Exposure - Kelly Moran Page 0,33

in his head, he'd need eight solid hours in the gym with a punching bag.

She grinned when he took her glass away. "What are you doing?"

Kneeling between her legs, he ran his hands up her calves. "Wondering what you have on under that robe."

The fire reflected in her eyes, lit with humor. "Why don't you find out?"

Clamping his mouth on her throat, he growled. "With pleasure."

Chapter Eight

A week later, with an Elements exhibit starting in twenty minutes, Raven turned away from the door in her office and sat on the edge of her desk, listening to her mother blubber about a recent breakup. She cradled the phone in one hand and plucked dead blooms from her potted plant with the other.

When there was a pause, Raven said, "I thought you were seeing someone named Daniel."

Her mom sniffed. "Oh no. Daniel was weeks ago. I thought things with Richard were going so well."

They always did, until a few weeks passed and Willow Crowne fell head over heels. Surprise, surprise, it ended shortly after that. Raven had had this conversation so many times, but it still pained her that her mom was hurting. "I'm sorry."

"Me, too." She blew her nose. Loudly. "Enough about me. How are you? Are you seeing anyone? Why are you calling me on a Friday night?"

Her mother liked Noah, but the two of them were a temporary thing, so no sense in telling her because it would only get her hopes up. They agreed to a month, and only one more week was left of their time. Her stomach churned. She ignored it. "Just checking in. I have a showing starting in a few minutes. But, since we're on the phone, I need to ask you something."

Weariness weighed on her shoulders. Between Noah exhausting her after work and a sudden rash of new nightmares, sleep was not a commodity. Ever since he'd brought up her childhood, she started remembering little tidbits. Google searches only brought up things she knew.

"Anything, honey."

Raven rubbed her forehead. "Where was I found after the Lambs of Christ raid? I keep having strange flashes and can't piece it together."

Her mother was silent, which should've warned her something ugly was coming. Her mother made talk show hosts look like mutes. "Honey, I?? She sighed. "When the shooting started, you and some of the other kids were locked inside one of the bunkers. Some of the leaders were there hiding out, along with your parents, planning an escape. The ATF kicked down the door and shots were fired from Lambs leaders. The authorities responded. You??

Her fingernails dug into her palms. "What, Mom?"

She sniffed. "Your father pushed you to the ground and told you to crawl under the bed. He died right next to you. The agents didn't know you were there until a little while later. You hadn't moved. They thought you were dead, but it was just shock."

Just shock. As in her limbs freezing and inability to breathe. Her first panic attack had come before she'd moved to Alaska.

Making excuses, she hung up and stared out the window, trembling from hairline to toenails. All these years she'd thought she was a freak. Turned out, she was traumatized. The claustrophobia, the panic during sex while horizontal, made sense. Noah was right. She could handle any position but missionary. And she couldn't even remember the incident, yet it had forged a dark path for her all these years.

Feet shuffled behind her. Noah. She'd grown accustomed to his sounds, his scent, and his touch in their few weeks together. She could make him out from a thousand others while blindfolded. She wanted to go home, where he could bury himself deep inside her willing body and push this new knowledge from her mind. With him, she forgot to be afraid.

His gaze scanned the gallery below before he cupped her cheek. "What is it? You're pale, baby."

She couldn't do this now. She had a showing. Forcing a smile, she met his worried gaze. "Nothing. My mother. We just hung up."

"You sure? Your mother doesn't typically make you shake, not in fear anyway." One corner of his mouth curved.

She nodded. "I'll tell you the rest later. I'm fine."

His jaw tensed and he looked over her shoulder at the gallery as if to make sure no one was watching. His hand dropped from her face. "I want to fuck you on this desk one day. Thought about it every time I visited you at work. It'll have to wait, though. Your