Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose Page 0,183

into Pastor’s quarters. It hadn’t sat well with the community, but Joshua reminded them that Pastor himself had left him in charge.

Graham said that tempers were short, and Hayley had heard shouting and fights all the way back in her little cubicle. She didn’t leave her space except to go to the toilets. She didn’t have the energy to even listen to the discord.

Graham and Tamar had become her windows to the world of Eden. Such as it was.

You got the solar panels hooked up? she mouthed back.

Graham nodded slowly, but his eyes were sparkling. He’s enjoying this. Her little brother had developed a taste for disruption. God help the world once we get back.

“I’ll hook up the computer tomorrow,” he whispered. “I’ve been carrying it out in boxes that smell like shit. Because they once held shit.”

“Makes sense, then,” Hayley murmured, hope blossoming. “What can I do to help you?”

“Just stay here and stay safe.” He patted her stomach. “Keep little Zit safe, too.”

Hayley mock-scowled at him. “Her name is Jellybean.”

“Forever to be known as Princess Zit.” He rolled to his heels. “Gotta go. Curfew soon.”

“You’re respecting curfew?” Hayley asked. “Really?”

He winked. “My stepbrothers are offended by my bouquet.” He mimed twisting a knife. “So I show up extra early.”

“I love you,” Hayley murmured. She never let him leave now without saying it. He was in constant danger. If someone found the solar panels or the computer, they’d beat him. Or worse.

But he was twelve years old and cockier than hell. “Ditto,” he said. Then he was gone, leaving her with nothing to do but think. And maybe to hope. Just a little.

ROCKLIN, CALIFORNIA

SUNDAY, MAY 28, 8:30 P.M.

Liza dropped to her knees as soon as she entered Tom’s kitchen, because Pebbles had rushed to greet her, tail wagging so hard that the dog should have fallen over. Wrapping her arms around Pebbles’s neck, she nuzzled her cheek against the dog’s fur. “Missed you, sweet girl.”

Behind her, the door to the garage closed and Tom joined her, kneeling on one knee to scratch behind Pebbles’s ears. “I’m right here,” he said blandly. “Did you miss me, too?”

She pivoted on the floor, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I did. Every single one of the twenty minutes since I last saw you.”

He ran his hands up her back and kissed her hard. “I was two feet away.”

“You were in the front seat and I was in the back seat, on the floor and under a blanket.”

He’d insisted, worried that someone might be watching outside the apartment building.

“To keep you safe.” He searched her face, a frown on his. “You’re nervous.”

“A little. I mean, deciding we’re having sex, then putting it off like this? Although I should be fine with it,” she added lightly. “What’s twenty minutes when I’ve waited seven years?”

She was babbling. Because she was nervous, and only part of it was the forced delay.

Most of it was worry that she’d forced him into this.

He tipped her chin up so that he could see her face. “Did you change your mind?” he asked quietly. “Because if you did, it’s all right. We can wait until—”

She silenced him with a kiss, putting everything she had into it. It was lush and hot and channeled every erotic fantasy of him that she’d ever had. He groaned deep in his throat and palmed her butt, yanking her against him. She could feel him throbbing against her, and all she wanted was his hands on every inch of her skin.

He wrenched away, breathing hard, his eyes hungry. “Why are you nervous, then?”

“I don’t want you to do this because I guilted you into it.”

He shifted, pressing harder into her while tightening his hold on her ass. “I’m here because I don’t want to be anywhere else. Do you believe me?”

She wanted to. She cupped his face and forced herself to answer honestly. “Mostly.”

“Do you want to wait?” he asked, her nerves apparently catching.

Of that answer she was certain. “Not another minute.”

He exhaled in a relieved rush. “Thank God. But if you change your mind—”

She pressed her finger to his lips. “I know. But I won’t. Show me your bedroom, Tom.”

He closed his eyes, drawing a breath. “I’m not going to make it that far.”

“Then you’ll come twice,” she said, then laughed when he tugged her up the stairs and into his room.

He stopped short, drinking her in. “I’ve wished you were here.”

She loved the look in his eyes. It made her feel desired and