Page 24 of Cruel Ice

“I never sleep for long.” Marley tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Do you have questions for me?”

“Questions?”

“About the stuff Parker just said.” She braced her legs and straightened her spine. The pose didn’t make her look any bigger. With his six-foot-three frame, he towered over her.

Those broken things she wants to fix so badly? They break her.Parker’s words rolled through Declan’s head. The cop clearly thought Declan was just another broken thing that wanted to hurt Marley.

He doesn’t know me. He doesn’t know what I want to do with her.

But Marley was staring at him with those big, deep eyes of hers. And he nodded. “I do have questions.”

“Fair enough. You’re paying me a lot of money for my services, and I want you to know that you can count on me. I willnotturn and run when things get dangerous. Parker is wrong about me.”

He eliminated the distance between them. Almost helplessly, his hand lifted, and his knuckles skimmed over the silk of her cheek. “I know that already.”

“You do?”

“You didn’t run at that shitty cabin, did you?” It would have been so easy to leave him. Yet she hadn’t.

Her fatal mistake.

“No, I didn’t.” She wet her lips.

He stopped touching her. But didn’t move back. “Have a big question for you.”

“I’mnotbroken. Well, maybe bent and banged up in a few places, but who isn’t?”

Declan shook his head. “The big question I have is…why in the hell did you ever date that prick?”And what did you do with him on that date? Because if that jerk put his hands on you?—

“Oh, I-I thought he was safe.”

His brow furrowed. “Explain.”

“He’s a detective. No record. He protects and serves. Does the whole routine of safety. And heisa good detective, by the way. Thorough and determined. He puts criminals away. He upholds the law.”

Not like he wanted to hear her go on and on praising the douche. “If he’s so perfect, then why aren’t you two in wedded bliss somewhere?” More rage stirred at just the thought. He tamped it down. His voice was mild. Almost bored.

“He’s not perfect. Neither am I.” Her hands rubbed along the front of her jean-clad thighs. “And I don’t like it when someone tells me I’mbrokenand that I should stick to making pastries and that I should never have put myself into a situation that was dangerous in the first place. I don’t like it when someone treats me like I’ll shatter at any moment.” A shake of her head. “Parker and I have known each other since high school. Like I said, I thought he was safe. But I guess safety wasn’t what I wanted.”

Declan wanted to touch her again. Instead, he shoved his hands into the pockets of his dress pants. “What do you want?”

“I—” Marley stopped.

Say you want me. Say it.If she did, he’d take her right then and there. Nothing would stop him. Not if she just said those precious words.

“I want to solve your case. I want to prove that I can do this job.”

Hardly the passionate declaration that he’d craved. But they’d get to that declaration, sooner or later. He could be patient when he wanted something badly enough.

He wanted her very badly.

Marley swallowed. “I want to show that darkness doesn’t scare me.”

“Darkness can scare anyone.”

Her lashes flickered. “You’re not a safe man, are you, Declan?”

“Not even close.” He wouldn’t pretend on that issue. “If safety is what you crave, you should walk away from me now.” Because he would never be safe. When it came to Marley, he would be demanding. Possessive. Possibly obsessed.

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