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Lana looked away fro she’d been forced to do "There’s nothing between us"

"That’s not true and you know it You and I are tied together by the past There’s no escaping that and no escaping me"

"Unless I tel you whatever secret you think I’one within the hour"

He hesitated for a lided over his features He slid a blunt finger along her cheekbone, down to her jaw, along the line of her throat Lana bit back a rough gasp of pleasure

His pupils expanded, olden chips in his eyes dilate "You think you know "

"I know exactly why you’re here," she argued without much heat

"Yes, but you don’t knohat I want"

"Then tel , just bent his head over her hair and puled in a deep breath His body shuddered, and his arhtened around her "I want to believe in second chances, Lana In miracles"

She had no idea what he ive him whatever he wanted Second chances,

It was at that , to spiling out al the lies and secrets and half-truths she’d been keeping inside Maybe he could keep her and her family safe But maybe not Lana couldn’t take the risk--not with the people she loved

With an effort of wil that left her exhausted, Lana puled herself away from Caleb, both physicaly and emotionaly She slipped away from him and crammed her expression into a hardas miracles Or second chances"

Caleb woke fuly from a dead sleep in the space of a heartbeat He kept his eyes shut, listening to his surroundings Soure out what it was

The sound ca fabric, the faint squeak of Lana’s bed frahtmare

Caleb shoved up off the couch and went into her roo on the bed, her body bowed into a tight arc, her skin gloith sweat

He had to o through this alone every night And eventualy, whether she remained silent or not, he’d have to leave There was no future for them, not with the past they shared She’d said herself there were no second chances At least not for hiiving her soft, soothing words of coht, but he tried to wake her anyway

Ragged sounds of pain gurgled in her throat, and Caleb’s hold on her tightened to the point where he had to focus on relaxing so he wouldn’t hurt her

"Wake up, Lana Co sob and lashed out at hiht her hands and tucked them under the blankets so she wouldn’t hurt herself He rocked her and urged her to wake up, suffering right along with her

"You’re safe," he told her "I won’t let thehtmare released her, slowly, painfuly Her sobs deepened, and he felt the hot wetness of tears against his bare chest

He would have given anything right now to take her pain away, to free her of this toriven his honor, his career, his life, anything to les slowed and weakened until she was clinging to hihtmare

Caleb murmured soft words into her hair and rocked her in a steady motion until he felt her pul away Her eyes were red and shadoith fatigue They pleaded to him to help her, and Caleb wanted to howl at the unfairness of her life She didn’t deserve this No one did

"You’re okay now," he told her, hearing his rioting emotions thicken his voice

She wiped her eyes and sniffed There was stil a wildness in her expression--a sort of frantic panic he’d seen on the faces of men who knew they were cornered

Trapped

He wanted to soothe her, protect her, but he had so little to offer He s to tel her without words how he felt, that he would do anything to o away

"I don’t kno er I can stand this," she whispered to hi the words too loud would hurt She rested her forehead on his bare chest, and her breath fanned out over his skin, nored it He stroked her hair, down her delicate spine, pushing away the covers as he passed She should have been pushing hi away froh to leave her Not yet

Not until she calain

She lifted her head and looked into his eyes He could see the fear fro hiet Just for a little while Please"

Caleb kneas a iven hi to do it

He took herof lips Such an innocent thing, but it nearly turned his body inside out with a wave of raw lust He felt hirinding his hips against her to show her just howher just how he planned to et

Lana’s arled sheets and looped around his neck, holding hiet away

Her lips parted under his, opening herself up to him He couldn’t wait another second to taste her He licked just inside her upper lip, teasing her, trying to hold back in case she changed herher was right It was necessary

Lana ue into her mouth Caleb felt the kiss al the way down to the soles of his bare feet Her fingers speared through his hair, holding his head stil while she gave hiave her leave to show him what she needed, show him what she liked