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He scooped her up in his arency roo about hospital regulations and wheelchairs There was a part of Shannon that rebelled against the coddling That little suspicious voice in her mind that insisted he s in her ear: You don&039;t need anyone to take care of you You can take care of yourself-- you always have Don&039;t get used to this It&039;s not gonna last, and we both know it, don&039;t we? It&039;ll just make you weak Yell at him Tell him to put you down

But she didn&039;t Because there was another part, a part that seeer all the tith The hard arainst, were feeling less like invaders of her independence and ood to be held this way, daht to feel good once in a while?

She put her ar her nose at that cynical voice He stepped outside, into the hospital parking lot, and she thought there had never been an autuht that tasted as crisp and clean as this one There was a second, as he carried her toward the black Jag that crouched like the cat it was naot the car here so fast Soht it over It didn&039;t matter, really

He settled her on the seat, pulled the safety belt around her, fastened it Then he looked at her, just looked at her for a long ti minutely, as if he had to see every part of her face Their focus shifted, from her forehead to her nose to her jaw Her lips, her eyes

She lifted a hand, thinking she ht it, stopping it, holding it in his She aze His lips moved just a little, the barest whisper of a s at her face After a ed his gaze aent to his side of the car and got in And then he drove

When they reached the house, he carried her again "You&039;ll want to shower Your robe is still in the bedroom you used before " This he said as theylouder "Daht of stairs"

"I&039;

She didn&039;t argue anyood anyway Besides, they were already heading up the second flight He&039;d put her down soon Noasn&039;t she as relieved by that thought as she&039;d expected to be? He held her crushingly tight, as if he were afraid he ht drop her She let her head rest on his shoulder, and then felt the oddest certainty that he&039;d bent his head to brush his lips over her hair

Silly Just her i the bedrooh it and lowered her to the floor His hand clasped her waist for longer than it had to, just to steady her He looked so concerned that it made her uncomfortable, and she took a step away froht I want a shower Get that damned smoky reek out of my hair before I choke on it"

He nodded, but didn&039;t leave He opened the closet and set the shopping bag he still carried on the top shelf, then turned to her again "Can you e by yourself?"

That made her smile a little He really onna do, Da enough to lift a bar of soap?"

The worried expression in his black eyes changed They darkened or intensified or so time, she couldn&039;t look away And when she finally did, she felt shaken, a little weak-kneed, and not from smoke inhalation

"I&039;ll be back to check on you in a few minutes" His voice wasn&039;t even or calm, as it had been before He turned and left her there, and she got the impression he was in a hurry

When the door closed she stared at it, licked her lips "Yeah," she whispered "And then what?"

She scrubbed She shaain, and stood under the shower spray until she wondered if his supply of hot water was endless As she lingered in the shower, she thought of Daician The ? she wondered And what had he done before? And and was he thinking about her as often as she&039;d been thinking about hirip When she thought she&039;d finally rid herself of that clinging smoky odor, she toweled dry and reached for the clothes he&039;d just bought for her, the ones she&039;d worn to leave the hospital But she sain Well, no wonder She&039;d been coated in that scent when she&039;d put theured, didn&039;t it?

She wrapped up in a towel and went in search of the robe she&039;d left here She found it in the closet, pulled it on But as she did, she glanced up at that shopping bag on the top shelf It still bulged He had said he&039;d bought the stuff for her, hadn&039;t he? She wondered if there was anything more substantial in there to put on She stretched out an ar her lip and glancing around, she spotted a chair and quickly pulled it over to the closet She climbed up, and the bedroo at her the way heupside down froed He wore a pair of black jeans that fit him way too well and a wine-colored button-down shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to just below his elbows, so her eyes were instantly drawn to the fine dark ain, he was snored his a

"Watch out!"

His yell cain to tilt She toppled The bag flew out of her hands as she plu she knew, she was sla into his chest so hard his back s to his neck as he held her upright against hi a few inches above the floor His arht around her waist, crossed at the small of her back Her face was above his, and only a fraction of an inch away She caught her breath He didn&039;t let her go He was staring She didn&039;t knohat part of her so fascinated hiaze was fixed to his ht herself looking at those full lips of his and wondering what kind of a kisser he was Would he be gentle, well mannered, neat? Or hard and hot andher eyes as she thought about it Yes Definitely the latter

He closed his eyes and thu to clear it or so His arms loosened on her waist so she could slide down, but as her body id arousal behind his zipper, and she knew her heart skipped a beat

She turned hiht, she&039;d suspected it once or twice, but

Her toes touched the floor She unlaced her arms from around his neck and lowered her heels until her feet were flat He opened his eyes She hadn&039;t noticed before how thick and glossy his lashes were, or how the irises themselves were smooth as black satin She took a step away fro hands rested just above her hips now, and she felt his fingers knead her flesh there, but she wasn&039;t sure if it was a voluntary ht about the ic in those hands, the ease hich he s would appear in them as if from thin air, the way the very elements seemed to respond to their co fingers What kind of ht about the hard length of hiainst his And for just a second, she wondered what it would be like to let ashe could iine

He pushed her away, and he turned abruptly, as if he&039;d pound the front of his head against the wall this tiic hands were clenched into tre fists at his sides and his shoulders were stiff and the muscled cords in his neck stood out

Oh, come on He couldn&039;t possibly want her that irl, but not her So as this?

"I, uh, didn&039;t hurt you, did I?"

His head fell until she figured his chin was touching his chest He h His voice was very soft and kind of raspy when he said, "No, Shannon You didn&039;t hurt ed "I didn&039;t think so" She turned away from him, just in case he should look at her She didn&039;t want him to see how much he confused her Sheesh, if he was that hot for her, why didn&039;t he just say so? He couldn&039;t possibly be afraid she&039;d turn hiot turned down often Maybe not ever He wanted her So why didn&039;t he do so about it?

She bit her lips hard, and waited

"You ought to eat so," he said, and she wanted to scream in frustration "Come downstairs"

In the circular roo fire awaited theht before he rested at dawn She&039;d nearly died He still couldn&039;t quite believe she hadn&039;t

But she was alive, more alive than anyone he&039;d ever known He watched her spoon down the chicken soup he&039;d wartih there was always plenty in the kitchen Netty had to eat while she was here, and bare cupboards ht have made her wonder

Shannon had finished her soup Now she s with the fierce curiosity of a child She picked up the shiny black box that e She opened it, exaain, turned it over He watched her, seeing the life, the rampant vitality of her, her spirit She&039;d nearly died He couldn&039;t get rid of that thought

The robe was too short, and he really should have insisted she find so bag, but they both seeet about that after she&039;d fallen into his ar for a few minutes How to breathe How to think She&039;d wanted him to kiss her He kneith a certainty that o back upstairs for that shopping bag right now Her legs were too shapely, too smooth-skinned and firm It was too easy to envision theht her here? Was he completely insane? Did he really think he could keep her here with hi moment this close to her, alone with her, and not lose control, not reveal himself? Maybe he was insane How many centuries could sanity last, anyway? Was it immortal, as well? Hell, maybe he&039;d never been sane in the first place

She approached the huge low Her gaze s of the ancient world One depicted the Euphrates, cutting a path through the desert She glanced at the artifacts in their clear glass cubes Frowning, she bent closer to the lass

"What is it?"

"An ancient goddess of love and fertility The Sumerians called her Inanna, the Babylonians, Ishtar Queen of Heaven"

"She&039;s beautiful It looks old"

"Almost five thousand years old"

Her alass cube that covered the piece, then glanced at hi as she held the sers delicately over it "I can&039;t believe I&039;ht have touched, so this old"

He wanted her to touch him that way He was that old Older

She shook her head in wonder and replaced the glass Then pointed to the piece beside it "And this one? What is it, a goat?"

"Yes It&039;s newer, made around 2600 BC The blue in the horns and beard is lapis lazuli The rest is gold"

"You collect this stuff?"

He nodded, watching her gaze move over his face as if its shape fascinated her Then she turned to the last piece on the ly"

"It&039;s not art"

"What is it?"

"A piece of a story" He s that covered every inch of the stone&039;s face

"This is writing?"

"Man&039;s earliest for Cuneiform script This piece was done around 4000 BC, in Su to absorb its"Does anyone knohat it says?"

Daaret in her eyes

"Gilgamesh Oh, God, Daht"

"But I--"

"Shannon, it&039;s just a book The latest translation I have dozens of others with the same story in them You&039;ve seen them yourself--"

"But it&039;s precious to you"

It was They all were But how could she know that? "I can get another one"

"I&039;ll get you another one And a copy forfeather-light on the glass "It was a wonderful, terrible story I&039;lad I read it before the book burned"

He frowned at her, trying not to see that in the firelight her skin rese not to hear the sincerity in her voice "You did?"