Free Secret Passions by Jill Sanders Page A

better off, living a life without all this fear.”
     
    She stood up, shocked. “How can you say that? Do you even remember why I called you, begging for your help?”
     
    He shrugged his shoulders and kept his eyes focused on her feet. “I just assumed it was to get out of an arranged marriage.”
     
    “You helped me escape mutilation at the hands of my fiancé’s family. They were going to perform the mādā janānga vikrti.”
     
    Upon his blank look she closed her eyes and blurted out. “Also known as female genital mutilation. My future husband’s family wanted to make sure I was pure and that I would stay that way. They were concerned that my art was westernizing me, that I’d become too uncontrollable. My family could do nothing but bend to their wishes. Especially since they had paid bride's wages for me when I was only seven-year-old, which my family squandered selfishly on large houses, fast cars, and god knows what else.” She walked to the window, ignoring the pain in her hip, instead focusing on the pain in her heart. She looked out the window at the crowds of people, wishing she could disappear among them and never be seen or heard from again.
     
    She jumped a little when his arms came around her, holding her back to his chest. His lips brushed her hair.
     
    “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” He pulled her until she turned and then he wrapped his arms around her. She did the same, holding onto him, and for the first time in her life, she felt completely safe and knew that no matter what happened, he would protect her.
     
    She pulled back and looked into his face. Taking a chance at what she wanted, she pulled his head down to meet hers in a light kiss that would show him how much she appreciated everything he’d done. How much she cared about him. His hands felt wonderful as they rubbed up and down her back and arms. She wondered what they would feel like on her bare skin, what he would feel like as she ran her fingers over his heated skin.
     
    She’d seen him in just a towel the first night and wanted to see him like that again. She’d dreamed about it, about being with him. Pouring everything she had into the kiss, she leaned up and wrapped her hands in his hair.
    His hands continued to run over her, causing small fires on her skin under her clothes. Then she felt him slowly lift her shirt and touch her skin, just near her waist. On a moan, she leaned into his hands as his mouth took her to a level she’d never known was possible.
     
    “Please,” she moaned against his mouth. “Mitch, please. Touch me.”
     
    He leaned back, hovering just a breath from her mouth, and looked into her eyes. His emerald eyes sparkled and she could see his desire for her plainly. Pulling back a little, he shook his head. “Sandi, I don’t think it would be fair. Here, sit. We need to talk.”
     
    He helped her back to the couch where she took a deep drink of the lukewarm coffee to help settle herself. When he sat across from her again, she felt a little part of her break.
     
    “Don’t look at me like that. Like I’ve just killed your puppy. Sandi, you don’t know me.” He held up his hand as she started to deny it. “You don’t. You came in here the other night, and I hadn’t thought about you once since five years ago. Back then…” He ran his hands through his hair, causing parts of it to stand up a little. “Back when you arrived, I wasn’t myself. I wasn’t the best person I could be. I didn’t have my life in order. I drank a lot.”
     
    She looked down at his hands as he gripped them together. “I know.”
     
    “No, you don’t. I was an alcoholic by twenty. I can’t even begin to compare my family problems to yours, but let’s just say my childhood wasn’t all rainbows. So when I was a teen, I picked up a bottle, and I didn’t put it down again until I almost killed a person that someone close to me cared about.” He hung his head for a moment. She silently sat there,