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"But I a, ht, then fir It’s like banging your head against the wall…it feels so good when you stop"

"I’ll--I’ll do so really terrible to you if you don’t coht now"

She looked at him and dared to smile "No," she said softly, sweetly "You won’t You love me You’d never hurtit hard Poor Jared I warned you Never say I didn’t warn you"

He was silent She was right She had tried She had fought him, their mutual attraction, tried hard to keep it purely business She had known fro that he meant despair and heartbreak to her and she to him She had tried to tell hiear and pulled back out into traffic

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

"I know that look," she teased They had entered his apart up their coats and Jared had silently fixed Kara a light supper They were doing dishes now, shoulder to shoulder at the sink It had been, to put itday

Jared found itso undra with his hands He was too e else at this point "You’re thinking about bashingme somewhere so I miss my appointment tomorrow"

He coughed and hoped like hell he wasn’t blushing That had been exactly what he was thinking

Trouble was, he’d need so the lines of an Army tank to stop Kara…he supposed he could inject her with a sedative fro that and a) not getting his ar his self-respect, were slim

"You could never pull it off," she said kindly, as if reading his mind Sad, really, that she seee that should have thrilled them had corunted

"Are you going to spend our last night together sulking?"

"Yes," he growled Then groaned and shut the water off "Screw the dishes Screw all of this I can’t believe you won’t lettomorrow You spend twenty years on the run fro? Cripes"

"It’s worth the cost," she said quietly

"Not tothe last glass, then she laid the towel on the counter, turned hiainst his chest He stood stiffly, not returning her e that," she said "I’otten you involved"

"Don’t say that," he sighed "I wouldn’t haveyou for anything"

She laughed and stepped away fro like I’ to prison for a while"

"A long while"

"Yes"

"Then what?" He threw up his hands, turned his back on her "What do we do?"

Her hand came to rest on his shoulder and she said softly, ht"

He sed hard "Oh, Kara" He turned and pulled her against him, found her mouth, lost hiue curled up towith enthusiasonizing, all thebecause it would be their last evening together He wasn’t sure he could do that Put his heart on a sacrificial alter like that

Her thoughts seemed to run in the same direction, because she pulled back and looked at hi pools of deep blue Her lips were rosy and swollen frohtened his grip on her

He sed the lump in this throat and abruptly scooped her up "Saw this in ato banter with a voice that wanted to crack "Alanted to try it"

"Was it An Officer and a Gentleled, then laughed outright, which got hiering and roaring, trying not to drop her and the tears that rolled down his cheeks were surely frohter