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.It was a dangerous thought, one he knew was going to end up getting him into trouble.BecauseElise had never been his, not really, and she never would be.Not when he could still remember whatshe looked like pulling herself up from behind that piano, blood on her head and her hands.Fear onher face.Fear that he had put there.Oh, he hadn t hit her would never hit her but she d gotten caught inthe disaster that was his life.Become collateral damage in the war he d spent too many years wagingwith his father.For the second time in as many minutes, Quinn shut that thought down.He couldn t think about thatday, wouldn t think about that day.Not now, when Elise was downstairs waiting for him.And notwhen he finally had a chance to if not make it up to her, then at least make it better.Determined to convince Elise to stay, he lined up his arguments in his head as he started down thestairs.But when he got to the family room, it was to find the couch empty and Elise nowhere in sight.Shit.Had she left, after all? He hadn t heard the alarm system beep that a door had opened, butmaybe the running water had muffled it.Panic struck harder than he ever would have anticipated, andhe glanced frantically around the room, looking for clues.And nearly collapsed in relief when he realized her purse and shoes were resting on the floor, rightnext to the couch.She hadn t left.She was still there.Still, he was determined to set eyes on her before he relaxed completely.He checked the nearesttwo bathrooms, the patio, the music room, and was about to give up and start calling for her when heheard a noise from the kitchen.He hightailed it in there, and then stopped in surprise when he sawElise standing next to the center aisle, calmly slicing a cucumber. I hope you don t mind, she told him. I was hungry. No.Not at all. He crossed the kitchen, reached for the knife. But why don t you go sit down andrest while I make dinner?She hung on to the knife. All I ve been doing for the last three days is resting.I m ready to dosomething else.He thought about how unsteady she d been at the hospital, how even after she d pushed him into thefountain, he d seen her sway a little on her feet.There was no way he was going to let her stand herewith the sharpest knife he owned when she could fall over at any moment.Not that he was stupid enough to say that to her.Instead, he nodded toward the kitchen table. Itmakes me nervous to have people around me while I cook.Can I move all the salad stuff over to thetable and you can finish making it there?She glared at him. I m not three.You don t have to make up stories to get me to do what youwant. I m serious. He put on his most innocent face. I have a phobia of other people in my kitchen. Yeah, just like you have a phobia of big, red rubber balls.At first he didn t know what she was talking about, but then he remembered.They couldn t havebeen more than thirteen or fourteen and he d been trying to talk her out of her shell.They were at oneof their first competitions, a two-day thing, and the rest of their competitors had been trying to blowoff steam with a rousing game of dodge ball.They d needed one more player and had asked him to join them, but he hadn t wanted to leave Elisealone, even back then.So he d faked a phobia of dodge balls and told them to ask her instead.Thenhe d teased and messed with her until she d finally given up and played.She d been surprisinglygood, too, and had made it all the way to the final round.He hadn t known she d caught on.Then again, she always had been good at keeping secrets. Hey, those things are scary, he said, picking up the rest of the salad fixings and carrying them tothe table. They re that weird pinkish red color, plus they smell funky and  Okay, okay. She grabbed the salad bowl with her good hand and followed him. I get it. Good. As she sat, he absently ran a hand down her spine.He d meant it as a thank you, a smallgesture of affection, but the air crackled between them at even that light touch.She froze, her face turned up to his, and for long seconds all he could think about was dropping tohis knees in front of her and kissing her.Her lips were red and plump and a little wet, like she d justlicked them, and suddenly he was dying for a taste of her.Just a taste.Just to find out if she still tastedlike wild strawberries.He knew it was a bad idea, knew he had no business even thinking about touching her.But his brainwas no longer in control, and when she leaned forward as if she was just as anxious to feel hismouth as he was to feel hers any chance he had of walking away disappeared.Moving slowly so that she had plenty of time to stop him, he wrapped a hand around the back of herneck and pulled her gently toward him [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]