Free Sands of Time by Susan May Warren Page A

she was waiting for him to leave. But she wanted to get home, get a shower, and the last thing she needed was Roman following her to her two-room apartment only to notice that she still kept the picture of them together at Gorky Park.
    In fact, she kept it next to her bed.
    Yeah, that would certainly communicate Over You wouldn’t it?
    She stepped up her sprint, cut toward the main doors and slammed through them.
    She could nearly feel Roman’s breath behind her as she tore out into the street. The sun had just begun to sear through the trees and buildings along Ylista Pushkina, but shadows still pooled in the ice-rutted surface of the parking lot. The wind felt fresh and cold on her tired face, and smelled crisp, of early winter. She ran to her Toyota Camry, an import she’d picked up in Irkutsk.
    Why did he have to be such a diehard? He and David were two peas in the same pod—they ought to be brothers. Another good reason for her not to fall for Roman.
    Again.
    She poked her car key into the lock, turned it.
    Roman slammed his hand against her door before she could open it. He was breathing hard, and frankly looked a little green as he turned to her. “What are you doing?”
    She lifted her chin. “Going home.”
    “Super. I’ll drive.” He held out his hand for her keys.
    She closed them in her fist and shoved her hand into her pocket. “No way. I want you gone. Out of my life. Skedaddle, which is English for Das Vedanya. ” She couldn’t believe she was actually wrenching those words out of her mouth emphatically, without flinching. If he didn’t look too close, he’d never know she’d spent a good portion of the last three hours crying in frustration and fury. And maybe a little over her broken heart.
    Because, wouldn’t it have been nice if he’d been lookingfor her to tell her that he loved her? Oh sure, in her wildest dreams.
    “I’m not leaving, Sarai.”
    “And you’re not coming with me.” She stared at him, painfully aware that he hadn’t a minuscule of tenderness in his eyes. Yeah, he’d changed. Forgotten her. Wiped her clear out of his memory. Well, what did she expect…it was one short summer, and he was young, painfully handsome, a hero with a smile that could make her forget her own name. He’d probably moved on a few times since her.
    Funny, David might have had the courtesy to mention that.
    “You’re coming with me. Gimme the keys.” Roman reached out for her, but she backed away.
    “You’ll have to wrestle them out of my rigor mortised grip.”
    He raised his eyebrows. She smiled, not nicely.
    “Don’t make me do something you’ll regret.”
    Her smile vanished. “Get away from me.”
    He winced. “Sarai, you are the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met.” He sighed and ran a hand over his hair, mussing even more. “I know I’m the last person you want to see. Ever. And I know what you think of me. I promise you, if you give me five minutes to prove to you that I’m not lying…and then let me get you out of here, I’ll never bother you again.”
    He looked away when he said it. As if annoyed with the fact that he had to bother with her now.
    Inside, she heard the slightest cry of pain. What was itabout him that being in his atmosphere felt like she was ripping the skin off her heart? But, finally, she knew the truth.
    Roman didn’t love her. And she certainly shouldn’t be hanging on to the hope that he would. They lived in different worlds. And he seemed content to keep it that way.
    “Fine.”
    He stared at her. “Fine?”
    “Fine.” She barely kept the choked sound from her voice. “I need to go home. We’ll go there and watch the news.” While she threw his picture off the balcony.
    He nodded.
    “And then, you’ll leave me alone. Forever. Right?”
    He swallowed, looked over the top of her head. “Right.”
    Right.
    “I’m driving, so hop in.”
    He narrowed his eyes. “You promise you won’t leave me in the parking lot?”
    She pulled out the