Bulletproof Bride - By Diana Duncan Page 0,24

like nurturing them, watching them thrive under my care." Her cheeks heated. "Probably more than you wanted to know." She gave him instructions on watering the kitchen plants and hustled to the bathroom to tend her ferns.

"Uh-oh," he called.

"What now?" She rushed to the kitchen.

He leaned over the counter, peering into a brass pot. Wearing a puzzled frown, he pointed to a shriveled pile of leaves. "I touched it, and the thing croaked."

Tessa chuckled. "That's a Sensitivity Plant, genus Mimosa pudica. When touched, the plant wilts. In about thirty minutes, it will look good as new."

"If you say so." He shook his head. "Time to go."

Downstairs, Gabe stowed her bags in the back while she climbed into the front. He settled into the driver's seat. "Want to listen to a CD?"

"Sure." The car roared away from the curb. She sifted through his collection of classic rock and Latin music, choosing a Latin CD. A rhythmic beat filled the car. "I've never listened to Latin artists. The music has a … I can't quite put my finger on the feeling. I like it, though."

"Sensuality?" His smoldering green eyes perfectly illustrated the concept. Sensuality indeed.

Her pulse skittered, and she looked away. "It might help if I understood the words."

"Sometimes you don't need words." Mingled with the throbbing drumbeat, his dark, smooth drawl shivered over her, and heat twisted in her belly. She started to tremble.

"But I guess understanding the lyrics would help."

"Do you?" she managed to croak, turning back to him.

"Sí señorita," he replied, his eyes sparkling. "Foreign languages come in handy in the super-spy business."

"So, you speak Spanish and what else?"

Gabe shrugged.

"Don't be modest Mr. Bond, it doesn't suit you."

He chuckled. "I can get by in French, Arabic, German, Japanese, Italian and a smattering of Soviet and Chinese dialects."

She'd seen the quick intelligence lurking under his playful demeanor, but had still underestimated him. "I'm impressed."

"Don't be. I like to know what I'm ordering in a restaurant when I travel."

He turned onto a quiet residential street. The space between houses increased, until finally he entered a long driveway flanked by stone pillars. Yellow leaves fluttered down from the oak trees lining the driveway as he drove up the winding path that sheltered the house. He stopped the car in front of a gray stone cottage. "Home sweet rented house."

He ushered her inside. Her shoes sank into thick ivory carpet, the creamy color warming the soft white walls hung with verdant forest paintings. A brown leather sofa and chairs piled with light-blue, emerald-green and ivory pillows sat in an inviting semicircle around a huge beige stone fireplace.

An attached small dining area contained a whitewashed pine circular table flanked by four chairs. She caught a glimpse of emerald-green tiles and matching curtains in the kitchen.

Gabe gestured as he led her down the hallway. "Kitchen, deck on the patio, complete with hot tub. Unless that would freak you out?" He looked over his shoulder, brows raised.

"No, bathtubs and hot tubs don't bother me."

"Head, er, bathroom, to your right, hope you don't mind sharing." He pointed at the first door on the left. "Equipment and surveillance room. Stay out of there. My room," he indicated the last door on the right. "In which you're cordially welcome, anytime." The wolfish grin curving his lips sent an annoying sizzle sparking through her again.

Get a grip.

"Guest room." He opened the last door on the left and stood to one side so she could enter before depositing her suitcase on the powder-blue down comforter. "We've got forty minutes, so don't dawdle." Muttering something about his brain cells going AWOL, he departed.

A seascape hanging over the bed caught Tessa's gaze. A cold, anxious shudder wracked her. Deliberately turning her back on the painting, she slid the mirrored closet doors aside to hang her dresses on the empty rod. Arranging her clothes in the whitewashed dresser took ten minutes.

She changed, grabbed her raincoat, and strolled into the living room. Her new roommate turned from the window. His black tailored suit fit his muscular body to perfection. A heathered gray shirt and jade and gray patterned tie emphasized his striking green eyes. With his thick hair tamed back from its usual tousled state, he looked like he'd stepped off the pages of GQ. Very unlike the roguish pirate she'd gotten used to. Her throat constricted. "You look—" Good enough to take a bite out of "—nice."

"Thank you. You look nice yourself." Gabe let the drapes fall closed and studied the intriguing woman in