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 Wow, she said softly.  I would have died for you. I ve
never loved anyone the way I loved you. And the odd thing
is that you wouldn t know love if it bit you in the butt.
She walked away, closing the door behind her. The
staircase was dark and she made her way to the bottom by
memory more than sight. His words reeled in her head as
she worked the rest of her shift, and she couldn t say she
was sorry when he walked through the bar and out the door
without a word.
Her apartment was disappointingly dark. She d hoped
Blake would be there. There had been many times that he
had been there waiting for her when he had been too tired to
sit at the bar. She laid her keys onto the table and flipped on
the light. Making careful yet painful steps she made her way
to the sofa then flicked her boots across the room. Moments
later she turned on the bedroom lights out of curiosity more
than fear, her shoulders slumped to find the bed empty. She
could only hope that a hot soothing shower would wash away
her tension.
Her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn t
eaten all day. On her way toward the refrigerator, the
kitchen phone briefly caught her eye. Noticing some left over
Chinese food she smiled. It would suffice. Popping the
cardboard container into the microwave she looked at the
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clock. It was ten minutes of four, far too early to call anyone.
The beep of the microwave drew her attention briefly, as she
began satisfying the hunger within her belly. She dropped
her fork because the hunger in her stomach couldn t begin to
match the hunger in her heart.
 Hey, this is Master Sergeant Linden, you know what
to do.
Tears streamed steadily down her face, knowing that
his eyes had opened the moment that the phone rang. She
figured he was lying there wondering why in the hell she
thought he would want to talk to her. She had proven to him
that Dex McKelvy was still welcome in her bed. Blake wasn t
the kind of guy who had to settle for a woman who couldn t
put him first.
She snapped her head toward the ringing phone,
knocking the Chinese food in the floor she bolted back
toward it.
 Hello? she said softly.
 Hi. Blake s voice seemed unsure of what to say.  You
called?
Heat rushed through her body as tears once again
spilled onto her cheeks. Of course she had called, but she
had called the man she d learned to love, not the stranger
that was calling now.
 I thought you might be on a mission.
 No. he supplied.  I m at home.
 I m sorry for waking you.
 I wasn t asleep. I was watching a movie.
 I just finished the last of our Chinese food, she said,
desperate to sound normal.  I m off to bed.
 Good night, he said softly, but in a tone that told her
the conversation was over.
 Good night. She pressed the button to disconnect
the call.
She walked down the hall toward her bed and the
reality that she d lost Blake in this ridiculous mess consumed
her. She leaned against the wall as she cried. Her cries were
desperate as she slid down the wall not caring if the sun rose
again, hoping within her soul that it would not. Submitting to
the exhaustion, she cried herself to sleep as she lay on the
carpeted floor of her hall. The most of an hour passed before
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a faint sound woke her.
The gentle sound of his key sliding into the lock
alerted her that someone was there, but she couldn t move.
He closed the door behind him and focused his eyes upon
her as she laid in the hall curled into a fetal position sobbing.
He walked toward her, angry with himself that this had
happened, angrier at Dex McKelvy for showing up out of the
blue. He fell onto his knees and reached for her.  Come here,
baby.
She wrapped her arms around him and hung on for
dear life. He smiled, because she had no idea how badly he
needed to feel that she still wanted him. He smoothed her
hair away from her face and forced her to look into his eyes,
 What about McKelvy? he asked his voice telling her that
he d just sat through the longest night of his life.
 I talked to him briefly at work, she answered.  To be
quite honest with you, he and I have nothing to talk about.
 Are you okay?
She nodded slowly as a faint smile teased the corners
of her lips.  I am now.
 Don t cry. He wiped away the tears that still glided
silently down her face.
 I m sorry, she said wiping her face.  I just can t
stand the thought of losing you.
 Baby look at me. He smiled gently.  You haven t lost
me. I m right here.
She sighed as tears continued to spill from her eyes.
 If you can t forgive me I will understand.
 Forgive you? he looked at her as if she were an
advanced algebra equation.  I was drunk. You were
depending on me to keep you safe and I didn t. Hell Rachel, I
pushed you back down when you tried to stop us. I was too
drunk off my ass to comprehend what was going on. This is
the reason I don t drink much. By the time I actually sobered
up enough to pay attention I figured I d lost you forever, he
said as he sat beside her.
 You can t lose me. I m so head over heels for you
that it s crazy.
Her lips met his and he moaned his approval. His
green eyes sparkled like never before and the wide perfect [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]