Her Kind of Hero by Diana Palmer

eyes.
    â€œYou should hate me,” he whispered. “I hurt you, and you did nothing, nothing at all to deserve it.”
    She winced, remembering how it had been when he’d lived with his father. “I understood. You resented me. My mother and I were interlopers.”
    â€œYour mother, maybe. Never you.” He looked formidable, angry and bitter. But his black eyes were unreadable. “I’ve hesitated to ask. Maybe I don’t really want to know. When Lopez had you,” he began with uncharacteristic hesitation, “were you raped?”
    â€œNo,” she said quietly. “But I was about to be. I remember thinking that if it hadn’t all gone wrong that Christmas…” Her voice stopped. She was horrified at what she was about to say.
    â€œI know,” he interrupted, and he didn’t smile. “I thought about it, too. What Lopez’s damned henchmen did to you at least wouldn’t have been your first experience of intimacy, if I hadn’t acted like a prize heel with you!”
    He seemed maddened by the knowledge. His hand on her face was hard and the pressure stung.
    â€œPlease,” she whispered, tugging at his fingers.
    He relaxed them at once. “I’m sorry,” he bit off. “I’m still on edge. This whole thing has been a nightmare.”
    â€œYes.” She searched his black eyes, wishing she knew what he was thinking.
    His thumb brushed softly over her swollen mouth. “Lopez will never get the chance to hurt you again,” he said quietly. “I give you my word.”
    She bit her lower lip when his hand lifted away, shy of him. “Do you really think he’ll come after me again?”
    â€œI think he’ll try,” he said honestly.
    She shivered, averting her eyes to the aisle beside them. “I hate remembering how helpless I was.”
    â€œI’ve been in similar situations,” he said surprisingly. “Once I was captured on a mission and held for execution. I was tied up and tortured. I know how it feels.”
    She gaped at him, horrified. “How did you escape?”
    â€œBojo and the others came in after me,” he said simply. “Under impossible odds, too.” He smiled, and it was the first genuine smile he’d ever given her. “I guess they missed being yelled at.”
    She smiled back, hesitantly. It was new to relax with Micah, not to be on her guard against antagonistic and sarcastic comments.
    He touched her face with a curious intensity in his eyes. “You must have been terrified when you were kidnapped. You’ve never known violence.”
    She didn’t tell him, but she had, even if not as traumatically as she had at Lopez’s. She lowered her gaze to his hard, disciplined mouth. “I never expected to be rescued at all, least of all by you. I wasn’t even sure you’d agree to pay a ransom if they’d asked for one.”
    He scowled. “Why not?”
    â€œYou don’t like me,” she returned simply. “You never did.”
    He seemed disturbed. “It’s a little more complicated than that, Callie.”
    â€œAll the same, thank you for saving me,” she continued. “You risked your own life to get me out.”
    â€œI’ve been risking it for years,” he said absently while he studied her upturned face. She was too pale, and the fatigue she felt was visible. “Why don’t you try to sleep? It’s going to be a long flight.”
    Obviously he didn’t want to talk. But she didn’t mind. She was worn-out. “Okay,” she agreed with a smile.
    He moved back and she leaned her head back, closed her eyes, and the tension of the past two days caught up with her all at once. She fell asleep almost at once and didn’t wake up until they were landing.
    She opened her eyes to find a hard, warm pillow under her head. To her amazement, she was lying across Micah’s lap, with