Free Always Devoted by Karen Rose Smith Page A

should borrow my apron."
    "The next time?"  He picked up on that right away.
    "Just a turn of phrase," she responded lightly with a slight blush, moving toward the refrigerator.
    Becky had wandered with her blanket back into the living room to watch TV.  So he said, "That came out a little too easily.  Maybe you don't mind having a man sleeping on your couch."
    "Maybe I didn't mind having you sleep on my couch.  Thank you, Linc.  That was the best night's sleep I've had in months."
    He couldn't say he wished he'd been beside her in bed to watch her sleep, could he?
    Her thoughts seemed to follow his because her cheeks seemed to pinken even more and she looked away.
    "How do you feel?" he asked.
    "Not dizzy.  But I know I have to have that blood work done this morning.  So I guess I can't eat any of this breakfast.  Zack said I had to fast for ten hours."
    Linc swore.  "I'm sorry.  I wasn't thinking."
    She shook her head.  "It's okay.  Becky will love the pancakes.  And I love leftover pancakes.  When I get back, I'll warm them in the microwave."  She came toward him and then laid her hand on his arm.  "I'm grateful, Linc.  For everything you've done.  Don't ever think I'm not."
    Unable to keep from putting thought into action, he wrapped an arm around her, pulled her toward the cover of the pantry closet and brought her close.  Before he even considered what he was about to do, he kissed her.
    When Emma's hands slid across his nape, he almost closed the pantry door.  But he knew he couldn't.  He also knew the kiss couldn't last too long or he'd have her clothes off as well as his.  He let his tongue sweep her mouth.  He let his hands roam down her back.  He tortured himself with the idea of burying himself in her.  Then he ended the kiss, and he merely held her.
    Resting his forehead against hers, he said, "I don't want gratitude."
    After a moment in which she obviously composed herself, she asked, "What do you want, Linc?"
    On the spot, he asked himself the same question.  An affair?  A one-night stand?  A family of his own?
    Where had that thought come from?  He willed himself to slow everything down.  He tried to erect again the walls that Emma and her story had torn down.  He attempted to distance himself at least for now.
    "I want to find your sister for you.  Or at the least, help Gillian and Jake do it.  So I decided to charter a jet to fly to San Diego.  There's a company I use that will accommodate us."
    Emma looked as if she'd just been plunged from one world into another, and he knew the feeling.  The haze of their desire could block out everything else...could let them escape...could possibly create something new.  But now wasn't the time.  She knew it, too.
    "After breakfast, I'll make some calls," he assured her.  "If we have our own plane, we won't have to waste hours in the airport, and I can get you home to Becky as soon as possible.  Is that all right with you?"
    He knew he couldn't just make unilateral decisions, although that was what he was used to doing most.  Emma wasn't the type of woman who liked to be left out of decision-making.
    "That would be the most practical thing to do," she said, and he couldn't tell if her voice trembled a bit...if the kiss had meant something to her...if she was looking for more than an escape.
    Maybe if they found answers in San Diego, he'd find out.
    #
    Parked at the curb in the driver's seat in one of San Diego's residential neighborhoods the following day, Linc glanced over at Emma.  Her gaze was riveted to Gillian and Jake who were walking up the path to a stone and stucco rancher.  They'd checked in at their hotel, one where Linc often stayed, then driven to this neighborhood not far from the college area.  The city contained more than a hundred neighborhoods and had often been called the City of Villages.  Mesas and canyons, agricultural preserves and business centers defined community planning areas with distinct