Awaken to Pleasure - By Nalini Singh Page 0,20

be the best choice. I want you."

"Will you force me?"

"Never."

"In my heart, I've always known that."

Jacksonwas stunned by that calm acceptance of his promise when he was starting to see thatTaylorhad experienced only fear and violence from the men in her life. She hadn't said anything to indicate further abuse, but if the young maintenance man had noticed her developing beauty, what had other, older men noticed? And what had they done to his sweetTaylor? He stifled his questions for the moment, aware that she was emotionally wrung out. "How?" he asked instead.

A pause, then, "You might hurt me with indifference and coldness but you'd never physically abuse me."

He winced at her honest response. "I'm not indifferent to you." But he was a cold man. He'd had to become one to survive his solitary childhood and then Bonnie. The last blow had been the loss of his child.

He neededTaylor's fire as his anchor against the coldness swallowing him alive, needed her to be the candle in the darkness that brought him back home. And though he'd never let her know, he needed her love. Because he did, he fought for her. "I will always be there for you, but I know of a therapist who specializes in sexual trauma." He'd made it his business to find out that information earlier today.

Taylortensed. "I don't know..."

"Can you try, cara? She might help you in ways I have no knowledge of." His need to encourage her spirit overcame his desire to be her strength. Faced with her pain, his first instinct would be to reassure and shield, possibly thwarting her recovery. The therapist would be far tougher, forcingTaylorto use the courage that had let her successfully raise a child, to heal herself.

This time, it was her hand that stroked his spine. "I'll try ... we can learn together."

What was she offering to teach him? He didn't care. He'd take whatever she could give him. It was a disturbing thought.
Chapter 5
Taylorawoke inJackson's guest bedroom on Sunday morning, wearing his big white shirt. Rain beat overhead, a rough lullaby that signaled the return of the storm. Warm and comfortable, she had no desire to rise.

A sharp knock on her door made her scowl. "Come in."

Jacksonpushed the door open and stood in the doorway, clad all in black. "We have to talk."

She yawned and pulled out one hand from her cocoon to pat at the bedspread. "Sit."

There was an inferno in his caressing gaze. " Cara mia, I am only a man."

Her heart thundered. "Please?" Why was she making him do this? Was she testing his promise that he wouldn't force her to do things that terrified her?

Sighing, he came and sat beside her. "Happy?"

"Maybe," she teased. "Where's my engagement ring, JacksonSantorini ?" She was trying to be lighthearted, for what right did she have to demand anything?

To her surprise, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a finely made gold ring with tiny shards of diamond embedded in the beautiful scrollwork. Despite its simplicity, she knew it was no ordinary ring.

Her hand trembled as he slid it onto her ring finger, under the rain-drenched sunlight falling through the skylight.

"Jackson, this is so lovely." Her voice was barely a whisper as, sittingup, she stared at the ancient gold.

His smile was slow. "The ring was my paternal grandmother's. Her name wasGia and she was married to my grandfather Josef for over fifty years."

Her eyes smarted with tears. No one had ever given her something so precious, so from the heart.

"Why are you crying?"

"I'm not." She rubbed at her eyes with her free hand.

" Piccola." He reached out and pulled her from the blankets and onto his lap, pressing her cheek against his chest. Instead of fear at the intimacy, she felt a fierce sense of belonging. "Why do you cry like this?"

The sudden change in the cadence of his voice startled her. "You sound so Italian."

"I am Italian." He stroked her hair in that way of his. She'd never imagined that such a big man could be so incredibly tender. "Have you stopped crying?"

"Yes." She kept her head against his chest. "Thank you for the ring." She wanted to ask if Bonnie had ever worn it but couldn't find the courage. After all, despite the hurt that his first wife had caused him, he'd loved her when they'd married. It hadn't been just a bargain.

"The ring has been sitting in a vault for ten years. You will bring it to the light once more."

The words made