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She clenched her teeth, throat scraped raw as she thought of how she’d laid it on the table as plain as she’d been able He’d stared at her with that same impenetrable stoniness he turned on her now

“You spoke to Lazlo that ?”

She jerked her shoulder “He calledour relationship in the press,” she added in a charge “Not even wanting to acknowledge we ever had anything between us—” She kneaded the place between her eyebrows,

“Clair, I was doing everything I could think of to protect you Giving you an easy way out You knohat my life was like then”

“No, actually, I don’t,” she railed, lifting her glossy eyes to him, vision too blurred to see the way his expression contracted with pain “You barely toldNever looked to me for comfort or… You hardly looked athand,apart like this “Not that we had that sort of relationship,” she re to be there—”

“You were” He was suddenly close, far too close, big war hers as she tried to dab at her eyes “You have no idea what it ht spot I had Don’t cry Don’t let me make you cry I can’t bear it”

She was shaking even worse, swith reached out to her, ht

She sed, trying to brush away the solicitous hands wiping the tears off her cheeks “Don’t”

“Don’t what?” He cradled her da her entire body tre that could hurt you, including myself?”

“Is that why you sentto understand what had seemed impossibly cruel and was far beyond what she could accept as reality

“You wanted to go, Clair I’d already forced you into an affair you didn’t want I couldn’t keep you when you said you wanted to go”

“You didn’t force me”

“Don’t say that” He dropped his hands and took a step back “I showed all the finesse of a Neanderthal, conking you in your tender heart for this place, threatening your reputation, practically throwing you over my shoulder to carry you to my cave”

“You really are your oorst critic I kno to dial the police if I need theone with you if I didn’t want to”

“You really are naive,” he countered with a feral glint in his eyes that made her pulse skip The way he sobered and watched her so closely o when you left Russia?”