Whisper Kiss (2010) by Cooke Deborah

Author:Cooke, Deborah [Deborah, Cooke,]
Format: epub
Publisher: Signet
Published: 2011-01-14T19:18:44.765000+00:00

Niall folded his arms across his chest, unpersuaded. "Who are you trying to convince?"

"You!"

He arched a brow. "For how long was Thorolf your project again?"

"Three years. Accident, not design."

"Who ended it again?"

Rox tightened her lips. "He did. Accident, not design."

"How is giving someone a hundred second chances not long term?"

"That's different. You're talking about something a lot bigger, a much longer commitment . . . ," Rox began, but Niall shook his head and strolled closer.

"I don't think so. How long have you lived in that apartment? You look pretty well settled there."

"It has rent control," she said through her teeth. "And a great location. I'd be insane to move. I'd get a closet for twice the price."

"That's not the issue, Rox." Niall looked all too confident of his conclusions. "The lady protests too much."

Rox wished he weren't so right. "The Pyr is seeing things from his own perspective."

"Really?" Niall smiled. "What about tattoos? Aren't they permanent?"

Rox smiled and turned her back on him again. Anything to ignore how close he was. "You're right. Only ink is forever."

He halted right behind her. Rox was sure she could feel his breath on the back of her neck. She could feel the firestorm's persistent tingle and smell the clean scent of his skin.

She was sure she knew what he was going to do.

But Niall surprised her. "I'm sorry that I misjudged you at first," he said softly, and Rox blinked in astonishment. "I'm sorry that I assumed I knew the kind of person you were because of the way you dress."

Rox glanced over her shoulder, wary. "No harm done."

Niall held her gaze. He was close, too close, impossible to ignore. "That's the point, isn't it? You dress punk and talk tough to keep people at a distance."

"You don't know anything about me," Rox began to argue, but Niall didn't stop.

"It's your barbed wire fence and you need it, because once you come in here, you take on the grief of your clients and all the boundary lines dissolve." He was confident even though Rox was shaken that he had seen through her so well. "Like dragonsmoke before Slayers. It doesn't work against serious opposition, when the stakes are high."

"You sound even more flaky," Rox said, hoping to make him stop.

"But I'm only just getting to the heart of it," Niall said, his eyes brightening. "You have to have defenses to protect yourself, because you're a giving person, more giving than most. You give right here in this room. You give to any stranger who walks into this shop with a wound in need of healing. It's your nature to heal."

Rox straightened. "So what if it is?"

"What about the imbalance?"

"What imbalance?"

"What about you, Rox?" Niall's tone softened. "Who gives healing energy to you?"

Rox spun away from him then. "I don't need to be healed."

"Then tell me what taught you to build those protective walls in the first place."

Rox caught her breath and eyed him, her heart in her throat. "I don't have to tell you anything about that.

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.