Against the Wind by Kelly Virginia

Author:Kelly, Virginia [Kelly, Virginia]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: romantic suspense, FBI fiction, Florida, hurricanes, romantic adventure, second chances
Publisher: Virginia Kelly
Published: 2012-04-24T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

Blair stumbled back, the glass, the food, forgotten. He’d robbed her of breath, of reason, in a heartbeat.

“You need to go, Blair. I’m getting stronger. I’ll be back to normal soon.”

She stared, mute, at his mouth.

“It would be easy to make—have sex. It was good before.”

Blair wanted to crawl into a hole as his words pierced her heart.

His dark eyes held hers. “I don’t think either of us wants that without the emotion.”

She wanted to tell him it wasn’t true, but couldn’t. Six years ago she’d loved him so much there was no question they’d make love. Now she didn’t know. She shook her head.

He said nothing, cool, dark eyes locked to hers.

Her thoughts raced. She’d wanted to love Jim Andrews, such a nice man. She’d felt like she’d betrayed something sacred when she’d been with him. Seeing Michael made her realize she had.

Silence, thick and heavy, lay around them.

The phone rang, startling her. She met Michael’s gaze.

“Answer it.”

She reached for the shrilling portable on the counter behind her.

Elena asked specific questions about Michael’s condition. Blair listened carefully, then handed the receiver to him and backed away. He watched her.

“Hola, Elena.” He spoke in Spanish for a minute then stretched, wincing, to hang up the phone.

“I told her you were leaving today.”

That nearly stopped her heart. She hurried to answer. “You can’t manage on your own.”

“I’ve managed before.”

“Elena says you need to rest, regain your strength for a few more days.”

“I can do that alone.”

“You can’t get up without falling down.”

“I was ready to make love to you and I wasn’t going to fall down!”

His words, his anger, cut through Blair’s reserve. “You’re sitting down, Michael.”

“Damn it, Blair!” He pushed away from the table and stood. “This isn’t a game.” Grasping the back of the chair, his mouth a thin line, he continued. “There are people willing to kill me without a second thought.”

“You—”

But it wasn’t necessary for her to argue back. Michael sat back down, heavily, his eyes closed. Quick seconds later he looked up at her. Blair could see the effort he was making to look strong.

“You need me. Let me stay.”

“Why?”

“Because I didn’t before.”

***

An uneasy peace settled between them and held for the rest of the day. Michael cursed the weakness of his own body, consoling himself with the knowledge that if he hadn’t been shot a month ago, he probably wouldn’t feel so bad.

He’d never thought in terms of getting hurt, only in terms of what he had to do. Hell, he never thought beyond the job at hand. He’d done exactly the same thing with Blair. Sleepy from making love, he’d wanted more. Blair wasn’t the type of girl who would simply go away with him. Blair was the kind of girl you married. So he’d asked.

And she’d turned him down.

The thought of her with another man made his head hurt.

And now she wanted to make up for saying no. She didn’t know that her refusal was the best decision she’d ever made, that her high-society boyfriend could have given her what she needed.

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