Page 57 of When He Hunts

Well, that explained the late-night snack he’d observed.

“Starting my own business. I’d actually just done that, but, well, it didn’t work so well, did it? Just a side hustle that I thought would bring in extra cash so I could take some of the trips I’d started to hope for—a job that might make some people happy at the same time. Only it pretty much cost me my life.”

“So you really did have a singing telegram business.” His head angled toward her.

One brow lifted in query.

Shit. Had she mentioned it to him before or had he just read that bit in Gray’s file? “Uh, Gray might have told me.” That should cover his ass. “Haven’t heard about one of those in a while.”

She inched even closer. “I can sing,” she admitted a bit shyly. “And act. Those were my escapes when I was growing up. Mom didn’t want me playing sports. Nothing physical that might get me hurt. She always thought I was too fragile. Everyone thought that.”

Hadn’t he thought the same thing when he first saw her? That she seemed fragile.Breakable.Only, she wasn’t.

“The stage was safe. And it let me escape. I could stop being the weak girl. I could be a fighter or a fairytale heroine or a doomed Shakespearean character who loved the wrong man.” Her lips curled down, then up again. “I could be anyone else. I could escape and I could be happy, and I could forget the rest of the world when I went up on the stage.”

“Is that why you became a drama teacher?”

“I was going to New York.” Soft. Wistful. “But my mom got sick. She needed me.” He heard zero regret in her voice as she told him, “I love being a drama teacher. I get to help my kids escape and shine and…” A little sigh. “They probably have no idea what happened to me.” Now there was regret. “I told my principal I had an emergency, and I ran out of town. I hate to leave the kids. I hope they aren’t worried.”

He didn’t know what to do with her. But he didn’t like the sadness that had just entered her voice.Distract her.“What else is on the list?”

“What?”

“The adventure list. What else is on there?”

Her lashes fluttered. “I want to sing in a club. Always wanted to do that. One of those bluesy places. I want to dance in the moonlight. I want to wake up and see the sun rise over the ocean. I want—” But she stopped. “This talk is all about me. Hardly seems fair. What doyouwant, Ronan?”

He didn’t speak.

“I’m sure you’ve had plenty of adventures. Something tells me that you’ve been all over the world, haven’t you? Seen all kinds of glamorous things?”

He’d been all over the world. He’d seen battlefields. Seen cafés turned into hollowed-out shells as fire raged and explosions rocked the world. He’d seen death. He’d seen crime. He’d seen friends die. Seen friends betray him. “Yeah, I’ve seen all the glamorous shit.” His hand rose, and he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. His palm lingered against her cheek. “Anything else exciting on this adventure list of yours?”

“Don’t even get me going on the sexual things.”

Uh, yeah, he’d like to get her going on the sexual things. One hundred percent.

Her head turned, and her lips skimmed against his palm. “I’m already making serious headway there, thanks to you.”

He should not ask, but he knew he would anyway. “What kind of headway?”

“Never had someone go down on me, until you.” Another skim of her lips against his palm. “Never went down on anyone, until you.”

And his dick was making a tent out of the sheets. Surprise, surprise.

Actually, whatwasa surprise? The territorial high he got from knowing he’d been her first.I don’t want any other bastards ever feeling those lush lips on their dicks.The urge to murder was quite strong at the very thought.

“Never showered with a man, until you. It was a whole lot less awkward and way more sexy than I thought it would be.” A pause. “Never spent the night just sleeping in someone’s arms, until you. See, I’ve had lots of firsts with you. You know what? At this point, I’m pretty much thinking youaremy adventure list.”

Damn if that wasn’t the nicest thing anyone had ever said to him.

“I get that you’ve, ah, done the glamorous shit.” Her smile came and went again, lighting her eyes. “But is there anything that I’ve been the first one for you?’

Too many things. “Never spent the night just sleeping with someone else in my arms.” Not exactly his style. He never stayed with lovers. Couldn’t, not with his job and his cover. “Until you.”

Her eyes widened.

“Never wanted to fuck someone until we couldn’t move. Until you.” It was all he could do not to fuck her again right then. “Never went swimming in a spring with sea cows, until you.”

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