Scorched by Rachel Butler

Author:Rachel Butler
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 9780440336686
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2007-07-30T16:00:00+00:00

“What are you thinking?”

Relieved the evening was over, Tony removed his holster from his belt and laid it on the nightstand, then hung his shirt and coat in the armoire. Selena had already changed into one of his T-shirts and was lying on her side on the bed, her expression impossible to read as she waited for his answer. He kicked off his shoes, peeled off his socks, then stretched out beside her.

“I’m thinking I don’t care,” he said, brushing his palm over her hair. “There are always going to be people who do care. Race is always going to be an issue, and people who say it isn’t may have the biggest issues of all. But I don’t care about that. I just care about you.”

“I’ve been singled out all my life because I’m black. It’s not always bad attention, but it is attention. When you and I go out, people look at us. If they’re black, they wonder what I’m doing with you. If they’re white, they wonder what you’re doing with me. When we have children, they’ll be singled out, too. They’ll be noticed for nothing more than the color of their skin and the colors of their parents’ skin.”

“I don’t care what other people think, Selena. Bigotry is a part of life. It’s something we all face in one way or another. My northern Italian relatives didn’t appreciate my southern Italian blood. Some people don’t like Catholics. A lot of people don’t like cops. Too many people don’t like anyone who’s different. But we can’t live our lives for those people. We’ll teach our kids to deal with it.” He brushed a kiss to her jaw. “And just to be on the safe side, you can teach the kids to kick ass.”

Her smile was slow, unwilling, but it spread across her face, transforming solemnity into pure beauty. Raising one slender hand to his cheek, she returned the kiss, along his jaw, across his mouth. She pushed him down onto his back, rose over him, and left a line of kisses down his chest. Eyes closing, he missed the gentle tickle of her hair, then forgot that as she easily undid his trousers, pushed aside the fabric, reached inside, and wrapped her fingers around his—

The sharp trill of the cell phone on the night table made him jerk. Selena looked up from where she’d settled between his legs, her expression soft and heated. “Go ahead,” she said. “I’ll amuse myself while I wait.”

He couldn’t read the information on caller ID because her gentle caresses were making his eyes cross. Flipping the phone open, he answered with a curt “Yeah.”

It was one of the men at the guard shack out front. “Sorry to bother you, Mr. Ceola, but we’ve had a perimeter breach about halfway between the main gate and the service gate.”

Selena’s amusement lost its appeal in the chill that passed through him. “I’ll be right there.” He closed the phone, tugged her hand away, and fastened his trousers as he swung to his feet.

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