Page 40 of Covert Temptation

She glanced around for some branches and spotted some dry twigs at the edge of the yard. Knowing that Dante was watching her, she crossed the yard to fetch the twigs. By the time she returned to the fire ring, he had placed the logs in a small pyramid in the center.

Kennedy crouched across from him, curling her fingers around the old sticks and snapping them, then dropping them between the logs.

She told herself she didn’t care what Dante thought of her…about her past. When she met his gaze again, she couldn’t hold it and looked away.

He would see her invasion of his laptop to be an act of rebellion, like she was some reckless teenager. In reality, it had been a necessary link to the outside world, a world that wasn’ttruly hers anymore. But she still had to check on the people in the outer ring of her life.

She’d lost her closest friend in Alyssa and had needed to face that she didn’t have anyone else. Not anymore. Even after their talk, Alyssa looked at Kennedy differently, like she was a ticking bomb and not a victim.

It hurt.

Maybe that was her reason for wanting to peek at her parents’ social media.

Maybe it was the reason she cared what Dante thought of her.

“If we’re going to be here together a while, I need a promise from you.”

His statement made her jerk her head up and meet his direct gaze. She braced herself to hear him say that she couldn’t come to his bed again.

“What promise?” The lightly falling snow deadened her words.

“Promise me that you won’t try to run.”

She shifted. “I thought we already went through this.”

“No,” he said, voice determined. “We didn’t. I need your word that you’ll stay put in this safe house, Kennedy.”

She dropped her stare to the fire pit but didn’t really see the twigs or logs. “You have my word. I don’t have anywhere to run anyway…” she murmured almost to herself.

“Good. Thank you.”

Agitation made her jumpy, and when she jammed another stick into the pile with a little too much force, the sticks toppled, sending the kindling into the snow in a cascade.

He reached to set it right.

“I got it,” she snapped. If he’d gone to so much trouble to build a fire ring, the least she could do was add some kindling without making a wreck of it.

He didn’t speak, only pushed to his feet. She watched him walk across the yard to a stack of firewood on the edge of the property.

Tears burned in her eyes, angry and scalding. She forced them away, focusing on her task rather than her frustration and the frantic desire for this all to end.

But things could never go back to the way they were. Any normal would be anewnormal.

The wind blasted across the yard, blowing her coat and rattling the dry branches of the apple trees not far away. She could ignore the wind as much as the gnawing ache in her chest.

In long strides, Dante returned. He set the logs down in a pile outside the fire ring and fixed his stare on her. “The wind’s picking up. Not a good time for a fire right now. Let’s go inside.”

She didn’t glance up as she continued arranging the sticks she’d broken. “I’m going to stay out here a little longer.”

“Kennedy—”

“I need the fresh air.”

He stood there for a heavy moment as though he wanted to say something, but nothing he could say would stop the rising tide of dread she felt. Even if he told her that she was free to go on with her life…going on with her life alone, with no job and no home, would take a lot of courage she was lacking at the moment.

He gave her a nod, but his eyes lingered a beat longer, searching her face.

As he entered the house, she huddled deeper into her coat and let the icy wind tug at her senses. Between the blasts of wind,the sun was a thin stream, a soft glow. It was warm enough for her to pretend she wasn’t desperate, lost…

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