Free When a Man Loves a Woman (Indigo) by LaConnie Taylor-Jones Page A

lust to overrule love. He’d waited too long, had come too far for passion to win out over patience. Yes, he wanted her body, but more than anything, he craved her unconditional love. He’d seriously considered abandoning Zach’s advice about telling Vic he’d offered a reward, but couldn’t take the chance his brother-in-law would inadvertently tell his sister, Moni and…There was no way he’d risk losing her trust. He threw his head back, sighing softly. How was he going to tell her? Vic was a woman who didn’t mince words, and the best way to tell her something was to just come right out and say it.
    “Baptiste, what’s wrong?” Vic walked into the dining room ten minutes later and stood behind Baptiste, placing her hands on top of his shoulders.
    Looking solemn, A.J. reached to cover her left hand with his. “Sit down, Honey.”
    Vic felt his muscles knot beneath her fingers. Concerned, she pulled a chair next to him. “Is everything okay?”
    “Honey, I told Zach to offer a reward. Hopefully, if someone knows any information about the person who caused the two accidents, they’ll come forth.”
    “A reward?” Vic stared baffled for a moment. “How much did you offer?”
    A.J. shook his head. “That’s not important.”
    “How much did you offer, Baptiste?”
    “Two hundred and fifty.”
    It took a moment for her comprehension to kick into gear and suddenly her eyes flared. “You don’t mean thousand, do you, Baptiste?”
    He nodded.
    “No,” she cried out and shot to her feet. “The accident was my fault. You shouldn’t have to put up that kind of money.”
    “Wrong. You didn’t cause the other car to broadside someone else and then rear-end you.”
    “I-I need to at least chip in something—”
    “No,” he said emphatically.
    “Baptiste—”
    “Honey, I said no. End of discussion. There’s nothing you can say to make me change my mind.”
    “But—”
    He stood and walked toward her. With her face cupped between his hands, he gently voiced his refusal again. “No.”
    With a warm smile, she wrapped her arms carefully around his waist. “Why not?”
    “Three reasons.”
    She stared into his eyes, confused. “Three?”
    He nodded. “First, somebody hurt you, and whether intentional or not, they didn’t stop to help. Two, Nicole is fighting to stay alive. And three…”
    She swallowed hard because she couldn’t fathom what the third reason could be. “And?”
    “ Je t’aime ,” he confessed without hesitation.
    She turned her head away to hide the tears forming in her eyes and thought she would scream. God, she wanted to find the courage to tell him her greatest fear, but the words simply wouldn’t come. “Please don’t say you love me.”
    “ Je t’aime ,” he repeated slowly, nudging her face back around with his mouth.
    She quivered when he bent his head, his mouth lowering to hers, lightly touching her lips. When he pulled back, her heart pounded, despite the reasons her mind offered to keep their relationship from going any further. “Baptiste…”
    He looked at her, his gaze assessing. “Victoria Louise Bennett, will you let me love you?”

Chapter 6
    The moment Baptiste led Vic into his bedroom, she conceded a bitter truth. Her libido had overruled what little logic she had. A shudder raced down her spine, and a chill swept over her despite the seventy-degree heat outside. Goose bumps surfaced on her arms the moment the door closed and the lock clicked.
    “This room is our space, Honey,” he said quietly, braced against the door. “Whenever we come in here, the past doesn’t matter.”
    Running away from a challenge was something she’d never done in her life—until she met Baptiste. For six days, she’d been in and out of his room so much she could walk through it blindfolded. Now she was ready to bolt, knowing her vulnerability. The defenses she’d erected long ago to protect her heart from another man’s betrayal were in jeopardy of being