Free Perfectly Broken by Emily Jane Trent

story.”
    She sighed. “I guess so. Anyway, for some
reason, when I go to funerals it’s like I can feel the dead. Or
their presence, anyway. In a weird way, I just feel connected. Does
that make any sense?”
    Tomas frowned. “If it makes sense to you, then
that’s all that matters.” He paused. “So why were you there
tonight?”
    Susanna felt her cheeks warm. “I wanted to be
close to you. And I was afraid to go to the hotel.”
    “I’m very much alive.”
    She smiled. “Yes, I can see that. I didn’t
expect to find you there. That part was a surprise. But it’s where
I first saw you.” She looked into his eyes. “Sentimental, I
suppose.”
    Tomas took a gulp of wine and replaced his
glass. “If you wanted to see me, then why wouldn’t you give me your
phone number?”
    She rubbed her fingertips over the wood
tabletop. “I don’t see guys more than once.”
    “You’ll have to explain that one, because I
thought it was good with us. Wasn’t it?”
    “The sex. Yes. It was good.” She twirled her
glass, thinking of how to make him understand. “I told you. It
wouldn’t work out.”
    His eyes gleamed. “Give it a chance. Get to know
me. I’m not that bad.”
    Susanna looked at the sexy man across from her.
He looked safe, friendly, and warm. Plus hot. Very hot. Tomas was
masculine with his firm jaw and bulked up muscles. How his arms
felt around her was memorable.
    “It’s not you.” Susanna glanced at her empty
glass, and Tomas refilled it. “Let’s just say I’m not a one-man
woman.”
    She watched the look on his face to see if he
understood. She really didn’t want to spell it out.
    Tomas grinned. “I like a challenge,” he said
with a sparkle in his eyes.
    She just stared.
    He flagged the waiter that they were ready to
order, leaving Susanna to wonder what she had gotten herself into.
Men were easy to control. It was nothing to go from one to the
other. The expression on his face gave her the idea she might be
looking at the first man she couldn’t wrap around her finger. The
thought was terrifying.

    * * * * *

Chapter 8
    The more Susanna told him about herself, the
less Tomas understood her. Or maybe it was just that he had never
met anyone quite like her. She was delicately beautiful, yet the
motif she chose was black. The tight dress she wore was a black
stretchy fabric that enhanced the look of her ample breasts.
    The thick, dark lines around her eyes gave her a
mysterious look, and matched the sadness she described. Her pale
skin contrasted starkly with the dark colors Susanna chose to wear.
Though every word she used to describe her past was somber, there
was vibrant life in her that sparked irresistible attraction. Tomas
was enchanted.
    She picked up her wine glass. “What are you
looking at?”
    “You.”
    Susanna blushed.
    He admired the flush in her cheeks, wanting to
be the cause, like he had been when she had climaxed in his arms.
“I didn’t think you were the blushing type.”
    She sipped her wine with a casual air. “I’m
not.”
    He smiled.
    The waiter came by as requested, and they
ordered. Susanna chose the crispy duck in filo pastry. Something
about sexual arousal stirred other appetites, and Tomas ordered the
ten-ounce prime Irish steak. He was hungry, and the longer he
looked at Susanna, the hungrier he became.
    Susanna held the stem of her glass and lifted it
to her lips. “So you know about me. How about you?”
    He shrugged. “What do you want to know?”
    She held her glass in both hands. “How old are
you?”
    “Turned twenty-two earlier this month. I did two
years of college in Boston, but couldn’t take any more. I’m ready
to work. Study doesn’t suit me.”
    Susanna furrowed her brow.
    “What?”
    She rubbed her thumb over the bowl of her glass.
“Two years of college? Didn’t you graduate when you were
eighteen?”
    Tomas was embarrassed. For some reason it was a
sore subject. In high school it had been a source of ridicule, and
it still