Free SiNN by Tina Donahue Page B

mother.”
    Despite his stoic tone, Lea heard a hint of melancholy. She
wondered what had made him so cautious, reluctant to break the rules and simply
do what he wanted, as Jake seemed to. “I’m sorry. When did you lose her?”
    Tossing his jacket on the sofa nearest him, Toby backed
away, his movements edgy, like a caged animal or a man who didn’t appreciate
personal questions.
    Lea could see he was uncomfortable with temptation.
    He put more distance between them. The chandeliers’ lights
gleamed dully off his leather shoulder holster and the butt of his gun. Warm
air poured from the vents in the ceiling, making the room almost too hot. At
least for him.
    Beads of perspiration shone on his temples.
    “Two years ago,” he said at last, turning toward the dining
room visible through a wide doorway.
    Past the long roughhewn table and eight chairs, Lea saw
another doorway leading into the kitchen. Copper appliances shone beneath the
overhead lights.
    “Would you like something to eat or drink?” Toby asked.
    She wanted him and Jake. Their heat enveloping her, their
strong bodies demanding everything she had, delivering her to pleasure and a
dreamless sleep.
    When she didn’t respond, Toby glanced over.
    He seemed so lonely, the same as her and no different from
Jake. Lea had sensed that unwanted solitude in him too. She wanted to offer her
hand to Toby as she had outside, but did not. He wasn’t Jake. He wouldn’t come to
her immediately.
    But he would come. She’d make certain of it.
    As though he’d read her thoughts or sensed her challenge,
something passed over his face. Caution? Lust? A bit of both?
    Heat curled in Lea’s belly at his sudden intensity.
    It didn’t last. “What do you want from the kitchen?” he
asked.
    “A beer. If you have it.”
    He spoke to Jake. “You and I will stay down here. Lea can
take her drink up to one of the bedrooms on the second floor.”
    “No,” she said immediately, determined to have this one
night and the few others they were giving her. “I don’t want to be alone.”
    Toby frowned. “It’s just upstairs.”
    “Please,” she said to Jake.
    Unlike Toby, he didn’t try to hide his feelings. Desire,
naked and unashamed, sharpened his rugged features. “It’s all right. You can
stay down here.”
    “She should go upstairs,” Toby insisted.
    Jake’s expression darkened. He spoke in a slow, even tone.
“She said she doesn’t want to.”
    “She doesn’t know what she wants,” Toby argued.
    “Yes, I do,” Lea said, going to him. “And so do you.”
    Color crept past his shirt collar and up his neck, flooding
his face.
    Not waiting for his denial, Lea pulled the elastic band from
her ponytail, releasing it. Lifting her hands, she drove her fingers through
her hair, shaking it out, letting it tumble over her shoulders.
    Toby’s brows drew together. He struggled for a moment, then
stared at the thick tresses resting on the swell of her breasts.
    She didn’t stop. She wouldn’t until she got the intimacy she
craved, even if it was only physical. In her world, that was a lot. And by God,
she’d have it. Grabbing the hem of her tee, Lea pulled the garment off,
flinging it aside.
    Toby followed its journey for a moment, as though he
couldn’t believe what she’d done. And then he stared at her breasts, confined
by icy blue satin and lace. “Don’t,” he ordered, choking out the word.
    Softly, she coaxed, “Why not? If you’re worried about me
getting pregnant, it’s not going to happen. I’m well protected. I wouldn’t do
to a kid what was done to me. I don’t sleep around either, if that’s what
you’re thinking. So you don’t have to worry about getting anything from—”
    He interrupted, “I never said—I never thought…” His words
trailed off.
    “From the moment I saw you and Jake at The Second Circle, I
wanted you both,” she said, then glanced over at Jake. “And you wanted me,
don’t deny it.”
    Jake did not. Stark passion