Page 30 of Too Lethal to Love

“Well, she implied that the cashier’s daughter was inferior to Evangeline because she didn’t go to an expensive university.”

Beth snorted. “Sounds like someone should pray for Judy’s soul, but it won’t be me.”

“And nobody needs to pray for you.” Rita put her arm around Beth’s waist. “I know you don’t care what the people in this town think, but here’s my opinion. I may have only seen you and your man together for a short time, but I know what happiness looks like.”

If happiness looked like lust, anxiety, and fear rolled into a tight smile, the assessment was spot on.

Rita stood on her toes and kissed Beth’s cheek. “I’m proud of you for overcoming your fears.”

“Thanks.” But Beth didn’t deserve praise. She hadn’t overcome anything.

Beth said goodbye to Rita and met Kane at the bottom of thestairs. He slipped his phone into his pocket and picked up their bags at his feet. “Which way to our room?”

Panic sizzled in her chest at the thought of sharing her intimate space with Kane. “I’ll be sleeping in my bed. You get the guest room across the hall.”

He motioned for her to go up first. “That’s not how this relationship works, sugarplum.”

She spun on the first step and faced him. “You are not my boyfriend, and I don’t do relationships.”

“Neither do I.”

Her heart sank. It shouldn’t, but it did. Knowing he didn’t want her should make it easier to stop thinking about what he looked like naked. Hell, he’d pushed her away the night of their not-quite-date when her desperation for comfort percolated into red-hot lust and she’d kissed him.

But he’d wanted her. She didn’t remember much of their encounter, but she’d never forget how he’d kissed her back. For the briefest moment, she’d tasted desire on his full, soft lips. Felt his hard cock against her belly when he’d pulled her close. The memory got fuzzy and embarrassing when he pushed her away and told her to go to sleep. She tried not to think about what she may or may not have said, but she couldn’t forget how she’d fought to hold back tears until he’d left the room.

She had her reasons, unfounded or not, for keeping her heart caged in a prison. Apparently, so did he.

Kane pushed open her bedroom door and dropped their bags near her desk adjacent to the window. “This room faces the street, so this is where I’ll stay.” He pushed the billowy white curtain aside and peeked out.

Beth hooked her thumb over her shoulder. “The couch downstairs faces the street too.”

He shrugged off his jacket and draped it over her deskchair. “I sleep where you sleep, so I’m close if anything happens.”

“Fine. Then that’s yours.” She pointed to the oversized lilac love seat. “It pulls out into a bed.”

A grin split his face. “Good thing I look good in purple.”

Damn, did he ever. He looked delicious with his arms crossed over his chest. The outline of his corded biceps under his long-sleeve shirt served as a colossal reminder of why he was here. Still, his presence felt right in her pretty purple room, even though the reason was so wrong.

As he pulled off his holster and placed it, along with his gun, on her desk, she couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like if she didn’t have a bizarre dating hang-up that no self-help book ever discussed.

She stared at the queen-size bed.

Yeah, she could imagine. They’d been alone for five minutes and her plan to not think about temptation was already faltering. But God, there wasn’t a woman on the planet who could blame her.

Despite the clouds, light seeped through the curtains and highlighted the curve of his cheek. The cut of his jaw. His fathomless blue eyes that sometimes flashed with sorrow and pain she was only beginning to understand.

Did his past invade his dreams? Scarlett couldn’t say much about what haunted Chris, but Beth knew it had to do with the losses he’d suffered and not just the loss of his arm. She shouldn’t ask Kane, but she needed to know she wasn’t the only one who feared the dark. “Do you have nightmares?”

He raised an eyebrow. A heartbeat later, he sighed. “Yeah. Ever since…” He glanced at his leg. “But lately, they’ve changed to reflect more recent events.”

“Mexico?”

Darkness clouded his gaze.

“Something like that.” Looking away, he studied the photos tacked to a bulletin board over her desk. “Homecoming Queen, huh? Of course your gown was purple. Why do you like that color so much?”

She pointed to her high school dance team picture. “It’s my school colors.”

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