Free Hunted by Jo Leigh

ready, but then his lips were on her neck, just below her ear. His hot breath made her gasp.
    His hands moved down and cupped her buttocks, holding her steady as he pressed himself against her stomach.
    She knew that part of him, too. She’d dreamed of him too many nights to forget. No matter that she’d banished thoughts of him during the day, he always managed to sneak up on her in sleep.
    He moved, and she moved with him. He sighed and kissed her, and she kissed him back. She was falling, slowly, sinking. Losing herself. Losing control.
    Then she snapped, like a branch in the storm, awake and aware of who she was and where she was and why she was in his arms. She pulled away and turned her head away from his kiss. “No.”
    He released her quickly, as if she were fire and he’d been scorched. “Remembered who I was, huh?”
    She stepped back until her heel touched the bottom of the cabinet. “No. It’s not like that. I'm sorry. I should never had done that.”
    He stared at her, wounded and angry. More than that, he was lonely. She’d never guessed it was this bad. His eyes seemed black and empty. His cheeks hollow, his smile gone forever. There was no life to him at all. Her heart broke in a brand new place. “Mike,” she said as she reached for him.
    He winced, and turned his head, stepping back and away from her as quickly as he could. “Go to bed, Becky. It’s late.”
    “But—”
    “You were right. I should never have touched you. Now go on.”
    “It’s just that I can’t go back to the way it was when we were married, Mike. I can’t live like that again.”
    “I'm not asking you to.”
    “My life is calm and peaceful, and I don’t lie awake at night anymore wondering if you'll be alive in the morning. I don’t worry every time I hear a siren. I've finally gotten control over things, don’t you see? If I let go, it will all unravel. Don’t ask me to give up what I've worked so hard for. I can’t do it. I lose myself when I'm with you, and there’s nothing left over. Not for me or for Sam, and he needs me so much. I can’t invest everything in you, when I can’t trust you to be there.”
    “I'm going to check the house and make sure it’s locked up,” he said calmly, as if she’d never spoken.
    She moved to the door and blocked his way. “Were you listening? Did you hear me?”
    He wouldn’t look at her. His face was rigid, his mouth set in a thin line. “I won’t touch you again,” he said, his voice a low whisper, void of emotion. “I won’t mess up your life. As soon as this is over, we'll go right back to the way we were. I give you my word.”
    She shouldn’t let him go like this. She’d seen what was behind his eyes. He was dying inside, and he needed her. But how could she go to him when the price was so high?
    She moved to the door, and when she was very close to him, she touched his face. He closed his eyes. He didn’t move or shake her off, but it was clear her touch was painful. She dropped her hand. “I have to put the milk away,” she whispered. “I'll go up in a minute.”
    He left without another word.
    She went to the table and sat down again. Her milk was cold, but she didn’t want it anyway. Lord, she was tired. Maybe if she got some sleep she could figure out what all this meant. Right now, all she felt was confused and sad. The only thing she had to hold on to was the life she’d built for herself and her son. That life did not include Mike.
    She would bury the ache inside her. She’d done it before; she could do it again. If he just kept his word, and he didn’t touch her again, she would be all right.
    He would be all right, too. He would go back to his job and to talking to Sam on the computer. Mostly, he would go back to that island he’d lived on for so long. She couldn’t let herself believe that what she’d seen tonight made any difference. It was a quirk, a mistake. She’d spent too much of her life trying to figure out who was behind