Free Fall (Roam Series, Book Two) by Kimberly Stedronsky Page B

head, brought vomit to my mouth.
    “ Hello ,” I choked, and then silently cursed myself for being stupid. Yes, announce that you’re here, so let the attack begin! I stepped lightly to the garage door and slipped into the garage, breathing evenly. Don’t react, act. The words of my kickboxing instructor surfaced as I continued to count, calming my nerves. Run. Don’t be a victim.
    Pressing the button to open the garage door, I widened my eyes as the motor refused to begin the lift. Broken . I’d forgotten the motor died over a month ago.  Hurrying to the man door, I fumbled with the deadbolt before it finally released. My boots were still by the front door, but at least I had my coat. My thigh-high stockings were warm, but my feet were instantly soaked and freezing as I ran through the snow, toward the road. The moonlight reflected off the drifts, lighting the night around me.
    The breathing and heavy footsteps closed in from behind. Keep running and get caught from behind, or fight? I was confident that I could defend myself- a little- but wished for something, anything, to serve as a weapon. The keys, still in my hand, were my only option. I grasped them, stopping suddenly and turning around. As I did, my foot slid on the wet snow and I went backwards, landing hard on my hip and elbow.
    He was on me in seconds. I screamed as he caught my hand in mid air, the gouging keys ready to plunge into his neck.
    As I finally focused, my heart stopped beating.
    West gazed down at me, releasing my arm and slipping his hands behind my head, through the snow.
    “Is it you?” My voice wavered, tears thick in my throat.
    “ Roam, ” his dark blue eyes caught the silver flecks of the moon. He lowered his lips to mine, and I blinked away at the scalding tears mixed with falling snow. “I thought I’d never see you again,” he murmured.
    I cried, unable to believe he was holding me in his arms. “How are you here?” I gasped, the warm heat of his body, the taste of his mouth, his voice sending me into a frantic calm. “ How? ”
    “I figured it out… the numbers, the fountains. Cleveland .” He lifted me into his arms. I gripped his neck with all of my strength, pressing my face to his chest.
    “Don’t let me go,” I whispered brokenly, my torrent of tears breaking against his warm skin.
    “ Never again, ” he promised, carrying me back to the house.

Chapter Eight
    Once inside, in the sobering kitchen light, he gently lowered me to a chair. I watched him intently as he knelt and unrolled the wet stockings from my feet. Sitting motionless, I stared at him, unable to admit to myself that he was real. His dark blonde hair, longer than I’d ever seen it, curled at his neck. His strikingly handsome face was covered in a full beard, slightly darker than his hair, somehow making him appear even more attractive. He lifted his eyes to mine, dropping my stockings to the floor and reaching for my jacket zipper.
    “Are you okay?” He asked softly, pulling the tab. As he reached my stomach, his fingers grazed my abdomen. He groaned, lowering his face. “ Oh, Roam…, ”
    I tangled his hair in my fingers, closing my eyes as his lips pressed against our child. “I’m… almost twelve weeks… and…,” I stopped speaking as he lifted his eyes to mine. Tears turned his gaze to mirrored glass.
    “…and I just chased you down. Let me see your arm.” He slipped the sleeves of my coat down my arms, gently gathering my elbow in his hands. “Can you extend it?”
    “I’m okay, really,” I pressed both my palms to cup his face, pulling him to me. “Please just… kiss me. ”
    As his lips claimed mine, I couldn’t get close enough to him. Every fiber of my body stirred with wanting, a need that could never be extinguished with time, or change…
    Or Logan.
    “How do you feel?” He flattened his hand on the small of my back, making small, circular motions. I basked in the way that he tasted as his lips moved over mine