Page 39 of Harvey

His mother’s words came back to her.

“Don’t give up on him, my dear. He was always waiting to be rejected when he got here. He could never believe we could love him because his parents abandoned him. It took us years, patience, and tolerance to assure him he was wanted.

When I became pregnant with Silas, it became worse. He did some pretty awful things to test him and get us to send him away. He is not an easy man to love.”

She was beginning to realize that, Kendra thought with a sinking heart as she glanced at the clock. She had not heard him come in at almost eleven thirty. She had left the door ajar to invite him into her room.

She had just pulled the sheets over her when she heard movements coming from his room. Gripping the sheets between tensed fingers, she forced her heart to stop beating so fast and held her breath, wondering if he was coming in.

Thirty minutes had passed before she stared at the door that had started to open slowly, indicating that he was coming in.

What should she do? She wondered frantically, her breathing accelerating. She could pretend to be fast asleep but did not want to appear coy. At the same time, she did not want him to think she was easy prey.

She felt that women would fall all over themselves for him, and she would not be one of them. She was also not privy to how to act in a sophisticated manner.

She watched him hover inside the doorway, pondering whether to enter the room. She gripped the sheets and waited tensely while he seemed to be battling indecision. Letting her breath out softly when he started moving forward, she watched as he came to stand at the edge of the bed.

He jolted in surprise when he realized she was wide awake and watching him.

“I thought you were sleeping.”

“And you didn’t want to wake me.” She supplied.

“No. Why are you still awake?”

“I was a little restless.”

“Aren’t you going to ask me where the hell I have been?” he asked, lifting a sardonic brow.

“Should I?”

“It’s the wifely thing to do, I suppose.” He told her with a shrug.

“And if I ask, would you tell me?”

“No.” He was watching her closely. The room was in shadows, but sufficient light from the moon filtered through the drapes for her to see his face.

“Then I won’t ask.”

“Just like that?”

She nodded.

“And if I say I want to join you in bed?”

Instead of responding, she turned down the sheets and moved over with enough space for him to climb in.

Training his silver eyes on her, he waited a beat before climbing in. He did not reach for her as she expected but stacked his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling. Kendra waited, suspecting he had something on his mind and wanted to talk. She was so happy he was here next to her that it did not matter if he remained silent.

“I considered sleeping in the trailer; that’s where I was.”

“What changed your mind?” She asked him softly.

Turning his head, he stared at the exquisite face scrubbed clean of all makeup. Her short cap of permed hair was brushed and was a perfect foil for her small face. His eyes drifted to her lips, and he felt the lust churning through his body at an alarming rate.

He had spent hours sitting on the bed in his mobile home, tormented with visions of her, the taste of her mouth and the texture of her nipples, and most of all, the passion that sprung up between them and had felt a yearning that had sent him running here.

“I want you.” He told her abruptly. “It’s that simple.”

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