Page 13
Story: Capture the Rainbow
“I don’t have much choice unless I want Billie moving into town to protect him,” he said with exasperation. “At least I can keep an eye on both of them here.” He drew a deep breath. “And now that we’ve disposed of the subject of Billie and her wild man, will you kindly tell me where you’ve been for the last month? I’ve been calling your apartment every evening since the day I arrived in Sedikhan and there’s been no answer. I even checked the listing personnel gave me with the phone company to make sure it was a working number.”
“You tried to call me?” Kendra asked, her eyes widening in surprise.
“I just said so, didn’t I? You knew damn well I wouldn’t let you get the last word after you took off in my car and left me to walk five miles to the nearest town to phone for a taxi.”
“That far?” A tiny smile was tugging at Kendra’s lips. “What a pity.”
“I can see your heart’s bleeding for me,” Joel said dryly. “I could cheerfully have murdered you by the time I got back to the house in Laurel Canyon and found the Mercedes, but no Kendra Michaels.”
“You deserved it,” she said serenely. “You’re a very arrogant man and like to get your own way entirely too much, Joel Damon.”
“You liked my way very much too that night a month ago,” he said softly. His expression suddenly became grave. “Where have you been for the past month, Kendra?”
“I had a job to finish before I startedVenture.I was on location in Colorado.” She had trouble now in meeting the intensity of his green eyes. “We had said all we had to say, and there wasn’t any need for you to phone me anyway. I’m sorry if your ego was stung a little.”
“Hell yes, I was stung…and annoyed,” Joel said crisply. “But that wasn’t why I was trying to get in touch with you. After I got over the first anger, I started to worry, dammit.”
Her forehead knitted in puzzlement. “Worry? What about?”
“What do you think?” he asked, scowling. “I didn’t protect you. I thought you’d be on the pill. How was I to know that you were the last virgin left in Hollywood?” He ran his hand through his hair. “I was afraid I might have made you pregnant.”
“I see.” She felt as stunned as if she had been struck by lightning. She had never even considered the possibility that Joel had broached. She had been so busy trying to block the man out of her thoughts that the possible repercussions of that night had also been repressed. And those repercussions were a very real possibility, she realized numbly. No, she was panicking for no reason. Just because she was a little late was no need to worry. She was often irregular, particularly when she was under the sort of stress she’d been under the past few months. She smiled with an effort. “I can see how you might have been a little concerned. Poor Joel, did you think I was going to try to involve you in a paternity suit? Or were you going to give me a nice fat check and the name of an exclusive little abortion clinic in Beverly Hills?”
“Shut up!” Joel’s voice was oddly husky. “Is it too much to believe that I was genuinely worried about you? That I didn’t want you to suffer for the pleasure you gave me, that we gave each other? I wanted to let you know you could count on me if it proved necessary.” His green eyes were searching. “Is it necessary, Kendra?”
“How very gallant of you,” she said, not looking at him. Why was she feeling this aching pain because of the notion that it was only obligation prompting Joel’s concern? “I’d never heard you had such a keen sense of responsibility, Joel. It’s very old-fashioned to—”
She broke off as he crossed the room in three swift strides. His hands grasped her shoulders and gave her a little shake. “Give me a straight answer, dammit. Are you pregnant?”
She glared up at him defiantly, her eyes suspiciously bright. “Of course I’m not pregnant,” she said, her throat tight and painful. “So you needn’t worry that I’ll come to you with any demands on either your conscience or your bank account.”
She could see the relief wash over his face and it brought a fresh jab of agony that was totally unreasonable.
“You’re sure?”
“Very sure,” she lied with a shaky little laugh. “I’m sorry to insult your virility, but itwasonly one night.”
“Thank God,” he breathed fervently. “Lord, I was worried, sweetheart.” His arms slipped around her with the utmost naturalness and cradled her to him with a simple affection he had never had the chance to show her before. “I kept thinking of you all alone and having to contend with a problem like that.” His lips gently brushed her temple. “It nearly drove me crazy. It won’t happen again, I promise. I’ll make sure of that. I’ll take care of you from now on.” His hands were running up and down her back in a caress that was both soothing and exploratory. “You’re thinner than the last time I held you. You feel almost breakable in my arms. Didn’t you eat at all when you were in Colorado?”
She leaned against him like a weary child. There was no threat, no demand in the arms that held her. There was only tenderness and caring and a lovely protectiveness that made her feel marvelously treasured. “Sometimes,” she said, nestling her head under his chin. “Most of the time I was too tired to bother. It was a rough job.”
One hand moved up to knead gently the muscles at the nape of her neck. “All your jobs are rough,” he said thickly. “I had Ron Willet get a few clips from your last pictures. Some of the stuff you did scared the hell out of me.” His hand was loosening her ponytail and suddenly her hair tumbled down around her shoulders in a shiny cloud. His hands threaded through the tresses with tactile pleasure. “So pretty. Like fragrant satin. I kept remembering the feel of it in my hands when I was lying in bed at night and my palms would tingle.” He chuckled huskily. “Of course that wasn’t the only portion of my anatomy that tingled.”
He was stroking her hair with a gentleness that caused her to cuddle closer to his warmth like a kitten newly in from the cold.
“I memorized and can recall every curve and valley of your strong silky body, but it was your hair that I remembered the most. Your hair and your husky, scratchy little voice that rubbed my senses like a hand caressing me. Lord, I love your voice.”
She felt as if she were wrapped in a cloudlike blanket of loving security. “You really had Ron go to the trouble to get those clips?” she asked dreamily. “Why on earth did you do that?”
“That’s what I asked myself. I was busy as hell and working sixteen hours a day onVenture.I should have been so tired when I finally got to bed that I’d be knocked out with exhaustion.” He was winding the short wispy curls at her nape around his fingers. “Instead, I found I couldn’t get to sleep until I had my nightly fix of one Kendra Michaels.” His voice became a disgusted growl. “Hell, I didn’t even enjoy them. I couldn’t see your face, your hair was always covered with a wig, and the things you were doing caused my guts to knot and my skin to break out in a cold sweat. The worst thing about it was that I knew you were probably taking the same kind of crazy chances at the exact moment I was looking at those damn clips.” He drew a deep, shuddering breath. “No more, sweetheart. I can’t take any more of it. It got so that I was even having nightmares about it and I couldn’t wait until I got you here and could keep you safe.”
She felt a nagging sense of unease that pierced the warm contentment she was feeling. What was he talking about? “Safe?” she asked slowly. “I don’t know what you mean, Joel.”
“I’ve made inquiries; Wendy Lynch is available to do the stunts onVenture,” he said with a coolness that dumbfounded her. “I can fly her out from L.A. and have her on the set by day after tomorrow.” He added quickly, “You won’t suffer monetarily from the replacement, of course. You’ll still get the fee agreed upon, plus a sizable compensatory bonus.”
“Wendy Lynch,” she repeated the name blankly, “doingmystunts?” She stiffened in his arms. “What the devil are you talking about? No one else is going to do my stunts!”
“Wendy Lynch is doing your stunts,” he corrected, lifting his head to look down at her, his expression hard with determination. “Get used to the idea, Kendra. I told you what watching those clips did to me. Do you think I’m going through the hell of actually directing you while you’re doing them? No way, rainbow lady.”
“You tried to call me?” Kendra asked, her eyes widening in surprise.
“I just said so, didn’t I? You knew damn well I wouldn’t let you get the last word after you took off in my car and left me to walk five miles to the nearest town to phone for a taxi.”
“That far?” A tiny smile was tugging at Kendra’s lips. “What a pity.”
“I can see your heart’s bleeding for me,” Joel said dryly. “I could cheerfully have murdered you by the time I got back to the house in Laurel Canyon and found the Mercedes, but no Kendra Michaels.”
“You deserved it,” she said serenely. “You’re a very arrogant man and like to get your own way entirely too much, Joel Damon.”
“You liked my way very much too that night a month ago,” he said softly. His expression suddenly became grave. “Where have you been for the past month, Kendra?”
“I had a job to finish before I startedVenture.I was on location in Colorado.” She had trouble now in meeting the intensity of his green eyes. “We had said all we had to say, and there wasn’t any need for you to phone me anyway. I’m sorry if your ego was stung a little.”
“Hell yes, I was stung…and annoyed,” Joel said crisply. “But that wasn’t why I was trying to get in touch with you. After I got over the first anger, I started to worry, dammit.”
Her forehead knitted in puzzlement. “Worry? What about?”
“What do you think?” he asked, scowling. “I didn’t protect you. I thought you’d be on the pill. How was I to know that you were the last virgin left in Hollywood?” He ran his hand through his hair. “I was afraid I might have made you pregnant.”
“I see.” She felt as stunned as if she had been struck by lightning. She had never even considered the possibility that Joel had broached. She had been so busy trying to block the man out of her thoughts that the possible repercussions of that night had also been repressed. And those repercussions were a very real possibility, she realized numbly. No, she was panicking for no reason. Just because she was a little late was no need to worry. She was often irregular, particularly when she was under the sort of stress she’d been under the past few months. She smiled with an effort. “I can see how you might have been a little concerned. Poor Joel, did you think I was going to try to involve you in a paternity suit? Or were you going to give me a nice fat check and the name of an exclusive little abortion clinic in Beverly Hills?”
“Shut up!” Joel’s voice was oddly husky. “Is it too much to believe that I was genuinely worried about you? That I didn’t want you to suffer for the pleasure you gave me, that we gave each other? I wanted to let you know you could count on me if it proved necessary.” His green eyes were searching. “Is it necessary, Kendra?”
“How very gallant of you,” she said, not looking at him. Why was she feeling this aching pain because of the notion that it was only obligation prompting Joel’s concern? “I’d never heard you had such a keen sense of responsibility, Joel. It’s very old-fashioned to—”
She broke off as he crossed the room in three swift strides. His hands grasped her shoulders and gave her a little shake. “Give me a straight answer, dammit. Are you pregnant?”
She glared up at him defiantly, her eyes suspiciously bright. “Of course I’m not pregnant,” she said, her throat tight and painful. “So you needn’t worry that I’ll come to you with any demands on either your conscience or your bank account.”
She could see the relief wash over his face and it brought a fresh jab of agony that was totally unreasonable.
“You’re sure?”
“Very sure,” she lied with a shaky little laugh. “I’m sorry to insult your virility, but itwasonly one night.”
“Thank God,” he breathed fervently. “Lord, I was worried, sweetheart.” His arms slipped around her with the utmost naturalness and cradled her to him with a simple affection he had never had the chance to show her before. “I kept thinking of you all alone and having to contend with a problem like that.” His lips gently brushed her temple. “It nearly drove me crazy. It won’t happen again, I promise. I’ll make sure of that. I’ll take care of you from now on.” His hands were running up and down her back in a caress that was both soothing and exploratory. “You’re thinner than the last time I held you. You feel almost breakable in my arms. Didn’t you eat at all when you were in Colorado?”
She leaned against him like a weary child. There was no threat, no demand in the arms that held her. There was only tenderness and caring and a lovely protectiveness that made her feel marvelously treasured. “Sometimes,” she said, nestling her head under his chin. “Most of the time I was too tired to bother. It was a rough job.”
One hand moved up to knead gently the muscles at the nape of her neck. “All your jobs are rough,” he said thickly. “I had Ron Willet get a few clips from your last pictures. Some of the stuff you did scared the hell out of me.” His hand was loosening her ponytail and suddenly her hair tumbled down around her shoulders in a shiny cloud. His hands threaded through the tresses with tactile pleasure. “So pretty. Like fragrant satin. I kept remembering the feel of it in my hands when I was lying in bed at night and my palms would tingle.” He chuckled huskily. “Of course that wasn’t the only portion of my anatomy that tingled.”
He was stroking her hair with a gentleness that caused her to cuddle closer to his warmth like a kitten newly in from the cold.
“I memorized and can recall every curve and valley of your strong silky body, but it was your hair that I remembered the most. Your hair and your husky, scratchy little voice that rubbed my senses like a hand caressing me. Lord, I love your voice.”
She felt as if she were wrapped in a cloudlike blanket of loving security. “You really had Ron go to the trouble to get those clips?” she asked dreamily. “Why on earth did you do that?”
“That’s what I asked myself. I was busy as hell and working sixteen hours a day onVenture.I should have been so tired when I finally got to bed that I’d be knocked out with exhaustion.” He was winding the short wispy curls at her nape around his fingers. “Instead, I found I couldn’t get to sleep until I had my nightly fix of one Kendra Michaels.” His voice became a disgusted growl. “Hell, I didn’t even enjoy them. I couldn’t see your face, your hair was always covered with a wig, and the things you were doing caused my guts to knot and my skin to break out in a cold sweat. The worst thing about it was that I knew you were probably taking the same kind of crazy chances at the exact moment I was looking at those damn clips.” He drew a deep, shuddering breath. “No more, sweetheart. I can’t take any more of it. It got so that I was even having nightmares about it and I couldn’t wait until I got you here and could keep you safe.”
She felt a nagging sense of unease that pierced the warm contentment she was feeling. What was he talking about? “Safe?” she asked slowly. “I don’t know what you mean, Joel.”
“I’ve made inquiries; Wendy Lynch is available to do the stunts onVenture,” he said with a coolness that dumbfounded her. “I can fly her out from L.A. and have her on the set by day after tomorrow.” He added quickly, “You won’t suffer monetarily from the replacement, of course. You’ll still get the fee agreed upon, plus a sizable compensatory bonus.”
“Wendy Lynch,” she repeated the name blankly, “doingmystunts?” She stiffened in his arms. “What the devil are you talking about? No one else is going to do my stunts!”
“Wendy Lynch is doing your stunts,” he corrected, lifting his head to look down at her, his expression hard with determination. “Get used to the idea, Kendra. I told you what watching those clips did to me. Do you think I’m going through the hell of actually directing you while you’re doing them? No way, rainbow lady.”