Keep (Command #2) Read Free Page B

no way she’d give him the satisfaction or power of admitting that. The sound of her laptop bag thudding to the floorboard broke her train of thought.
    “I’ll buy you a new one,” he said, when noticing her concern. He was right beside her, his leg resting against hers. She wanted to scoot away, but there was nowhere to go, no escape.
    “It’s not mine.”
    “Fine, I’ll buy your company a new one.” The weight of his body on the seat forced her to lean into him, and the unease inside her rose again, this time to a dangerous level. He was far too close. His warm, dark-brown eyes promised her nothing but sinful things, and she couldn’t look away. No matter how much she wanted to. Did she want to?
    His large hand cupped her face, his fingertips brushing over her rain dampened cheek. The touch sent a jolt of electricity down through her body, and she shivered.
    “I’m cold,” she said, to explain her reaction.
    He didn’t say anything. All he did was bring his lips to hers and set her on fire.
    “Don’t,” she gasped, turning away from the kiss. She flung his hand off and awarded him the dirtiest of looks she had. He wore the same expression as before, his face filled with desire.
    “You keep refusing me, and I’m going to get my feelings hurt.”
    “That’s your fault. I don’t know how to be any more clear.”
    Her mind was set, but her body hummed with desire and she struggled to hold it at bay. She would continue to convince herself that she had no interest in him, even as Shawn’s touch made her melt into the seat beside him. He was much too arrogant.
    “The only thing you’ve made clear is that you don’t want… to want me.”
    She had nothing left to respond with. Her dirtiest of looks had made no impact and what he’d said was the truth. Time was not her friend. Every moment she spent with him was another opportunity for him to attack her resolve. It had weakened considerably under the power of his slightest of kisses. It was the drama from this morning, she assumed. That was the reason why she felt this way.
    Thank god. The car pulled alongside the curb and she flung the door open as soon as it stopped. Kara scrambled out into the rain and darted under the awning of the restaurant, going to the first place she could find where Shawn’s presence didn’t fill every square inch of the air.
    He didn’t let her recover. His strong hand was on her back, pressing her subtly forward into the fancy restaurant, not allowing her to go elsewhere.

    Shawn assumed she’d ordered the glass of Budweiser to piss him off, and was amused at her failed attempt. “I thought you don’t drink beer.”
    “I lied.”
    He felt a smirk twitch on his face. She sat across from him, drumming her fingertips absently on the white tablecloth, like she’d rather be somewhere else. She hadn’t lied about her lack of appetite though, as she’d barely touched her lunch. That was his fault. When Kara didn’t order anything, he did it for her, and her pale-blue eyes filled with irritation. He should have known better.
    “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked.
    “The incident? There’s not a whole lot to say. He knew he was getting fired and was upset.”
    “L said you talked to him and calmed him down. How did you manage that?”
    The blue of her eyes was almost silver and intriguing as her gaze sharpened. “Rhodes is going through a divorce, so I talked about mine.”
    She gave the impression that she was guarded, so this was surprising. “How long ago did you divorce?”
    “It’ll be two years in December.”
    “Then you’re through the hardest part.”
    “Yeah, I suppose you would know.”
    L must have told her about his two divorces. He wasn’t particularly proud to have two ex-wives at thirty-nine, but the fact was, he did. He’d really tried to make it work with both of them.
    “Can I ask,” he said, “what happened between you and Paul?”
    “You can ask, but I don’t want to talk about