Free The Way Back by Stephanie Doyle Page B

snorted. “That’s not a fair question. I’ve been fantasizing about Jamison Hunter for the past ten years of my life.”
    “Why? Why me?”
    Because he was everything to her. Everything she wanted to believe a man could be and he made her feel safe. Hell, she even felt safe right now.
    “You were heroic. Smart and handsome, brave and daring. You were larger than life. But I also thought you still might be someone who a person could sit beside and have a beer with. You made me feel safe in a dangerous world.” She stared out at the night, a little too embarrassed by her honesty to make eye contact. “Must seem silly to you.”
    “It does. What you saw was a fake image of me. A caricature the news created. If they could have, they would have had me walking around like a damn superhero. But I’m not talking about that guy and back then. I’m asking, do you want to have sex with me? The man you’ve known the past few days?”
    That question was way more difficult. The answer that leaped to her mind was something she really didn’t want to think about. So she went with her third thought.
    “It would compromise my professional integrity.”
    For whatever reason he found that hysterical. She waited until he’d stopped laughing so hard then handed him the key. He drove up the winding hill to his home. When they were parked next to his truck, he turned the engine off and for a time they simply sat listening to the thunder and the rain.
    “You can have the guest room.”
    “Thanks.”
    Jamison didn’t say anything more but she felt he wanted to. He wanted a real answer from her and not only because it might result in him getting laid. There was something else there, a vulnerability she sensed in him. And if that didn’t make him a little more attractive, she didn’t know what did.
    He opened the door and made a break for the porch. She wasn’t going to worry about her luggage and instead grabbed her purse and followed, squealing as the rain pelted her. Once inside, they walked through the house quietly.
    “Do you want anything?”
    “Just a bed.” It wasn’t hard to admit she was exhausted. The emotional roller coaster of the day had taken its toll and it wasn’t like she had gotten any sleep in the backseat.
    She followed him up the stairs which overlooked the spacious living area. From above she could see everything in one glance and noted it was definitely a man’s home. All stark lines and manly colors. It seemed a bit formidable. There were no decorative pillows. A room where people lived needed the softness of pillows. Only the skylights, which were black tonight, suggested any whimsy.
    The stairs opened to a hallway off of which were two doors.
    “That’s the guest room.” He pointed. “Should be clean. I have someone who comes in every other week and, even though I tell her not to bother, she’s a stickler for cleaning every room.”
    “Thanks.” Gabby started toward the door and stopped. This wasn’t going to be a good idea. In her mind she could already see how bad of an idea it actually was. But having your life ripped out from underneath you made a person a little more daring. When there was nothing to lose, there was also no fear.
    “Jamie?” She turned and saw him standing there. His face was hard, but also a little sad. A little lonely. “If I were a different person, I would want to…you know…with you. The person you’ve been these past few days. I like this person. But I’ve been burned. Badly. And you, you’re a—”
    “I’m a cheater. I cheat,” he said softly, sounding like a man who had spent his life whipping his skin out of guilt.
    “Yeah, you cheat,” she said. As much as he attracted her and fascinated her she could never let herself be involved with a man who, at heart, she couldn’t trust.
    “Goodnight, Gabby.”
    “Okay.” She turned her back on him then and entered the guest room finding a light switch on the wall. When she closed her door he was already