Free The Ties That Bind by Liliana Hart Page B

working undercover in the BDSM clubs like he had when they’d first become involved? Or was she not enough for him—not giving him those desires he craved—and returning to the sexual lifestyle he’d always lived?
    She’d never been a coward. It was time to confront him and get to the bottom of things. The only problem was he had to return home before she could do it.
    Claire replaced the last book on the shelf and stepped down from the ladder, and then she slipped her feet into the wicked black heels she’d gotten in France on her honeymoon. Her back ached and she was more than ready to call it a day. There hadn’t been a library patron to come in for more than two hours, and she was thinking no one would mind if she closed up fifteen minutes early. The fall and winter months, especially when darkness fell earlier each night, weren’t exactly great for boosting her numbers and proving that the library was worth saving. And the budget cuts most definitely showed it. Thank God the city library also doubled as the school library or she’d be out of a job.
    It was another problem for another day. She sighed and moved between the stacks of books to the stairs. Her heels echoed on the marble and the temperature cooled considerably since the heat hadn’t worked on the second floor since she’d been a child. Another one of those budget issues that was far down at the bottom of the list.
    Despite the cooler temperature, the upstairs was her favorite part of the library. It was easy to imagine it as it had been a hundred years before. Six large columns that sat two by two like sentries dominated the large open room. The floors were marble, and the glass windows etched so the view to the outside world was slightly distorted. Two long mahogany tables that were battered with age were used as study areas for students and drop chandeliers hung from the ceiling.
    The tables were clear of clutter and everything looked to be in order, so she crossed to the bank of light switches and began shutting them down, leaving on the two recessed lights over the tables so the room was cast in a softer glow.
    Headlights cut through the window and then passed by, and she moved closer to get a better look at the outside. The clouds were so thick in the sky she couldn’t tell if there was any daylight left, and it looked as if the street was empty. Her heart heavy and missing Cooper more every minute he was gone, she sighed and turned back toward the stairs.
    The only thing that kept her from screaming aloud was that it caught in her throat on the way out. Her heart thudded in her chest and her hand rested across her neck. She hadn’t heard anyone come in, but there he stood. Cooper always moved with an unnerving silence.
    “I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said.
    His voice rasped across her skin and she shivered. One sound—one look—was all it took to make her go weak in the knees. He had such power over her. Up until recently, she thought it had been mutual.
    Cooper was a big man, several inches over six feet, and broad through the shoulders. He wore a black long-sleeved t-shirt and olive green cargo pants, but even covered up it was impossible to miss the thick bulges of muscles in his arms and chest. His hair was thick and black, always a little too long, and his eyes were the purest blue she’d ever seen. He was the kind of man that made men take a step back and women get closer for a better look. And every inch of him screamed power.
    “When did you get back?” she asked.
    “I just pulled into town and saw your car. I thought I could help you shut down for the night.”
    When had they become strangers, she wondered. Or had they ever really known each other at all?
     

Chapter Three
     
     
    Good intentions paved the way to hell.
    Cooper had had every intention of coming clean with Claire about continuing his undercover work with the DEA for the last month. But the moment he caught sight of her all his good intentions fell to