Lighthouse Cove by Kimberly Cates

Author:Kimberly Cates
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pocket Books
Published: 2002-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

11

Jack stood at the window, peering out at the soft night sky. She’d done so on six of the seven continents, in five-star hotels and in no man’s lands where she’d wrapped herself in blankets and nearly froze to death because lighting a fire would reveal their position to the enemy. She was used to long nights, the loneliness that came during endless hours when she felt like she was the only person awake on the planet.

Yet tonight was different from all the rest, she thought, pressing her hand against the cool, smooth pane of glass. She’d looked through a window into another man’s world, listened to him as he spilled out the secrets that were poisoning him, felt a bond sizzle to life between them, awakening softer, more feminine parts of her she’d long thought cold and unshakable as stone.

It astonished her, humbled her, the trust Tom had offered her, telling her so many things, baring so many places where his spirit was raw and bleeding. And the reason why he’d shared it was most astonishing of all. He’d cared. It mattered to him what Jack thought of him. He respected her enough, not only to tell her truths Jack doubted he’d shared with anyone else, but he’d had the courage and the confidence in her to ask her for help as well.

She shivered, remembering the supplication in his whiskey-rough voice, the burning intensity in his eyes, the heat in fingers that touched her cheek, the pulse of her throat. She’d thought that pulse would explode, it felt so good to be touched by him, there, in that tender, hidden spot. Felt so good to know from that touch what his lips hadn’t dared confess. That he still felt that burning thrill between them, that knee-shaking welcoming home of passion after so many years.

He might have gone on with his life, Jack knew with sharp satisfaction. But he hadn’t forgotten her. Hadn’t stopped wanting her. And she sure as hell hadn’t stopped responding to him. They’d stepped over some invisible barrier tonight from which neither of them could draw back. Realization that the need was still there, the spark, the hunger. And a trust as dangerous as it was precious.

How did Tom feel now that he’d shared his pain? Jack wondered. Was it just like Ziggy always tried to convince her? Like lancing a boil? A mind-numbing relief, a pouring out of emotions repressed for too long? Ziggy had always claimed your heart was like a closet you had to clean. You had to get rid of the ugliness time and again to make room for other things, like light and laughter and goodness.

She’d always ignored his advice. But this was one time she hoped he was right. She wanted Tom to be free of as much of the burden he carried as possible. Wanted to wash away the troubles Laura had left him with, the doubts, the dread, the damage.

Maybe she couldn’t change what had happened. Not in the two weeks that they’d be together here in Maine.

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