Free In Broad Daylight by Marie Ferrarella Page A

the passenger seat. "You didn't lock the door," he admonished.

    "I forgot." She didn't tell him that she often left it unlocked. It was easier that way. And maybe she was too trusting for her own good. "It's an old car, I didn't think anyone would
    think it worth stealing."

    Brenda closed the door, then walked around to the driver's side. She turned to face him.
    She could feel the heat from his body even though he gave her a little space. Her
    hormones, she thought, were giving her a hard time. The warm night didn't help things
    either.

    She raised the hair from the back of her neck, wishing for a breeze. Her silent entreaty
    went unanswered. "Well, thank you for not busting me."

    Busy memorizing the gentle slope of her neck, he didn't follow her meaning. "For what?"

    "For disregarding the yellow tape and going into the school."

    He grinned, vainly trying to summon up cold thoughts. "Don't make a habit of it."

    "I won't, I promise." Opening the driver's side door, she hesitated.

    "What?"

    Brenda bit her lip, then forged ahead. "The kidnapper said he'd call tomorrow. I should be
    there to talk to him."

    He knew what she was thinking. That since she'd pretended to be the housekeeper, she
    should be there just in case. But that had been just because neither of theTylershad been
    there to take the call. That had since changed.

    "Mrs. Tyler is probably going to want to handle that," he pointed out.

    He was right, of course, but she still wanted to be there, even though she knew she
    wasn't exactly welcome. The thought of being excluded, of being on the outside and not
    knowing what was happening, was painful to her. "Right. I just—"

    "Want to be there," he supplied. It wasn't difficult to guess what was on her mind.

    "Yes."

    He looked at the boxes of flyers on the seat. "You could always bring those by tomorrow.
    That'll get your foot in the door."

    She could see Mrs. Tyler taking them from her then closing the door on her face. "But
    what do I do after that?"

    "Maybe we'll get lucky and the kidnapper'll call while you're there."

    "And if he doesn't?"

    He glanced down at her foot, then smiled. "I'll see what I can do to keep the rest of you
    in after that."

    Gratitude shone in her eyes. The pull he'd been battling against increased, doubling.
    "Thank you."

    "My pleasure."

    And then, before he knew what he was doing, before he had a chance to tell himself not
    to, before he could blame it on the warm night and hours that were too long to allow him to
    think clearly, Dax framed her incredibly beautiful face in his hands.

    Her eyes met his.

    His resolve, what there was left of it, slipped away into the night.

    He brought his mouth down to hers.

Chapter 6
    «^»

    He'd caught her by surprise.

    But surprise faded quickly. In its place came the realization that she'd actually been
    anticipating this all along. On some plane, she'd known this was going to happen, been
    waiting for it to happen. In a way, she'd been holding her breath until it did.

    In the space of a very quick heartbeat, Brenda wound her arms around his neck and leaned
    her body into his, losing herself in the taste of his lips, in the heat of his kiss.

    Feeling so desperately alone these days, weighed down by the secret she was harboring,
    she needed this warmth, this human contact, if only for a moment. She found it
    comforting—and wildly exhilarating.

    Every part of her body was wide awake, alert, and quickly absorbing the sensations that
    were traveling through her body with the speed of lightning bolts.

    Her eyes closed, her head spinning, Brenda moaned as the kiss deepened, pulling her in by
    virtue of its sheer power.

    The sound of her moan echoed in his head, fueling the desire that had suddenly broken
    free of its shackles. He'd surprised himself by stepping outside the lines and giving in to
    the ever-increasing demand he'd felt drumming through his body. Dax was surprised too
    by the power with which his action had been met.