But hearing about her plans to keep working, he doubted she had anything similar in mind.
He scowled into the darkness, wondering a little anxiously if she’d remembered to lock her doors. People didn’t always lock their doors on Cable Cay, and it was unlikely anyone would disturb her, but Matt couldn’t put it out of his mind.
The sudden piercing scream that rent the peace of the evening set Matt’s heart pounding. The sound had definitely come from the cottage, and, after what he’d been thinking, his blood went cold.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he leapt down the steps and started along the path to the villa, all manner of horrific scenarios racing through his mind. If anyone had invaded the cottage, he’d kill them. And if they’d touched her...
But he refused to continue that thought.
MATT COVERED THE quarter-mile in minutes. Before he reached the cottage, he heard someone running after him and guessed that Henry, too, had heard the scream.
‘That was Mrs Novak, wasn’t it?’ the man panted as he caught up with Matt. ‘You don’t think there’s an intruder, do you?’ Henry persisted, and Matt was glad the older man couldn’t see his face.
‘I hope not,’ he retorted grimly, already planning what he would do if anyone had touched Joanna.
They reached the cottage and Matt bounded up the steps to bang on the door. But there was no need to announce his arrival. The door was unlocked, and, remembering his earlier fears on Joanna’s behalf, he hoped it was she who hadn’t turned the key.
‘Joanna!’ he yelled, bursting into the parlour, and heard what he thought was a responding cry coming from the other side of the house. It was from one of the bedrooms, he thought, his nerves as taut as violin strings. What was going on?
Henry was right behind him when he reached the bedroom where the sound had come from. The door was shut, which might or might not be a good thing. But then he heard Joanna call, ‘Matt! Matt, is that you?’ and realised that whatever had happened, she was still okay.
However, when he opened the door, the sight that met his eyes was not at all reassuring. Joanna was standing on the bed, and she was obviously terrified. Her arms were wrapped protectively around her middle, and there was a look of real terror in her eyes.
She was wearing only a man-sized tee shirt that was so thin as to be almost transparent. It barely covered her thighs, due in no small part to the size of her stomach that swelled beneath the cloth. Long legs, bare and disturbingly familiar, caused his stomach to tighten in response.
But Matt definitely didn’t want to think about that right now.
When she saw him, Joanna’s relief was evident. ‘Oh, thank God, you’ve come,’ she exclaimed tremulously, forgetting for a moment that she hadn’t seen him since her arrival.
Then she saw Henry hovering behind him, and half turned away in embarrassment. ‘Um—there’s a rat; under the bed.’ A sob broke from her throat. ‘Can you get rid of it? Please! It—it’s huge!’
‘A rat?’ Matt let go of the door and came towards her, dark and disturbing in a black tee and matching shorts. Immediately the room was filled with his raw masculinity, and Joanna had to grope for a breath of cool night air. ‘Are you sure?’
‘I’m sure,’ Joanna managed shakily, and wondered if he knew she was struggling against tears. ‘It was there when I came out of the bathroom. Just—just staring at me with evil little eyes.’
Matt reserved judgement on the evil little eyes but it was obvious something had frightened her badly.
‘So where is it now?’ asked Henry, coming into the room behind him. The older man seemed unconcerned about Joanna’s appearance, and Matt gave him a half-impatient look.
‘She says it’s under the bed,’ he said, going down on one knee to scan the area in question. And then he allowed a rueful smile when he saw what was huddling beneath the wooden frame.
‘What is it? What is it?’ Joanna was shifting from foot to foot, and Matt was half afraid she was going to lose her balance and fall. ‘Can you see it?’ Then, observing his expression, ‘What’s so funny?’
Matt shook his head, sobering, and, getting to his feet again, he turned to Henry. ‘It’s a hutia,’ he told the other man. ‘I’d say the poor thing’s more frightened than she is.’
‘A hutia?’ Joanna had never heard of such a thing. ‘Is—is that a rat?’
‘It’s a rodent, certainly,’ agreed Matt, as Henry bent to view the culprit. ‘But it’s not a rat. They’re usually quite harmless. People actually keep them as pets. God knows how it got in here.’ He turned to Henry again. ‘Who was the last person in the cottage?’
‘I suppose that would be me,’ said Henry unhappily. ‘I came and checked the place out before I went to the airport. I might have left the doors open for a while. It was so hot, and I wanted the breeze to blow through.’
Joanna tried to calm her erratic heartbeat. What a perfect way to start her stay on the island. She’d never screamed like that before. But then, she’d never been so frightened either. Matt probably thought she was a complete idiot.
‘Can—can you get rid of it?’ she asked, trying to behave more calmly now that it seemed that there was no danger.
But she was embarrassed that the older man was there.
Matt looked thoughtful. ‘Well, we can,’ he said, in answer to her question. ‘But the whole place will have to be fumigated before you can stay here.’ He turned once more to Henry. ‘Why don’t you go and get the SUV and we’ll bring Mrs Novak back to the villa?’
Joanna’s lips parted. ‘Your villa?’
‘You can’t stay here tonight,’ he added, aware that his panic on her behalf had given way to a kind of resentment. What chance did he have of keeping his cool when even her scream could tear his nerves to shreds?
He scowled. It was hard to be gentle with her when seeing her like this had aroused all the carnal instincts he’d been trying so hard to deny. For pity’s sake, he’d spent the latter half of the evening trying to drown the knowledge that Joanna was here and he still wanted her. Had he ever stopped wanting her? He didn’t want to know.
Meanwhile, Joanna, hearing the censure in his voice, assumed his attitude towards her hadn’t changed. Bringing her here had been a way to prove his dominance, and after the cottage was habitable again, she’d try and make sure she didn’t need his help again.
With Henry on his way back to the villa, Joanna hesitated only a moment longer and then dropped down onto her knees. But she was aware her heart was still racing and the baby had been unusually quiet for the past half-hour. Shocked into immobility, she thought uneasily. Honestly, whatever that creature was, it had scared both of them half to death.
‘Would you like me to carry you into the bathroom,’ asked Matt, noticing her uncertainty, but to his relief Joanna shook her head.
‘Um—I don’t think that will be necessary,’ she said a little breathlessly. But she needed to put some clothes on before Henry returned. ‘Will—will that—what did you call it? Hutia? —will it try to escape?’
Matt regarded her critically for a moment, and then gave in. ‘It’s probably more frightened of you than you are of it,’ he said, his tone softening. ‘It’s not gonna leap out at you, if that’s what you’re afraid of.’
Joanna nodded and wriggled until her legs were hanging over the side of the bed. Her tee shirt had hiked up to the tops of her thighs, but that couldn’t