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"Ah, you -up" He let out a long, ragged breath "I did this for you Not ainst his chest "Why?"

"Because you needed it"

"I could have given asm if I needed it that badly"

"Not one like that," he said, with more than a little satisfaction, and she wrenched her arh to punch him in the shoulder

"Seriously"

"I was serious" When she punched hih "You needed the connection between two people" He snorted out a laugh "My brother Shade says that if you pay attention, really listen, you will knohat a feht he was full of it"

"Shade?"

"Nickna in his musky ainst his breastbone and pushed back a little "How are you feeling?"

His hand curled around hers, and he brought it up to kiss her knuckles "Better, thanks to you"

"You said you’d been ill like that before What was it? Are you sick?"

"Nothing to worry about" He pulled away, and the temperature in the rooainst the bed, feet flat on the floor and forearaze ary "Why would you worry about a coers now"

He stared at her "You knohat I mean"

"No, I really don’t" She shifted onto one hip and s to do with her hands than because she orried about wrinkles "We haven’t known each other long, but we’ve been through soether in a lifetime I like you, Josh A lot more than I probably should"

He cursed, which confused the hell out of her

"What is wrong with liking you? Would you rather I hated you?"

"No I need you to like ain "I mean, shit Just, shit" He threw his head back and stared at the ceiling "Just stop worrying about me, okay?"

"Why wouldn’t I worry about you?"

"Because it’s stupid," he snapped "I don’t need your concern I get enough shit fro care of you?" He didn’t answer, and anger roared through her "I get that you had a horrific childhood, but you have people who care about you now, and you should be grateful"

"You don’t know anything about my life, and you don’t want to"

"How dare you?" She scrah it’s nothing?"

He let out a long-suffering sigh, as though this was all just soforhuo, since I’m stupid and my worry is such a bother to you"

Josh cursed "Serena, wait--"

But she didn’t hear the rest, partly because she’d sla so hard in her ears that it blocked out everything else

Everything but the hurt

Eleven

The knock at Geht on time The table was set, the rosemary pork loin and oven-roasted potatoes were almost done, and dessert, a ho all glazy and perfect Kynan wouldn’t knohat had hit him

Nerves made her palms sweat as she walked to the front door She’d put on her most conservative but sexy clothes--a flared, above-the-knee black skirt with a subdued skull-and-bones design at the top of the slit in the back, a creah boots

She was going to make him eat his rejection