Strong, Sleek and Sinful - By Lorie O'Clare Page 0,171
you.”
“Perry,” she breathed, knowing nothing she could say right now would take away the pain and heartache he had to deal with.
“So if you’ve come back to stay, we’ll talk. But if you’re here for a short while, only to leave to start again in another town, then there isn’t anything for us to say.” He let go of her wrist, opened the refrigerator, grabbed a beer, and walked out of the kitchen.
Hell. She didn’t know if she had come back to stay unless she knew where things were with them. He wanted it just the opposite, and she wasn’t sure how to give it to him like that.
Taking a moment, finding one of his coffee cups and pouring herself coffee, she then found a plate, poured the stack of bacon onto it, added the two slices of buttered toast, and followed him. She walked through the masculine looking living room, which appeared almost dusty from lack of use, to the den where his computer was. He sat in front of it, not looking at her, with the glow from the monitor creating a shiny texture in his hair. His bedroom door was open, the lights off in there and the lingering smell from his shower drifting toward her. It didn’t seem so long ago she had been here, although then her concerns had been so different.
Kylie placed the plate of food next to the keyboard. Then nursing her coffee, she walked around his desk to his gun case, the only item in the room that appeared dusted and well maintained. She stared at the expensive collection of weapons housed behind the glass.
“I’ve been injured, Perry,” she began, not knowing where to start in bridging the gap between them. She did know she wanted to, more than she’d wanted anything in her life; she would sweat out this conversation until they found ground to coexist on.
“I can see that,” he said, his mouth full of food. When the silence drifted between them again, he chewed and swallowed. “Thanks for making me breakfast. It is really good.”
“You’re welcome.” She didn’t turn around, unable to stare into those all-knowing eyes and say what was in her heart. “I was promised a month’s vacation after Nicaragua, but after injuring myself, I’ve now been given two months off.”
“So you’re here for two months?” Perry asked, sounding very matter-of-fact.
Kylie couldn’t turn this into a mathematical equation, giving him figures and making everything cut-and-dry. Her thigh pinched with pain when she shifted, finally facing him and balancing herself against his desk. “I don’t know how long I’m here for, Perry. It isn’t all black and white. There are gray areas. And I doubt one conversation between you and me can clear all those areas up.”
“I’m not going to endure the pain,” he said firmly.
“Relationships are about pain,” she argued, fighting not to lose her temper with his insistence they create some kind of damn contract that neither one of them would ever stray from. “They are about love and happiness, too. But I can’t promise never to hurt you any more than you could make me the same offer.”
“I would never hurt you,” he hissed.
“You’re hurting me right now,” she yelled. “You hurt me the moment I laid eyes on you when I was coming into town. And for the past two days I’ve been dying inside, desperate to know where I stood with you. But that didn’t send me running.”
She put her cup down too hard on his desk and some of it spilled onto her hand. Bringing her burnt flesh to her lips, she closed her eyes, willing herself to calm down and say what needed to be said to get them past this point. She jumped when strong arms grabbed her, pulling her from the desk.
“Sit down before you fall down,” Perry said, his bare chest brushing against her arm and then her back, as he guided her into his bedroom. “So you’re here for two months. Are you staying at that motel for two months?”
He stood in front of her and Kylie’s heart started pounding when she realized she sat on the edge of his bed. He’d moved her so quickly, obviously more in tune with her movements and how standing for long periods or walking was still difficult to do. She stared at his strong body, at his sleek dark hair, and then into his gaze that was damn near sinful with the intensity that glowed there.