The Lone Wolf's Craving. Tina Beckett

panties.

      Ugh. She smoothed out the note and traced her finger over the bold strokes of handwriting, smiling at the typical doctorlike scribbles. Luckily she’d had to decipher many notes like these during her physical therapy training, and later, with actual patients, to understand what their doctors wanted.

      There was nothing for it but to call and find out what he wanted.

      She punched the number that would allow her to reach an outside line and then dialed the rest of the digits listed on the note.

      “Blackman here.”

      His voice sounded sharp, hurried. “Oh, I’m sorry. You left me a—”

      “Kate?” His tone immediately changed. Softened. “I didn’t expect you to call so soon.”

      She blinked and glanced at the note again. No time stamp. Was it possible he’d left it only a short time ago? “Oh, I...I just got in.”

      “Listen, I’m swamped right now. But basically your father’s listed you as next of kin and has given me permission to fill you in, if you’ve got some free time.”

      “I can be there in a half hour.”

      There was a pause. “Can we do it somewhere else? I have something of yours I need to return, and I’d rather it not be at the hospital.”

      If only he’d been that conscientious a couple of days ago.

      And meeting him in her hotel room was out of the question. Not because she didn’t trust him but because she didn’t trust herself. If she’d have sex with him in a public hospital, what would stop her from peeling his clothes off in a private room?

      “How about a restaurant?” No, not a restaurant, dummy. “I mean a coffee shop.”

      “A restaurant sounds great.” He said something to someone with him then came back to her. “I’ve really got to go. I’ll pick you up when I get off. Say around six this evening.”

      “Oh, um...”

      “Say yes, Kate.” His voice had gone all soft and gravelly, and she shivered. It was almost identical to the tone he’d used in the supply room. Do you want this, Kate?

      She had. She’d said the word that had unleashed them both. And damn if she wasn’t about to say it all over again.

      “Yes.”

      CHAPTER THREE

      LUKE TURNED HIS car into the hotel, giving a soft whistle as he did. He’d heard of The Claymont—knew it was exclusive and pricey—but had never had any reason to visit before now.

      Towering white columns framed an ornate cobblestone driveway, the swirling pattern in the black-and-white marble chips echoing the curve of the entryway. An intricate coat of arms placed in the middle reminded him of the X on a celebrity red carpet, giving vehicles a definite stopping point. The place oozed opulence—from the lion’s-head fountain on a side wall, which splashed water into a rustic concrete trough, to the red-coated doorman who emerged from the interior of the hotel to greet him.

      Kate had money. Lots of it.

      Which might explain their encounter the other day. Maybe she was one of those cute socialites who got their kicks out of toying with danger.

      And their time in that supply closet had definitely been dangerous. It had pushed the boundaries, even for him.

      But he also remembered her hesitancy that first day at the entrance of the hospital. She hadn’t acted like a spoiled little rich girl.

      Maybe her mom had married into money. Nick said Kate’s father knew she wasn’t his biological daughter, so her mother hadn’t used an unwanted pregnancy to trick anyone into marrying her.

      She hadn’t lied about it.

      Except to Kate, evidently. It had to be rough having your world suddenly turned on its head.

      He handed the keys of his little MGB to the valet.

      “I won’t be long,” he said.

      “Very good, sir.”

      The front entrance welcomed him, the double doors swishing open with a quiet hiss. What the hell would he do if she invited him up to her room?

      It was a question he’d never thought he’d have to ask himself. But Nick was her father, so there would be no more supply closets...and definitely no hotel rooms in his future. He could keep his hands off her, really he could.

      “May I help you, sir?”

      The guy at the front desk was just as smooth and refined as he’d expected. “I’m here to see Kate Bradley.”

      “One moment.” He tapped some buttons on his computer keyboard, but just as he was picking up the handset to dial her room, the elevator doors pinged and Kate herself emerged.

      The air left his lungs, just as it had the first time he’d seen her. It wasn’t so much the way she was dressed as the way she carried herself—although the dark jeans clung in all the right places and the dark green halter-top left her pale shoulders exposed, revealing a smattering of freckles.

      “Sorry, I wasn’t sure where we were going,” she said when she reached him.

      That soft drawl slid over his body like warm silk. Again.

      He noticed the guy behind the desk just stood there, the phone still gripped in his hand. So Luke wasn’t the only one who thought the whole damn package was irresistible. When he turned his eyes toward the other man and lifted his brows, the guy put the phone down with a quick click, his face turning red. “Can I get you anything, Ms. Bradley?”

      How about a fire extinguisher, so she can put you out?

      As if he himself was any better at containing that particular fire.

      One side of his mouth quirked. Was Nick absolutely sure this was his kid? Because he just wasn’t seeing the resemblance.

      Kate smiled at the desk clerk, hiking the shiny metal links of her purse onto her shoulder. “I think I’m good. Thank you, though.”

      No thinking needed. She was good.

      Giving himself an internal eye roll, he motioned toward the door. “Are you ready? I know a place a couple of miles from here.”

      Once in his little car and heading down the road, he noticed Kate flinching periodically as they passed other cars.

      “It still seems so strange to be driving on the left. I keep thinking someone is going to honk at us. Or worse.”

      “You get used to it.” Not that she was going to be here long enough for that. So exactly how was he supposed to shine up Nick’s halo while avoiding tarnishing his own any further? By returning that little article of clothing she’d left behind a few days ago? “There’s a paper bag in the glove box. You might want to take it with you.”

      She tugged on her seat belt as if needing a bit more breathing space and stared at the latch in front of her. “I think I’ll wait until we get back to the hotel, if that’s okay. My purse is pretty small.”

      She knew exactly what was in there. He’d had half a mind to take the easy way out and toss the panties into the garbage, but he hadn’t. Luke had never been one to shy away from things that were uncomfortable, even when it had come to his folks’ poverty...his dad’s drunken anger. He’d just stood there and faced it down unblinking. “Don’t forget them. I’d hate the wrong person to go digging through that glove box.”

      “Like your next conquest?”

      Maybe she’d gotten wind of his reputation, as well. He really was going to have to appear a whole lot more boring at work. “I was thinking more along the lines of Nick—your father.”

      Kate’s face drained of all color and she turned