“What’s wrong, duchess?”

She shivered as he whispered it, his lips pressed against her neck as he spoke.

“Whatever is wrong with you, calling me that?” she said, swallowing around the knot that had lodged in her throat. Easing away from him, she eyed him nervously before glancing around. Nobody could see them from here, unless of course Patrick had managed to stash his men in the hotel. Not likely, that.

“I dunno. Seems to suit you.  The accent. The way you carry yourself…all smooth and elegant.” He touched his finger to her lip. “What scares you?”

“I don’t see how that could suit me,” she said faintly, ignoring the last part of his question as she tugged her tank down.

“Why are you afraid?” he asked, putting himself in her way.

With a brittle smile, she shook her head. “I’m not afraid,” she lied.

“Don’t lie to me. You know as well as I do, it doesn’t work. You’re terrified, damn it. Why?”

Dru shook her head. “It doesn’t do any good to talk about it. You can’t help anyway. I must go.”

Part of her questioned why she wasn’t furious with him—this was a stranger. She didn’t know him. But all she could think about was how much she wished she could stay. How much she longed to go back to him . . . lean against him, touch him. Taste him. Take him.

But when he reached for her, she evaded him.

“Meet me here tomorrow,” he said flatly.

“No.” She continued to back away, glancing around for signs that one of Patrick’s men might have caught up with her. Nothing. There was a shiny black car in the parking lot of the Waffle House across the street, but it wasn’t one of Patrick’s. If it was, she’d know.  She’d feel it somehow.

“Dru, talk to me.”

She shot him another look. Then, finally, fury and frustration sparked inside her, and she glared at him as it bubbled over and spilled out. “Stop. Damn you, why couldn’t you have come into my life a year ago? Two years ago? Why now? I can’t have you now.”

Without bothering to explain, she took off running.

She was torn between hoping he’d follow, and praying he wouldn’t.

From the Reunited… due out next week!

Lauren Dane
Mari Carr
Delilah Devlin
TJ Michaels
Leah Braemel
McKenna Jeffries
Taige Crenshaw
Felicity Heaton
Eliza Gayle