Shameless by Tara Janzen

Author:Tara Janzen
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: www.dpgroup.org
Publisher: Tara Janzen
Published: 2012-02-10T23:00:00+00:00

Nine

Ten o’clock was bedtime, had been for years, ever since Sarah had been sixteen. She didn’t always last until ten, but she seldom lasted longer, unless she was out on a date or at a party. It was a rare evening at home when the news signed off before she did. The nights when there had been a man in her house after ten o’clock were even rarer.

She finished drying a coffee cup and shoved it in the cupboard, not because she was excessively tidy and couldn’t go to bed until every last dish was washed, but because having Colton Haines wandering around her house made even thinking about going to bed an emotional mine field.

They’d reached an understanding of sorts over lunch, though she’d be hard-pressed to explain it to anyone, including herself. He’d done a few odd jobs around the drugstore to pass away the afternoon, heavy jobs she’d been putting off for months. After closing time, he’d helped her with her deliveries and taken her to supper at the cafe.

He’d touched her a lot and kissed her more than once, more than twice. Natural, easy, undemanding kisses that had started a fire in her regardless of their simplicity.

She was restless, and it was his fault. He was the cause and the cure, and she wasn’t going into the living room to say good night until she was damn sure she could do it without looking wistful.

She grabbed another cup out of the dish drainer and roughed it up with the towel. Despite their nebulous understanding, he’d still made no promises, no suggestions or references to anything beyond the moment, and her survival instincts had responded by pumping up to fighting strength. If she didn’t have his love or commitment, she would at least have his respect.

An unusual grating noise intruded on her thoughts. She stopped in mid-swipe and turned her head toward the rest of the house. The sound came again—from the living room, she was sure. Colt had been rewiring her floor lamp earlier, but she didn’t think he needed to saw it in half. She wasn’t sure she even had a hacksaw in the toolbox he’d dragged out of the garage.

Carrying the cup and the towel, she wandered over to the doorway leading to the living room. One look took all the fight out of her. She leaned her head against the door frame and let the towel trail down her side. He was sprawled across the coach, his head back on the arm, snoring away.

Sighing, she turned back to the kitchen and set the cup and the towel on the table. It was obviously safe to go to bed. She could look at him as wistfully as she wanted and not worry about handling his response.

Sometime later, she woke to the sound of the shower running. A quick glance over her shoulder proved the bathroom light was on. She checked her clock. Not quite midnight.

She must have drifted off, because the next thing she knew she was waking again, rolling over to answer something he’d asked.

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