Page 35 of Stalked

“Steve, you got me away from a lunatic. I want to celebrate that.”

Those were the wrong words. He stepped back from her. “You don’t owe me anything.”

Were they really back to that again? “I know. And I appreciate very much that you’re not the type of guy who would try to lord that over my head. But that’s not the point.”

He grabbed her arms and set her back from him. “Look, I’ve worked around people who have been traumatized by violence. Sometimes it’s hard to recognize the symptoms in yourself. I just don’t want you to do something you might regret.”

Rosalyn smiled. She appreciated his concern, she really did. But this wasn’t something she was going to regret—she was positive about that. “Believe me, I’m not going to regret this.”

She tried to step forward but he stopped her.

“Well, have you considered that maybe I don’t want to do this? That it’s something I’ll regret?” Frustration flavored his tone.

He didn’t want her. The reality hit her like a bucket of ice. She immediately stepped back from him.

What did she expect, really? She’d lied to him, stolen from him, dragged him into a situation that had almost gotten him killed twice. Not to mention shown up pregnant with his baby.

Of course getting involved with her physically wasn’t a good idea for him. Yeah, there was heat between them, but he was smart enough to know that wasn’t enough to justify getting close to her.

All the perk, all the joy seemed to drain out of her. “You’re right—I hadn’t thought of that. Smart move on your part.”

“Rosalyn...” He took a step toward her.

She immediately jerked back. He couldn’t touch her. Not now. If he did, she might shatter into a million pieces. “I’m going to take a shower.”

She turned and all but ran.

* * *

STEVEWATCHEDROSALYNnearly run across the room to the bathroom.

Damn it. What the hell was the matter with him? Why would he say that to her?

He was the director of one of the most prestigious law enforcement agencies in the country. He regularly spoke to the congressmen, senators, the president’s advisers. Hell, he’d even spoken to two different presidents in his tenure as the director of the Critical Response Division.

He was known for being well-spoken. Known for reading a situation and doing and/or saying whatever was needed. He had a team of dozens of people who looked to him to provide guidance and leadership. To know the words that needed to be said when everything around them was falling apart.

Yet somehow he’d just managed to say the worst possible thing to one small, fragile woman who’d just been reaching out to him for human contact.

And the worst thing about his ridiculous words? None of them were true.

Not want her? That was so far from the truth he could barely wrap his mind around it.

But he was convinced she felt beholden to him. That she wouldn’t really want him under normal circumstances that didn’t involve life-threatening situations.

Of course, he wanted her pretty desperately, and life-threatening situations were commonplace for him.

His fingers itched to touch her. To run through her hair and along her body. To see the changes pregnancy had made, beyond what he could make out from beneath her clothes.

He wanted her with a passion that went against everything in his calm, collected nature. He couldn’t ever remember wanting anyone this much. Not even his wife, Melanie. They’d loved each other, absolutely, but with the low simmer of the knowledge that they would have the rest of their lives together to work through their love.

The rest of their lives together had ended up being only six short years.

The fire that consumed him every time he was around Rosalyn was so different from that it almost couldn’t be compared. Being around her caused him to lose his cool. Lose his focus.

Melanie would approve. Deep in the back of his mind, Steve knew his wife would approve of the young woman in the bathroom who had stayed alive under some pretty desperate circumstances. Would approve of the fact that Rosalyn shook him up enough to make him say stupid things.

He heard the shower turn on in the bathroom.

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