Free Pirate's Gold by Lisa Jackson Page B

against the insistence of his furrowed brow, but the fingers over her wrists tightened. “Tell me,” he demanded.
    â€œI can’t.”
    â€œWhy not?” His voice was rough.
    â€œBecause…because…”
    â€œBecause you’re ashamed?”
    Blue eyes blazed and she jerked her arms free of his possessive grip. “Because I don’t want you to know everything about me. I don’t want my personal life to become entangled with my business—”
    â€œAnother man hurt you!” he accused, refusing to believe her lie. His body had become rigid, his eyes accusing. “A man whom you loved very much!”
    â€œIt’s over,” she snapped back. Her entire body was shaking from the ordeal. Why, tonight, was she reminded of Brandon?
    â€œYou still love him.” He waited for her denial, silently counting the condemning seconds as they passed. When the silence remained unbroken, he turned on his heel and walked to the car.
    Her hands came up to cross over her breasts as if to ward off a sudden chill, but her head remained regally high. She watched him leave and ignored the urge to call out to him and tell him her deepest secrets. Those silent thoughts were better left unspoken.

CHAPTER FOUR
    S LEEP WAS ELUSIVE and the night stretched endlessly before her. As she lay in the darkness on her bed, she tried to rest, but painful memories made her restless. Kyle’s image with its dark brooding gray eyes couldn’t be erased. Nor could she forget the warm feel of his fingers when they caressed her skin. Her response to him had surprised her; she had thought her desire had been buried so deeply it would never resurface.
    Haunting memories of another man destroyed her warm thoughts of Kyle. Trapped in her mind were painful thoughts of Brandon, a man to whom she was hopelessly bound. She wondered if she would ever be free of him. She doubted it.
    The nightmares of Brandon disturbed what little sleep she managed to find. It had been three years since the divorce was final, but she still bore the scars from her passionate but brief marriage. It had ended because Brandon was a man who couldn’t abide the restrictions of a monogamous relationship, and Maren couldn’t bear the torment of wondering who was warming her husband’s bed. She had hoped that the divorce would release her from him. It hadn’t. Theirs was a relationship that couldn’t be broken easily, and even though they both knew it to be a mistake, they had once considered reconciliation.
    It had been that weekend at Heavenly Valley that had altered the course of Maren’s life. Brandon was a natural athlete and had been showing off on the slopes, attempting to race down the most dangerous runs at breakneck speeds. Maren’s insides had twisted as she watched him put tougher demands upon his body. He ignored the fact that he was obviously tired and pushed himself to the limit. His last chilling run had ended in tragedy. The fall should have killed him, but it didn’t. Maren had witnessed his loss of control of the skis and the jump that had ended in a body-wrenching dive against the packed snow and ice. Her strangled screams had brought the rescue team to Brandon’s side within minutes. Somehow he had managed to survive, though he only recovered partial use of his legs.
    Maren shuddered at the memory and pulled the blankets more tightly around her neck. She could remember the emergency room of the stark hospital and the fear that had gripped her in its cold grasp when she had first understood that Brandon might never walk again. The doctors had been grim, but persistent. If it hadn’t been for a succession of expensive operations, Brandon would still be confined to a wheelchair. As it was, he could now walk painfully with the aid of a brace. In time, the orthopedists were predicting, he could recover, if he could somehow manage to get over the emotional trauma of the accident.