifted a back leg and examined a septic-looking wound. ‘This one is pretty nasty. Stopped him from finding anything to eat in the last few days, I should think.’

‘But he looks so. . .so desperate,’ Olivia replied, gritting her teeth as a needle was swiftly filled and injected into the mangy body. ‘How do you think he came to be here?’

Jake lifted his broad shoulders in a shrug. ‘Who knows? Maybe he slipped in when your things were being delivered earlier.’ He glanced towards a couple of packing cases that were in the corner of the room. ‘I need some water, hot water. Can you see to it?’

Olivia straightened up, aware of the professional command in his voice. ‘Yes.’

‘Good.’ He began to roll up his shirt-sleeves and Olivia, despite her determined resolution to be as efficient as possible, found her gaze drawn to the powerful forearms, the strength of his hands as they lowered to examine the dog. ‘Are you going to get that hot water now,’ he enquired sharply as the seconds passed, ‘or do I have to get it myself?’

She turned quickly, cursing her wandering concentration, cursing the fact that this man could make her feel wonderful one moment and totally inadequate the next, with no more than a look and a few crisply spoken words.

By the time she came back into the living-room with a bowl full of warm water, another with hot water in it, a towel and some soap, determined to be Miss Efficiency, Jake had carried the dog over to the sofa. She watched as he clipped away sodden black fur from around several different wounds.

‘I don’t suppose there’s any chance of you lighting a fire, is there?’ Dark eyes flicked across to the large, blackened inglenook fireplace. ‘Only it’s pretty cold in here and this dog needs all the warmth he can get.’

Olivia shivered; her own woollen dress felt decidedly damp from the rain and she was having to grit her teeth to stop them chattering together as it was. ‘I’m not very organised,’ she murmured, frowning at the fireplace. ‘There isn’t any wood or anything yet. I was going to get that kind of thing sorted out tomorrow.’ She paused, glad that she didn’t have to admit that she had never lit an open fire in her life before. ‘But I do have a couple of fan heaters. I bought them specially for the move. They should be in a case upstairs. I’ll go get them.’

The room felt a lot warmer after half an hour or so, not cosy exactly but better than when they had first entered. Olivia had found a couple of bulbs for the wall lights and retrieved a large rectangular rug from one of the packing cases, which she had spread over the bare boards. The dog had been encouraged to eat a special nourishing concoction that had been mixed from a selection of packets carried in the Range Rover.

‘Right. That’s just about all I can do for now.’ Jake Savage flexed his broad shoulders and released a long-drawn-out breath. ‘Don’t worry, he looks a lot worse than he is; he’s going to be fine,’ he added, seeing Olivia’s anxious gaze. ‘He just needs rest and a lot of feeding up now, and daily attention to his wounds, of course. They should heal well, though; he’s a young dog and there’s no reason why he shouldn’t make a swift recovery.’

Olivia smiled her relief. ‘That’s good.’ She glanced down at the sleeping animal. ‘Would you. . .like a cup of tea before you go?’ Olivia made her voice sound as casual as possible, and she glanced up into Jake Savage’s face. He looked tired; it crossed her mind that maybe he hadn’t been sleeping well lately. ‘I realise you’ve stayed far longer- than you wanted to, but the kettle’s just boiled, so. . .’