“But he has his favorites.” The Panda underlined her point by raising his head to nuzzle against Diana’s neck. “What’s the difference between theft and abduction?”
“Theft is stealing goods for profit. Abduction is taking a person for more complicated reasons, and Panda is very much a person.” Anthony smiled a little. “Though a furry one. In this case, I didn’t mean to keep him. He’s a hostage.”
Diana frowned. “What kind of ransom do you want? You don’t need money.”
“His ransom is for you to talk to me,” Anthony said crisply. “I know now why you left me so abruptly, and while I think it might have been possible to deal with my father’s threats in a different way, I do understand why you did what you did. Perhaps your abandoning me was the best of a bad lot of choices.”
“I thought so then.” She sighed. “I still think so. But what’s done is done, Anthony. The past can’t be changed.”
“But the future can be.” He drew a deep breath, unable to forget the pain he’d felt when she said she never wanted to see him again. “Desperate times call for desperate measures. Abducting the Panda was the one thing I could think of that would bring you to me, since I was banned from your presence.”
“I’m sorry,” she said in a voice fading to a whisper. “I didn’t want to hurt you, but I can’t see a future with you. I justcan’t.” The soup mug sagged from her fingers.
Anthony gently removed the mug and set it aside before it could fall. She must be exhausted after her dangerous struggle through the storm—though he wasn’t entirely sure that she wasn’t feigning sleep to avoid talking to him. He’d grant her this night, but tomorrow would be a different matter.
This time the Panda jumped away when Anthony stood with Diana in his arms. He carried her into the bedroom and tucked her under the down quilt, folding the blanket and spreading it over her for additional warmth.
He was still wearing his boots, so he tugged them off and climbed into the other side of the bed. The situation was ruinous for any number of reasons, but he was too tired to care. He rolled over and drew Diana into his arms. She’d warmed up some but was still chilled. No matter. He had enough heat for both of them.
It was sweet, so sweet, to hold her like this....
Before drifting off to sleep, he felt the bed shake as the Panda landed and found a comfortable spot on top of their feet. What a good Panda he was, to bring Diana into Anthony’s arms, even if only for a single night.
* * *
Diana gradually emerged from sleep, wondering why she’d dreamed of icy cold and bitter winds when she was so warm and secure.
Warm, secure, and enfolded in a male embrace. Her eyes shot open, but she remained very still as she assessed her situation.
She could see the window, and the outside sky was no longer dark, but it looked gray and heavy. She guessed that it was still snowing. The deadly storm had been real, and Anthony had rescued her and brought her into the safety of the lodge.
She’d been cold, so cold, with the kind of deep chill that went to the marrow and seemed as if it would never go away. But the warm bed and Anthony’s warm body had melted the chill away. They were lying face-to-face, his arm around her waist as they shared a pillow. She was still in hersalwarandkameezwhile he wore drawers and a shirt, so they were both minimally respectable.
He still slept, so she was free to study his face close up. Handsome, always, with a faint shadowing of dark whiskers on his chin and lower cheeks. In the last seven years there had been a firming of the softer lines of youth.
She’d always known he was younger than she, and it hadn’t mattered because of the swift bond that had formed between them. Now she realized that he no longer seemed younger. He was fully mature, a man in the prime of life who had endured a brutal upbringing to become wise and compassionate.
Though he no longer seemed young, now she felt old. Worn out and useless.
His intense blue eyes opened and they stared at each other with mere inches between them. She felt as if she was looking into his soul, and merciful heaven, what was he seeing in her?
The heat and tension between them swiftly turned combustible and she rolled away from him and out of bed before there was an explosion. He’d lured her here for answers, and he would not be satisfied without the truth. She painfully recognized that she must provide that. As he said, she owed him that much.
The Panda rose from the foot of the bed and arched into a stretch. “Mroowp!”
“He’s hungry,” she said.
“He’s always hungry as near as I can tell,” Anthony said dryly as he rolled from the other side of the bed. He stretched, not unlike the Panda, all lithe male grace. The illicit intimacy of sharing a bed with him was equally irresistible and alarming. “Would you like tea and toast?”
Hot tea!“Yes, please.” She moved closer to the window. “It’s still snowing, but less than last night, I think.”
“You’re right, but we won’t be getting out of here today and probably not tomorrow. I brought your saddlebags in last night. Do you have a change of clothing inside?”
She nodded. “Fresh clothes would be welcome.”
He brought her saddlebags and moved into the front room. From the sounds, he was putting coal on the fire and setting a kettle to boil for the tea. Diana splashed cold water from the basin on her face and changed into a plain but warm blue gown, wrapping a patterned Indian shawl around her shoulders.
They changed places and she moved into the kitchen while he retreated to the bedroom to dress. The Panda was polishing off the breakfast Anthony had set out for him. She surveyed the food supplies and saw that none of them were in danger of starving.
