Part 17 (2/2)
”His phone calls?”
”And his texts and email and Facebook messages. That's probably why he says he's coming here. To get me to talk to him. I doubt he means it. He's just hoping I'll cave and reply.”
”He makes you nervous?”
She shook her head hard. ”I'm not afraid of him.”
”Okay.” She was so defensive about not being fearful anymore. ”Take it easy.”
”I just...” She set the phone aside and rubbed her temples. ”I don't want to rehash the past. We've already done that several times. It's over whether he accepts it or not.”
”Hey.” Cannon took her hands away, replacing them with his own. ”I'm not going to let anyone hurt you.”
She laughed, leaned in against him and gave him a tight hug.
Folding his arms around her, Cannon tried not to get turned on. She wanted affection, not an erection.
It was nice, having her initiate contact this time. Hopefully, like him, she'd begun to feel comfortable, as if the three years apart had never happened.
He'd feel better about things if he knew exactly what was going on between her and her ex. ”Why'd you split from him?”
She s.h.i.+fted against him, but didn't move away. ”I broke things off with Heath for the same reason I can't start anything with you.”
”We're not starting anything,” he gently explained. ”We're picking up where we left off.”
On a soft groan, she put her forehead to his chest and stared down at...well, maybe his fly, but more likely her own feet.
In a barely there whisper, she said, ”That'd be ground zero, then, because there was never anything between us.”
No way could he let her slide on that; there'd been almost too much for him to comprehend until he'd seen her again and it had all came rus.h.i.+ng back. ”I know you've been through a lot, but-”
”Cannon,” she whispered, interrupting him. ”Will you please do something for me?”
In such a short time, he was beginning to think he'd do anything for her. ”Sure.”
When she leaned back and looked up at him, she wore a sincere smile. ”Promise?”
G.o.d, what this one woman did to him. ”Yeah.”
”Please, go see your friends. Go and have fun. And don't worry about me. Just...just pretend I'm any other woman. Not the woman who was threatened and hurt. Not the girl who cried and let herself be a victim.” He started to speak and she put a finger to his mouth.
And even that turned him on.
”Don't a.s.sociate every thought of me with the past, okay? Can you do that for me?”
Why didn't she ask for something easy-like the moon?
Holding her waist, he lifted her up to sit on the counter. She grabbed for his shoulders to steady herself, and he stepped between her legs, then slid his hands down to her slim hips and snugged her up close, groin to groin, b.r.e.a.s.t.s to chest. ”I'll go. And I'll try not to worry. But, honey, no way can I think of you as any other woman. Like it or not, you're special to me.”
She got that ”aww” look in her eyes again.
Seduction, he had to keep reminding himself. Maybe with Yvette it came more naturally than he'd realized, because she sure as h.e.l.l looked seduced.
”Will you promise me something, too?”
”All right.”
”Promise you'll tell me if Heath becomes a problem.”
”I can handle him.”
Acknowledging that with a nod, he said, ”Promise me anyway.”
”All right.”
”I'll keep my phone on me. Call me if anything spooks you.”
She touched his throat, his collarbone. ”How about I'll call you if I actually think there's a threat? After I call the police. Will that work?”
Meaning she often got spooked and wasn't confident about her instincts anymore. ”I could be late. Midnight, maybe one.”
She faked a yawn. ”I'll long be in bed by then.”
Cannon could tell she was up to something, he just didn't know what.
”You could let me know when you get in, though. Just so I don't hear things and think-”
He took her mouth, far from brief, far from as much as he wanted. ”I'll let you know.”
Slightly dazed, she stared at his mouth, then shook herself. ”You should probably quit doing that.”
He gave her the truth. ”I don't know if I can.”
Her smile flickered into place, and she surprised him by saying softy, ”I shouldn't be, but I'm sort of glad.”
His heart leaped. To h.e.l.l with leaving. If she was willing- Pressing against his chest, she said, ”Now go.”
d.a.m.n. Cannon didn't tell her that she was shoving him out the door an hour earlier than necessary. She claimed there couldn't be anything between them, but she'd gone all soft and willing from a simple kiss. He wanted time to think, and she looked as if she wanted some privacy of her own.
He set her back on her feet and went down the hall to change. When he came back out, she was at the kitchen table with papers spread out.
”Your grandfather's stuff?”
She nodded. ”I didn't find what I needed with what the lawyer gave us, but I remembered that Grandpa always kept the paperwork in the hutch.”
Over her shoulder, Cannon saw the wrinkled yellow receipts and a few torn pages.
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