Books by Maggie Shayne by Maggie Shayne

broke, and he cleared his throat "--and Jason." Why was he talking to her? What was compelling him to answer her gentle questions? Why didn't he just tell her to shut up and mind her own damned business?
    "They look like twins in the picture."
    "They.. were."
    "No .... " Her hand rose to her-lips, and moisture filled her eyes.
    Then she touched him. There was no stopping her this time. Her hands covered his whilx~-knuckled ones on the steering wheel, warming them through.
    Torch's foot hit the brake without his permission. The car jerked to a stop in the middle of a narrow road, and the pickup behind him blasted its horn before going around. Torch barely noticed. G-fief blinded him, and the lump in his throat had swelled to encompass his entire chest. It was suffocating him, choking him. His hands on the wheel '   clenched tighter and he closed his eyes, shook his head.
    "I can't do this."
    "Yes, you can," she whispered, just as if she knew exactly what he was talking about.
    "It's all right. Come here."
    And he did. Damn him, but he did. He turned toward her and let the fragile and frightened little thing pull him into her arms. She cradled his head on her shoulder, massaging his scalp with one hand, rubbing his back with the other. And it felt good, dammit. It felt good. So good that he put his arms around her waist and he squeezed her closer. So' good that he didn't pull away when she turned her head and pressed her soft lips to his cheek. He felt the moisture, the warmth between his face and hers, and he wasn't sure whose tears dampened his skin, it didn't matter. He was sinking in a stagnant sea of guilt and remorse and pain. And she was suddenly here, just when he'd been about to drown. Buoyant and light. The sensation washed over him like a cleansing, fragrant wave of revelation.
    Somewhereinside, avoice whispered, "Cling to her and save yourself, Palamaro. She's your only hope."
    And for one, insane moment, he' did. He turned his face' to her and slid his mouth over the satiny skin of her cheek and her jaw, and finally covered her lips. He felt them tremble and then part in timid invitation. And it was an invitation he couldn't turn down. He took and tasted and drank from her mouth, alunging his tongue inside again and again, stroking and petting her, holding her. She was sweetness and light, innocence and fire, and he'd been without those things for so damned long they were drugging to him. Addictive.
    All:he wanted was more of her, more of her, more of her, more of her.
    Because to let her go would be to return to the blackness of reality.
    It was her whispery sigh that snapped him back to sanity. And as he returned to himself, he knew what he'd done. He'd encouraged her fantasy that there might be a hint of feeling between them. He'd set a deadly fire in an innocent, one he had every intention of putting out.
    He couldn't go on with this. It wouldn't be fair to use her that way, to let her think things that were utterly impossible. He shouldn't do anything that might make her believe she cared for him. Because he had nothing inside to give her in return.
    Grating his teeth, he straightened away from her. He was ashamed of using her this way, and embarrassed by the emotions that had swamped him like a tidal wave just now. His cheeks were still wet.
    So were hers. And her eyes, round and glistening as if coated in liquid diamonds. Her swollen lips remained parted, and he wanted them again when he looked at them. He wanted them in ways she wouldn't even dream of So he looked away.
    He was supposed to be tough here, strong. He was supposed to be in charge, protecting her from Scorpion and his thugs. Not turning to her for comfort like one of her bleeding young patients. Not punishing her by letting his pain become passion and by spending all of it on her. She didn't deserve that. What the hell was wrong with him? How did she manage to dig so deeply into his soul with those eyes of hers, extracting his most painful