Hidden Desires Read Free Page A

okay? So just pretend we never saw each other today. Because that’s sure as hell what I’m going to do.”
    Feeling like he’d just been whacked in the chest with a sledgehammer, all Travis could do was watch her stalk away.

    Chapter Two
    Rachel stormed out of the department store, working hard to keep her pace under a full-throttled run.
    She attributed her fluster to her half-naked stint through the store. It certainly had nothing to do with her reunion with Travis Gage. If anything, her encounter with him should have left her exhilarated. After fifteen years, she’d finally had the opportunity to tell the creep off, to let him know she hadn’t forgotten what he’d done to her sister. But instead of feeling thrilled, she was overcome with a desperate need to get as far away from that store and everyone in it as quickly as possible.
    It was Sales Boy Chris and that tent in his pants that had left her hot under the collar. She was sure of it. Not that she had a fetish for horny teenage boys. It was just difficult to see the extent of a man’s lust without feeling something .
    And that something couldn’t be attributed to Travis Gage.
    That would be insane.
    That would be despicable.
    She couldn’t have feelings for the man who had been single-handedly responsible for the death of her sister. Her body had a better memory than that.
    Her rattled nerves began to calm as she approached her car, but her relief turned to fear when she rummaged through her purse in search of her keys. They were nowhere to be found. She checked her pockets, looked through her bag, then began emptying the contents of her purse onto the hood of her car when she heard that smoky voice behind her.
    “Looking for these?”
    The sight of Travis dissolved her previous notion that anyone else had been responsible for that tingling sensation she’d felt in the store. It returned full-speed when she turned and saw him standing behind her, her keys dangling from one long finger.
    “Where did you get those?”
    “You left them at the counter.”
    Relief, anger, and that pesky quiver in her gut mixed to create another cocktail of heated fluster. She reached out to grab the keys from his hand, but he snatched them out of her reach.
    “Answer one question,” he said, twirling the keys on his finger before clutching them tightly in his hand.
    “I’m not playing games with you. Just give me the keys.”
    “I get the feeling you despise me. Why is that, Rachel?”
    She tried to ignore the thoughtful narrowing of his eyes. He knew damn well why she hated him, and if he didn’t, he was too stupid to warrant an answer.
    “You know the answer to that question.”
    A wisp of remorse crossed his expression. “Rachel, I’m sorry I never came around after Carrie’s death. You’re right. It was cruel of me to stay away. I should have been there for you.” Her mouth dropped open. How he could possibly think she’d wanted him around after her sister’s death was simply incomprehensible. She’d heard that men were dense, but up until now, she’d never truly believed it.
    “Trust me. You’re the last person I wanted to see then, and you’re the last person I want to see now.” She reached for his hand. “Give me my keys.”
    He pulled them out of her reach. “You can’t say something like that and expect a man to walk away, sweetheart.”
    She ignored the husky endearment and the way it made her heart skip a beat. Instead, she shot back,
    “Obviously, shattering a girl to the point of suicide means nothing to you.” He took two steps back. Stumbled was more like it. She could tell he didn’t see that comment coming.
    Every feature on his handsome face hardened. His big shoulders stiffened, and he stared at her warily, as if she’d just uncovered a secret he’d hoped to keep buried forever.
    Her lips curved into a satisfied smile. “Yes, I know what you did, so you can stop with the innocent act, give me my keys, and let me go