Strictly by the Book by Brenda Margriet

Author:Brenda Margriet
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Forced Proximity, Grumpy hero, Sunshine heroine, Enemies to lovers, substance abuse, librarian historian, doctor pathologist, political scandal
Publisher: Brenda Margriet Clotildes
Published: 2023-04-13T00:00:00+00:00

RAFE WAS ON THE OTHER side of the door. Natalie's skin rippled with the extraordinary awareness of his presence, the way it always did when he was near. Her fingers hovered over the handle, her brain warring over what to do. Open it and confront him on his precipitous retreat earlier? Keep it closed and come to grips with the fact he'd only had sex with her out of pity?

Her delay took the decision out of her control. The creak of a floorboard let her know he had abandoned his post. She cracked the door open a sliver in time to see him disappear into his own room. A room she would now forever equate with the hottest sex she'd ever had.

And she meant ever.

The nervous energy that had kept her on her feet for hours drained away, leaving her limp and shaky. Shedding her clothes and tossing them haphazardly onto the floor, she dropped her glasses on the nightstand, crawled naked between the sheets, and curled into a ball.

The next thing she knew, light was streaming into the room. Squinting against the brightness, she stretched out a hand to the nightstand in a blind search for her phone, finding only her glasses. She rubbed the heels of her hands into her eyes and then stared down at the unfamiliar blue and grey striped sheets.

Right. No phone. No belongings whatsoever. No home.

A small digital clock with bright red numbers told her it was just past seven. She couldn't remember falling asleep. Was it possible to get too much rest? She felt logy and lethargic, unwilling and unable to get out of bed. Flopping face down on the mattress, she let herself wallow, even shed a few more useless tears.

Then she wiped her wet face, flung back the covers, retrieved her glasses, and prepared to face the day.

A glance through the open door of Rafe's bedroom on her way downstairs revealed a neatly made bed and no evidence of its occupant. His absence was confirmed by a survey of the empty garage. Not sure whether to be relieved or disappointed that she hadn't had to chase him off to work like yesterday, she made herself toast and coffee and trudged back upstairs to the archive room. There, she powered up her laptop and settled in to study the files she’d set out last night.

In a couple hours, she'd get a hold of Helen and accept her offer to go shopping. She needed a phone and a few other essentials that Rafe and Elizabeth had missed. For example, the prescription for her birth control pills. She and Rafe had used a condom, of course, and the chances of having sex again appeared to be getting slimmer by the moment, but that wasn't the point. She needed to get back into her routines as best she could.

For now, she'd start with Eugenia's biography. Because she wanted to, not because anyone expected it.

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