Pagan's Paradise by Susan Connell

Author:Susan Connell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ePublishing Works!
Published: 2011-09-27T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

Sitting in the middle of her bed at the Hotel de San Remo, she stared at the photos spread around her. All of them were of Jack taken on the night she'd met him. Lifting one onto her lap, she rubbed her eyes and studied it closer. Not a hint. Not a sign. Nothing to indicate he was a man of ruthless character. A man driven by the need for success. A man obsessed with winning.

Plopping onto the pillows behind her, she closed her eyes. She prided herself on her ability to capture a person's true character with her camera lens. Yet every time she looked at these photos, all she saw was the passionate, fun-loving man she'd fallen in love with. Was she losing her touch? Or her mind? With an unrestrained growl she shoved the photos onto the floor. Nothing made sense anymore. Not even hiding out in her hotel room for two days, trying to figure out what to do next. Because she knew what to do next—get back to work and on with her life.

Dragging herself off the bed, she carefully collected the photos and got back into the bed. Lifting the top photo closer, she looked at the image of the man she'd fallen in love with and her tears began blurring her vision. From the first moment she saw him, Jack had captured her heart and soul. Pressing a fist to her mouth, she shook her head. As unbelievable as it seemed, he'd apparently captured a good portion of her brain cells too. She'd honestly believed that Jack had come to care deeply about the children they'd worked with. But that just wasn't true. Whether or not her photos of Jack appeared to prove he cared about the people she cared about, she knew by his conversation with General Morales that Jack Stratford was just another bastard willing to mow down the homes of those children in order to make a profit. A short while before she believed with all her being that Jack was the most thoughtful, caring, loving man she'd ever met. Now she had to face the fact that he was simply another disappointment who happened to live in a villa, throw sumptuous parties, and dress better than anyone she'd ever known. And undress better too. Closing her eyes, she allowed herself to be swept away with the memory of his laughter, his loving touch, and his passionate words that could make her cry with joy. "Why am I doing this to myself?" she whispered fiercely. "It's over." She stood up and kicked the bed. "Idiot! It never really happened, because he never meant it." Grabbing up the photos, she came within a fraction of a second of ripping them to shreds. Instead, she threw them facedown on the chenille spread, then pummeled her thighs with her fists until she screamed. "I can't, I can't, I can't!" She had to get out of the room and away from the visual nuisance of his image.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.