Free The Winter Man by Diana Palmer

night’s worth. And he’d mentioned watching Millie read to the kids, as if he’d cherished the memory. She felt warm all over at the idea that he’d felt something for her, until John killed it with his lies.
    Her heart grew heavy. It was very well to think that she’d touched that cold heart, but he wasn’t saying thathe loved her or wanted to live with her. He was just looking after her, probably out of guilt because of the way he’d treated her. This wasn’t a prelude to a life of happy togetherness. To Tony, it was just another job. She was a job. She’d do well to remember that and get her priorities straight. When the danger was over, she’d go back to her library and Tony would leave and never look back.
    She closed her eyes and tried to sleep. It was almost morning by the time she finally managed it.
    * * *
    Two more days passed with no sign of any hired killer. Tony was in contact with both Frank and his detective friend. There was no gossip on the streets about the hit. That bothered Tony. He knew that the killer probably knew where Millie was, and he was biding his time until he saw an opening. This could drag on for weeks. Millie couldn’t stay out of work forever, and Tony had a commitment coming up overseas. But there didn’t seem to be any way to draw the hired killer out into the open.
    Millie was wearing on him. He found himself watching her. She was pretty, in a way, and her figure was tantalizing. He was aroused by her. She didn’t dress in a provocative manner, but she had pert little tip-tilted breasts that weren’t disguised by her bra or the knit blouses she wore. He spent more and more time thinking how they might feel in his mouth.
    It made him ill-tempered. He was used to women whogave out without reservations. Millie was attracted to him, too. He could see it. Frank had said that she was in love with him. He was tempted to see how far she’d let him go, but he wasn’t certain about his own ability to stop in time. He hadn’t had a woman in months, and he wasn’t a man who could abstain for long periods of time.
    Millie noticed his growing irritability and guessed that he didn’t like having her cramp his style. Obviously he couldn’t cavort with another woman while he was protecting her. She felt guilty. She would have liked to have gone home, and have him smile at her again, even if it meant giving him up to some flashy woman. She was resigned to the fact that he was never going to want her. He’d said several times that she really wasn’t his type.
    The next night, he paced the floor until he made her uncomfortable enough to go to bed.
    â€œDon’t rush off on my account,” he said curtly. “I’m just not used to this much inactivity.”
    â€œNo, I’m really sleepy,” she assured him. “Good night.”
    â€œYeah. Good night.” He said it with pure sarcasm.
    She put on his T-shirt and stretched out on the bed with the lights still on. She was as restless as he was, and probably just as uncomfortable. She ached for something, for kisses, for caresses, for human contact. He hadn’t touched her since he’d held her hands while he was talking about his mother. But he’d watched her. His eyes were narrow and covetous. She might be innocent, but sherecognized that heat in him. It was in her, too, and she didn’t know what to do about it. She’d never felt it so strongly before.
    She stretched again, moaning softly as she thought how sweet it would be to lie in Tony’s arms and let him kiss her until the aching stopped.
    She heard the phone ring. A couple of minutes later, he rapped on her door and opened it without asking if she was decent.
    He froze in the doorway, his eyes homing to the sharp peaks of her breasts and the long, uncovered length of her pretty legs. His teeth clenched. “A shark must feel like this, just before he bites,” he