The Helen Bianchin Collection (Mills & Boon E-Book Collections) Read Free

response, and gazed sightlessly after the nurse’s departing form.
    Why did she feel so uncertain and so damnably insecure? A natural reaction, an inner voice assured her, in tones remarkably like those of the consultant neurologist.
    The door swung open and she turned towards the ward sister, accepted the relevant appointment cards, and listened to the professional advice which concluded with, ‘Don’t attempt anything too strenuous too soon.’
    ‘I will personally see that she doesn’t,’ a faintly accented masculine voice assured her from the doorway, and Elise turned slowly to face her husband.
    The business suit he had worn that morning was absent, replaced by dark trousers and a polo shirt unbuttoned at the neck. The casual knit fabric emphasised his breadth of shoulder, the long sinewed sweep to his taut waist, and revealed powerfully muscled forearms liberally sprinkled with dark hair.
    His smile was warm, and Elise idly watched the nurse’s reaction with detached fascination, aware of the faint appreciative gleam evident beneath the professional façade.
    Did all women respond to Alejandro Santanas in this way? Elise wondered silently. Such thoughts were hardly conducive to her peace of mind, and she stood very still as he moved towards her and brushed his lips against her temple.
    ‘I have the car waiting outside.’
    Her indecision must have been apparent, for his gaze narrowed slightly as it took in her pale features and the degree of uncertainty evident in her deep green eyes.
    ‘You have no need to feel apprehensive,’ he assured quietly.
    Are you kidding? she wanted to scream. I’m being taken to a home I can’t remember with a man I feel I hardly know.
    With a sense of desperation she sought to elicit some sort of recollection— anything that would provide her with a measure of reassurance.
    Yet there was nothing, and she cursed herself afresh for attempting to force a situation over which she had no control.
    ‘If you’d care to follow me,’ the ward sister suggested, ‘I’ll accompany you to the main entrance.’
    His frame seemed to overpower hers as they traversed the carpeted corridor, and her stomach executed a series of painful somersaults as she caught sight of a large, expensive-looking vehicle parked immediately adjacent to the main doors.
    Indisputably his, it looked as powerful as the man who owned it, and she slid carefully into the passenger seat, unconsciously holding her breath as he leaned forward to attend to her seatbelt.
    His hand brushed against her breast, and her pulse leapt, then set up an agitated beat as he carefully fastened the clip in place, leaving her feeling helplessly trapped.
    Oh, God. She had to control her over-active imagination, she counselled silently as he closed the door and crossed round to slide in behind the wheel.
    The car eased forward and she experienced the insane desire to tell him to stop and let her out, which was crazy, for where could she go?
    Minutes later the large vehicle emerged into the steady stream of traffic, and with a sense of resignation she focused her attention on the scene beyond the windscreen.
    Houses constructed of bricks and mortar; neat garden borders bearing a variety of brightly coloured flowers; carefully tended lawns; trees lining the streets, their wide spreading branchesproviding shade from the sun’s shimmering rays; numerous electronically controlled intersections; shops.
    It all appeared so normal, so everyday. Yet none of it looked familiar.
    Some of her tension must have made itself felt, for Alejandro turned slightly and cast her a discerning glance.
    ‘You are uncomfortable?’
    Her eyes widened slightly as she met his dark gaze, and she uttered a polite negation before he returned his attention to the road.
    The car’s air-conditioning reduced the force of the midsummer heat, and Elise breathed a silent sigh of relief as he activated the stereo system, glad of the music’s soothing qualities, for it