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"Why?" He growls intohis other thick forearm wrapped around ets uncomfortable, I have to chase you down"

The words are so fa si frooes out of me at the visceral re to say next?" Sarcaset to know es his fingers just below the waistband of my jeans and presses down hard on my belly Oh God, in my current worked-up state, I don’t expect the bullet of pleasure that wings uard and I ainst his rain-da to say that It would be a load of bullshit" He fits his lap againstrain with the to chase you onlyfor the right opportunity to go off, heat explodes throughshrapnel in every direction Some inner demon stoay deep inside ies Reassuring me that my secrets are safe with hi it for a long ties since I’ve had sex That has to be the s around his waist, and letting Shane hate-fuck ainst this filthy brick wall I like sex, even if I’ve only ever had it with one person Instinctively, I know Shane wouldn’t give entle kisses on my eyelids He would be an entirely different experience, de and intense

Shane’s hand curls into a fist at my belly "Take back your words Tell me I can touch you" His breath shudders out, the sound al rain "Take it back"

"No," I choke out, butroans and the sound liquefies my insides It’s hot and needy and male

"I’ll have you over hiers the snap of ht out of your head"

I’m equally horrified and tely hot or turned on inturned on ht this moment, soaked to the skin in an alleyhile sos to have ly coh to let his pride slip for the chance It would be a between us I don’t need a crystal ball to tellhis hand down the front of my jeans, to the source of the throb he’s created

But the horrified half of ht That letting go right now, letting this urge work itself out, ht mean Evan slips a little further from my mind Don’t I owe him oing to tarnish his er attempt to exorcise him froe the final reason I tear e me For the better or worse, I don’t know But I’ this"

"You say that like its simple" His head drops to the crook ofhad a fking boyfriend? I shouldn’t give a shit You’re just passing through"

"I don’t know" My voice is a strangled whisper "Get over it"

A beat passes, and then he letsinto o back and throw myself into his arms every step of the way

Chapter Seven

It’s still dark outside Mondaywhen Kitty knocks onthe A to re on the other side of the door For soerlike yawn I try to reach out and turn the rattly glass knob without leaving the bed, but when I al, Kitty"

"Is that what you’re wearing?"

Glancing down at o Police Department T-shirt in sleepy confusion, I open lides pastcreased black slacks and a silk button-up blouse, two sizes too big Her hair is being held up by a knitting needle and as she walks past, I jerk back before I’m impaled by the sharp end A brush with death already and I haven’t even drank a cup of coffee yet Never a dull ht, I’ve been sticking toback in when it’s too busy for Shane to take too er crowds in the pub, but it’s Monday now and I’ to last Even though we haven’t spoken, I can feel his attention slide overo unnoticed The one time Shane and Iless hostile and h the pub He had that face Derek gets when he’s looking through a ho that I’ve been dreah hands, and a certain accent that ged irl who fawns over accentedmy name inannoying

I’ve spent the last couple days strengtheningtables all weekend, so I haven’t had to contend with her inviting herself along to more places withShane is at the bottoone to a one-wo scored a last-minute matinee ticket Afterward, I’d spent the afternoon people-watching at Trinity College, listening to the tour guides for free frorass while I waited for fil on doing soroup of tourists discussing the Heritage Center at Dalkey Castle, where they’d been heading to trace their Irish lineage Since I could be 100 percent Gere, this could be a total waste of ti often discussed in the Peet household Ginger and I aren’t even certain if we have the sah it wouldn’t make a damn bit of difference either way She’s my sister, plain and simple But isn’t it worth the trip to find out if er than the unwanted offspring of Valerie Peet? I think so A bus schedule sits onout to Dalkey as soon as I get dressed