The Villa

hair. She wanted nothing more than ten minutes of fresh air and a tall glass of water. "I haven't seen her for, oh, half an hour at least. I was just down trying to talk to Gina through the door of her room. She's locked herself in. Fighting with Don, apparently. She's throwing things around, weeping hysterically, and of course she's woken the children. They're shrieking."
    "Thanks for the tip. I'll make sure to avoid that part of the house."
    "Why don't you check her room? I got enough out of Gina to know Sophia tried to referee. She might be in there cooling off. Is David in the ballroom?"
    "Didn't see him," Ty said as he walked by. "He's probably around somewhere."
    He turned toward Sophia's room. If he found her, he thought it might be a fine idea to lock the doors and take her mind off work, as ordered. He'd been wondering all night just what she had on under that red dress.
    He knocked lightly, eased the door open. The room was dark and cold. With a shake of his head, he started across to close the terrace doors.
    "You're going to freeze your excellent ass off in here, Sophie," he muttered, and heard a quiet moan.
    Puzzled, he stepped out and saw her in the sprinkle of light that dripped down from the ballroom. She was sprawled on the terrace, braced on one elbow as she tried to shift. He leaped forward, dropped down on his knees beside her.
    "Easy, baby. What'd you do? Take a spill?"
    "I don't know… I… Ty?"
    "Yeah. Jesus, you're freezing. Come on, let's get you inside."
    "I'm okay. Just a little jumbled. Let me get my head clear."
    "Inside. You took a knock, Soph. You're bleeding."
    "I'm…" She touched her fingers to the pump of pain on her forehead, then stared dully at the red smear she took away. "Bleeding," she managed as her lids closed again.
    "Oh no, no, you don't." He shifted his grip. "No passing out." His heart staggered in his chest as he lifted her. Her face was sheet-white, her eyes glazed, and the scrape on her forehead was oozing blood. "That's what you get for wearing those skinny heels. I don't know how women walk on them without breaking their ankles."
    He kept talking, to calm them both, as he laid her on the bed and turned back to shut the terrace doors. "Let's warm you up some, and we'll take a look at the damage."
    "Ty." She gripped his hand as he pulled a throw over her. Despite the pain, her mind was clearing now. "I didn't fall. Somebody pushed me."
    "Pushed you? I'm going to turn on this light so I can see where you're hurt."
    She turned her head away from the glare. "I think I'm hurt everywhere."
    "Quiet now. Just lie still." His hands were gentle, even as his temper raged. The head wound was nasty, a vicious scrape already swelling and full of grit. Her arm was scraped as well, just below the shoulder.
    "I'm going to get you out of this dress."
    "Sorry, handsome. I have a headache."
    Appreciating her attempt at humor, he eased her forward, searching for a zipper, buttons, hooks. Something. "Honey, how the hell does this thing work?"
    "Under the left arm." Every inch of her was beginning to ache. "Little zipper, then you sort of peel it off the rest of the way."
    "I've been wondering what you had on under here," he babbled as he undressed her. He imagined there was a name for the strapless deal that cinched at her waist and curved up high at the nips. He'd have just called it stupendous. Stockings came up to her thighs and were hooked by little garters shaped like roses. While he appreciated the architecture of the underwear, he was more relieved that there wasn't extensive damage to the woman in it.
    Her right knee was a little scraped up, and the sheer, silky stocking was a ruin.
    Someone, he promised himself, was going to pay and pay dearly for putting marks on her. But that would have to wait.
    "Not so bad, see?" His voice was easy as he helped her sit up a little to see for herself. "Looks like you fell on your right side, a little bruise coming up on your hip there, scraped knee and shoulder. Your head took the worst of it, so that's lucky, considering."
    "That's a really amusing way to tell me I have a hard head. Ty, I didn't fall. I was pushed."
    "I know. We'll get to that after I clean you up some."
    When he rose, she just lay back. "Get me a bottle of aspirin while you're in there."
    "I don't think you should take anything before you get to the hospital."
    "I'm not going to the hospital for a couple of scrapes and bumps." She heard water hitting the sink in the