No Safe Place by JoAnn Ross

Author:JoAnn Ross
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2010-08-02T02:04:45.281000+00:00

24

NO DOUBT ABOUT IT. HE WAS FRIGGING GOING insane. Bad enough that thoughts of all the things he wanted to do to—and with—Kate had kept him awake most of the night. The woman was a tough nut to crack. But although she was doing her best to hide it, he suspected that inside that tough shell was a soft-as-buttercream heart.

Which, he reminded himself as he polished off a platter of colas, -pain -perdue, sausage, and fried eggs, was all the more reason to keep his distance.

Despite her claim that she didn't eat breakfast, she had broken down and ordered a plate of beignets after the grandmotherly, seventy-something waitress insisted it was a mortal sin to come to N'awlins and not sample the city's famed deep-fried dough carpet-bombed with powdered sugar.

"You know what's wrong with this city?" she asked.

"That's a loaded question, right?"

"Well, perhaps an inappropriate one," she allowed. "Given its present circumstances." When she licked some snowy-white sugar off her fingertips, Nick forced down an urge to put those fingers into his own mouth. "But I was referring to the fact that there's just too much temptation."

Like the temptation to go back to the boat, sprinkle powdered sugar all over her naked body, then lick it off?

"You sure as hell called that one right, chère."

Five minutes later, Kate was standing at the rain-streaked window watching the city of New Orleans disappearing behind them. Despite her reason for being on this ungainly white and red ferry, she began to relax for the first time in months.

"This is nice," she murmured, imagining that on sunny days it would be lovely to be standing below on the car deck, breathing in the scents, feeling the river breeze in her hair. "Peaceful."

When they'd discovered a multicar tractor-trailer accident on the cantilever Cresent City Connector bridge had tied up traffic, Nick had immediately declared plan B to be in effect and driven to the ferry terminal.

Although here, at the curve of the river, where the Mississippi flowed wide and slow, Kate felt a bit of a rush being on one of the largest, most powerful rivers in the world.

"It always has been. And it doesn't really take any longer than the CCC, especially when traffic's all snarled up on the bridge like it is today. People'd probably be a lot less stressed out if they'd just leave their cars home and travel 'cross this way all the time. Though I suppose when they'd end up being forced to wait in long lines all the time, it'd just move the stress factor from the bridge to the ferry.

"When I was a kid, I used to sometimes just ride back and forth, all day long. Since passengers ride free, it was a good way to pass the time."

"And it got you out of the house. Away from your father."

He glanced over at her. "Good guess."

She shrugged, trying not to be pleased by the idea that he probably wouldn't share that little bit of personal information with just anyone.

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