Tempted by Her Innocent Kiss

Author:Maya Banks
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2011-03-23T16:00:00+00:00

Fourteen

When Devon walked into his apartment, he immediately noticed the change. There wasn’t any clutter. No magazines strewn about. No shoes littering the floor. No purse hanging from a doorknob. And he could smell cleaning solution.

As he walked farther inside, his stomach knotted because not only was everything picked up, but he also realized that the apartment was completely and utterly devoid of Ashley’s presence. All of the things she’d moved in and haphazardly decorated with had been put away. No silly knickknacks on the coffee or end tables.

The apartment looked precisely as it had before she moved in.

Has she packed up and left? Had she decided not to give their marriage a chance?

He experienced a faint sensation of illness. His stomach tightened with dread and the beginnings of panic gripped his throat.

Then he heard a distant sound that seemed to come from the kitchen. He strode in that direction and realized that a television had been left on. But when he reached the doorway, he had to grip the frame to steady himself.

Relief blew through him with staggering ferocity.

She was still here.

She hadn’t left.

She was sitting at the bar, her brow furrowed in concentration as she watched a cooking show. She had a notepad and pencil in front of her and she was furiously taking notes.

As his gaze took in the rest of the kitchen, he realized that she’d evidently spent the day cleaning. The surfaces sparkled. The floor shone. The scent of lemon was heavy in the air.

She was dressed in faded jeans and an old T-shirt. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she wasn’t wearing any makeup.

She looked absolutely beautiful.

But she also looked tired. The dark circles under her eyes were more pronounced and she had a delicate fragileness to her that made him instinctively protective of her. But he couldn’t protect her from himself and it was he who had hurt her.

Drawn to the vulnerable image she presented, he slid his hands up her arms and then lowered his mouth to kiss her on the neck.

She froze immediately then turned swiftly around. “Hi,” she offered hesitantly. “I didn’t expect you back quite so soon.”

“Technically I’m off this week,” he said as he pulled away. “I had lunch with your father. We discussed business and now I’m done.”

She made a face but didn’t comment, which he was grateful for. Anytime her father and business were mentioned, it was going to be difficult, but the more he did it in passing, maybe it would lessen the sting.

“What happened to all your stuff?” he asked casually as he went around to open the fridge. He pulled out a bottle of water and pushed the door closed.

“Oh, I just organized everything,” she said. “I didn’t really have time before the wedding. Was too busy with other stuff.”

“Mmm-hmm,” he murmured. “And the cleaning? Should you have been doing all this today? You just came off a pretty bad headache.

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