Free Baby, Come Back by Erica Spindler Page B

not true.” She made a move to duck past him; he caught her hand. “I didn’t come here tonight to try to convince you of anything. I came because I couldn’t stay away.”
    And he hated that. She saw that truth. He saw wanting her as a weakness. A mistake.
    She’d always wanted him more than he’d wanted her. He’d proved that twelve years ago when he’d rejected her flatly. And here she stood, offering him the same opportunity. When was she going to stop allowing this man to hurt her? When was she going to stop wearing her heart on her sleeve for him to crush?
    Now, she decided. Tilting her head back, she met his eyes. “Let me go, Hayes. This moment.”
    â€œAlice— ”
    â€œNow.”
    He dropped his hands and stepped away from her. “I don’t know what to say to you. What do you want me to say?”
    â€œThat’s just it. I don’t want you to say anything.” Bending, she scooped up her car keys. She jammed the key into the door lock and twisted. Swinging the door open, she forced him to step back.
    She slid behind the wheel and started the car, then looked back up at him. “Do me a favor, Hayes. Next time you’re trying to stay away, try a little harder.”

Chapter Five
    A lice let herself into her house, hands shaking so badly she had difficulty fitting the key into the lock. Once inside, she shut the door and leaned against it, grateful for its support. Dear Lord, what had she been thinking? She’d long ago learned her lesson with Hayes; only a fool made the same mistake twice.
    Then she was the biggest fool of all. For tonight she’d fallen into Hayes’s arms as easily, and as passionately, as she had at nineteen.
    She might never be the same again.
    Sheri appeared in the kitchen doorway, a plate of Oreo cookies in one hand, a glass of milk in the other. She smiled. “Hey, Miss A.”
    â€œHey,” Alice repeated weakly, and motioned at the plate of cookies. “I hope that’s not your dinner.”
    â€œNope. I had a peanut butter sandwich and an apple a couple of hours ago.” The teenager cocked her head and frowned. “You all right, Miss A.?”
    Alice forced a stiff smile. “Fine, Sheri. Just tired.”
    Sheri looked unconvinced. “Jeff’s dad called. He was looking for you, so I told him where you were. I hope that was okay?”
    â€œFine.” Alice slipped out of her sweater. “He stopped by the coffeehouse. No big deal.”
    Sheri frowned and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “What did he want?”
    What had Hayes wanted? She knew what she’d wanted: to make love. For those few dizzying moments in the parking lot she had wanted that desperately. Shamelessly, even. The memory of those moments filled her head— Hayes’s mouth on hers, demanding, exploring; his taste on her tongue; the feel of him under her hands, hard and hungry; their bodies pressed together, hot with arousal.
    Alice brought her hand to her mouth. She caught herself and swore silently. If only her lips didn’t still burn from Hayes’s kiss. If only she could forget the way she’d felt in his arms— as if she would die if he stopped touching her. If only she could block out the way she’d reacted to him— as though she were starving for sex, starving for him.
    â€œMiss A.?”
    Alice glanced at Sheri, then away quickly. Her cheeks, she knew, were bright with color; she felt as transparent as a picture window. How would Sheri react if she knew the truth?
    Alice cleared her throat. “He didn’t want anything. He just...stopped by.” She crossed to the hall closet, hung up her sweater, then made a great show of yawning. “I think I’ll turn in early and read for a while.”
    â€œOh...okay.”
    Sheri gazed at the floor a moment, and Alice sensed the girl’s hesitation, her need to say something. Alice