Free Imminent Conquest by Aurora Rose Lynn Page A

mere presence.
    "Look me in the eye,” he said, sitting down beside her.
    "Where else would I look?"
    "Don't fight me, sweetheart. Believe me. I didn't murder anyone.” His eyes begged for understanding. Eyes of a murderer.
    "I don't believe you. Not even for a moment."
    "You don't have to,” he said barely above a whisper. “I'm going to prove I didn't."
    "How are you going to do that?” she flashed back. “By killing me?” After all, wasn't she the only witness to the crime? She hadn't actually seen him cut his father's throat but she had seen him holding the bloody knife.
    A muscle under his right eye twitched erratically. “You shouldn't talk to me like that."
    "Or else you'll explode?” She knew better than to push his hot buttons.
    "I'm going to say this over and over until you believe me. I didn't kill my father. I don't know who did but I'm going to find out."
    "And you expect me to believe you? If you didn't do it, why did you spend all those years in prison?"
    He raised his eyebrows. “For all I know, you murdered my father."
    She hissed a breath, wanting to strike out at him. “You know damned well that's not in my mentality."
    Michael pressed his lips together in a grim line. “Do you think so?"
    Nicole spluttered. “Of course you do!” She realised how silly that sounded. She wouldn't hurt a minuscule ant, let alone actually kill a man. What had happened to the Carmichael family that their son had been forced to commit murder? The years peeled away as she remembered the pleasant and jovial James Carmichael, Senior. He was the kind of father she wished she would have had.
    A small growl from deep within his throat made her look into his eyes. Unfathomable pain lurked behind the sapphire blue. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. He wasn't about to lose control of his thin temper, was he?
    "Now is a time for relaxation,” he said, touching her cheek with a featherlight touch.
    Maybe if she allowed him to do what he wanted this once, he would realise she didn't want anything to do with him. Then he would leave her alone so they could go on with their separate lives. Maybe, this once, she could get him out of her fevered mind, convince herself that he had been important in her life, but that was no longer the case. She snorted. Would it be enough this one time, to suck his cock and savour his body?
    The fight went out of her. Why resist such overwhelming sexiness? Lethargically, she wanted more of this man. More than, she suspected, he was willing to give. She sighed inwardly. It was either wanting him or trying to find futile methods of clocking him and living with the guilt that she had hurt someone. The bedside lamp might reach far enough, she thought idly. But she had loved him once. How could she hurt him? Why couldn't she think straight?
    He circled her bound wrists with a large hand. “Do you want to be free to touch me?"
    "Yes,” came from between clenched teeth.
    The emotions she had buried over the years returned with a vengeance, along with despair, bitterness, guilt and regret for the irretrievable years. The love she had felt for him, the fun they had had together, and how she had trusted him with every part of her being. He would never have harmed her. Not ever. But she wasn't sure any more. He was a different man, more in control, less willing to give that power up.
    As promised, he untied her hands. With a shaky intake of breath, she watched him warily.
    "Can we start over? From the very beginning?” Gently, he freed her wrists.
    How could she do that? She had spent the time he was in prison trying to forget him, which was as impossible to achieve as someone trying to overcome their fear of heights. “There's no way to regain what we once had,” she whispered, boldly meeting his eyes.
    He crooked his finger and lifted her chin. Determination set his features into rigid lines. “Maybe we can make a fresh start, knowing what we know?” he pleaded, reminding her of the old