Page 38 of The Survivor
She offered a genuine smile. She really had enjoyed spending the last couple of hours with Melanie. It had been so long since she’d had some female company. “Could you let Elaine know I’ll call her tonight?”
Mel returned the smile. “She’ll appreciate that, Samantha.”
After the blonde left, Blake headed for the counter and poured himself a cup of coffee. He didn’t say a word as he sipped the hot liquid. She noticed that his shoulders looked stiff under the black sweater stretching across them, his strong jaw taut with displeasure.
“Well?” she asked. “Do you think it was him?”
There was a moment of silence. Blake finally nodded. “Nobody saw a damn thing, but yes, I think it was him.”
A sigh slipped out of her chest before she could stop it. She couldn’t seem to stop her next words, either. “Don’t look so upset.”
“You expect me not to be upset?” he returned, his voice laced with steel. “The bastard was at your house, Sam.”
“If anything, that’s a good thing.”
He swiveled his head to shoot her a look swimming with disbelief. “Are you serious? Don’t you realize what this means? He knows you’re alive. He wants you to know he can come after you again.”
“And if he does, you’ll be waiting for him.”
“I can’t believe you’re saying this, Sam. You should be worrying about your safety.”
She gave a humorless laugh. “Iamworried about my safety. As long as this maniac is out on the streets I’llalwaysworry about my safety. I’m simply pointing out the positive.”
“I’m afraid I don’t agree. There’s nothing positive about this.”
“He must be furious that I’m alive, Blake. So furious that he made the mistake of showing up at my old house in broad daylight. Yes, nobody saw him, but the next time he makes the same mistake he might not be so lucky.”
“And what if next time he doesn’t make a mistake? What if next time he finishes what he started the night he attacked you?”
His voice, thick with worry, sent a wave of emotion surging through her. He cared about her. She’d never doubted it, but the urgency in his tone told her that Blake Corwin’s feelings for her ran much deeper than he’d ever admit.
She thought about the kiss they’d almost shared last night, the one theyhadshared the night before that, and something warm and tender rolled inside her like a balmy summer breeze.
“As long as I’m with you, I’ll be fine,” she said quietly.
He gave her a sideways glance. “You sound sure of that.”
“I am. I have faith that you’ll keep me safe, Blake.”
The silence that followed was broken by the whistling of wind against the kitchen window. She shifted her gaze and saw fat flakes in front of the glass, falling harder, thicker, as each second ticked by.
“Looks like the blizzard that never came last night decided to make an appearance,” she remarked, hoping the change of subject would ease the tension hanging over the room.
Blake gestured to the doorway. “Let’s sit in the living room. You’ll have a better view of the blizzard from there.” His mouth quirked. “I know how much you love watching the snow fall.”
Smiling, she followed him into the cozy living room, touched that he was trying to make her feel better about being cooped up indoors by offering to sit by the window and watch the storm with her.
He sank down on the leather couch and sipped his coffee again. His hair fell onto his forehead but he didn’t seem to notice or care enough to brush it away, and her fingers tingled with the urge to slide through all that thick dark hair.
She hesitated in the doorway. “I wanted to talk to you about last night,” she found herself blurting.
His shoulders instantly stiffened, his face became unreadable.
Dammit. Why was he fighting this? She knew he felt the same hum of awareness she did. Sooner or later he’d have to deal with it, accept that there was…something…between them. And since a blizzard was about to rage outside this house, she wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to bring the attraction between them out in the open.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked in a soft voice.
“I’m not doing anything, Sam.”
