please.â She stalked back to the stove and made a pretense of checking the eggs in the warmer. âIâm about to have breakfast with an incredible man andâ¦see where things go from there.â
âAnd the direction youâre hoping for is the bedroom.â
She slammed her hand to the counter and turned. âDamn you.â Her temper peaked when she felt the pressure of tears.
âDamn,â he hissed when she rushed from the kitchen. Leaving the stool, he caught her before she cleared the doorway. âIâm sorry.â He pressed both hands to his chest in a show of sincerity. âThe last thing I want is to upset you.â
âOh, that I believe, since feeling upset is a lively emotion. Feeling alive is the last thing any of you want me to experience.â
âDo you really believe that?â His voice was hushed.
âProve it, then. Let me have thisâdonât interfere.â
âKeyââ
âYou promised youâd back off.â
Brody smoothed a hand across his low-cut Afro. âThat promise was in reference to the pills.â
âHmph.â Kianti shoved both hands into the back pockets of her snug capris and began a slow pace of the kitchen.
âPout all you want, but we plan to be focused in hard and heavy on every other aspect of your life.â
âStay out of this Brodyâthat goes for you and your cronies. There isnât even anything going on. The man lives in Vancouver, for Heavenâs sake!â
âAll right. All right.â Brody bowed his head and decided to give it a rest. He walked over to kiss her cheek and turned her toward the stove. âYour baconâs done,â he said, before leaving.
Kianti watched him pull keys from his khakis and go. Then she went to handle the bacon. Brodyâs cautions returned though. Exactly what did she think she was doing? Sheâd done a fine job of ignoring the question, which had made a nice little camp in the back of her mind.
She thought back to her behavior when Therin visited the day before. Sheâd never been shy with men. She believed in being up front about what she wanted, as opposed to playing coy games to go after it.
Where Therin Rucker was concerned, God, she wanted him. Perhaps that was simply because her sex life was so lacking. Perhaps it was because he was so very appealing.
Perhaps she wanted to test how ready she was to live life to its fullest without the aid of her trusty meds. And what if she wasnât ready? A relationshipâhell. Any sort of involvement with the very sexy ex-ambassador or anyone else, for that matter, would be out of the question.
Then there was her playingâher passion. Was she really ready to risk that by unchaining herself from those pills?
And what of Therin himself? Didnât he deserve to know of her condition? Kianti shook her head and began wiping down the already spotless countertop. She didnât need to think of that just then. Perhaps she wasnât as ready to live this part of her life as she thought.
Â
Therin whistled a soft tune and was grabbing his keys from the message table when his phone vibrated next to them. He grumbled low, spotting Vaughnâs name on the faceplate. Silently, he debated on whether or not to reply. Last thing he wanted was more drama filtering into his time with Kianti.
âYeah, V?â He answered anyway, while checking his watch.
âHeyâ¦you talk to the general yet?â
âMmm, the generalâ¦thatâs a no.â
âWhy not?â Vaughn laughed shortly.
Therin settled partially on the desk. âOther things on my mind.â
âAhâ¦the lovely and gifted Kianti Lawrence.â Vaughnâs laughter was easier then. âLook, man, you know I approve of you takinâ time out to enjoy yourself but have you thought about how complicated this could be?â
Therin wouldnât admit that was almost all he could think
Katie O'Boyle
Karen Marie Moning
Leonie Gant
Cathy Glass
Bret Witter, Luis Carlos Montalván
Henry Kuttner
Joyce Carol Oates
Aaron Stander
Susan R. Matthews
Dale Brown