“What for now?”
She frowned.“That wasn’t nice.”
“Sometimes I’m not nice.”His eyes had darkened to navy as he stood before her in his bare feet, his shirt open just enough for her to follow the downward spiral of his chest hair to the waistband of his jeans.The scent of horse, male sweat and musk assailed her.
“I didn’t realize when I made such a thing of that calendar page that you...that it was the day when...Ry, I didn’t know.Dexter told me.If I’d only realized...”She trailed off, failing miserably to make the smooth statement of regret she’d practiced so many times in her head.
“I know,” he said gently.“And I wasn’t man enough to tell you the reason I ripped it out.It’s not your fault.”
She swallowed and looked away.He was man enough for anything she could imagine.
“Was that why you came here?”
She nodded.“I felt terrible.You must still love her very much.”
He gazed out the window and shoved his hands in his pockets.“I’ll always care about her, but that isn’t why I mangled your calendar page,” he said at last.
Freddy sat very still.She sensed the slightest movement or word from her might send him back behind the wall he’d built around this tragedy.
When he spoke, his voice was a strained monotone.“Even after eight years, I hate being reminded of that day because I keep thinking I should have been able to do something to keep it from happening.”He looked at her, his expression tormented.“Punks, that’s all they were!Not one of them with a tenth of her potential.When she wouldn’t give them her briefcase, which was typical of Linda’s defiant attitude, they shot her.”He snapped his fingers.“Gone, like that, all that talent, beauty, sense of humor.”He began to pace the length of the room.“When the cops finally got them, they couldn’t understand the big deal!They had no idea what they’d done with that one, impersonal bullet.”His voice dropped to a whisper.“No idea.”
Freddy got to her feet, her heart beating a slow, painful rhythm.No one should have to endure something like this.And certainly not alone.“It was random violence,” she murmured, crossing to him and resting her hands lightly on his arms.“You couldn’t have stopped it.”
He met her gaze.“Maybe not.But when we were first married, I’d meet her at her office and we’d walk home together.Then our schedules got crazy and I stopped doing it.If I’d kept it up, then?—”
“She would have accused you of overprotecting her,” Freddy said, tightening her grip on his arms.
The anguish in his eyes eased a fraction and he nodded.“Probably.”
“I would have,” she continued.“I’d never stand for some man chaperoning me everywhere, implying I couldn’t take care of myself.”
His hands came up to cup her elbows and he smiled faintly.“I know.You remind me of her sometimes.”
Freddy relaxed her grip and stepped back.Was that what this was all about?She didn’t want to be a reminder of his late wife.
“And you didn’t appreciate my saying that, did you?”
She crossed her arms in front of her chest.“I guess no woman wants to be a stand-in.”
With a short humorless laugh, he reached for her, grabbing her arms and pulling her resistant body close enough that his breath feathered against her face.“That’s the last thing I’d ever label you, Frederica Singleton.You’re unique, and you’ve been driving me crazy since the day I saw you.”
She lifted her chin.“Because I’m like Linda?”
“I’m attracted to strong women.You fit in that category, and so did Linda, but that’s where it ends, Freddy.”His voice grew tender as a caress.“When we kiss, it’s you I’m kissing.”His fingers kneaded the pliant flesh of her upper arm.“When I ache for a lover, you’re the one I want.”His words became a whisper.“You, Freddy.”
Her pulse raced as she gazed into the flame-bright depths of his eyes.The heat pouring from him liquefied the brittle shell that had surrounded her for so long, she’d almost forgotten what it was like to be drenched in desire, to feel the surge of that warm river swelling against the moist confinement of its banks, threatening to overflow.
“And now I’ll ask you again,” he murmured.“Is your apology the only reason you came here tonight?”
ChapterFifteen
“No,” Freddy said.Ry’s question opened a new freshet of passion within her.“No.I wanted to see you.Be with you.”
“Ready to risk a little?”
“Maybe.”
His gaze smoldered.“We don’t have any excuses this time.There’s nothing wrong with me.I don’t need doctoring because I’m saddle-sore or full of cactus.You’re dealing with a completely healthy male animal, no handicaps to slow me down.”
