miserable time at all. She was enjoying being with Mark all too much. She was beginning to count on their long talks, on his gentle teasing, the increasingly more demanding touches that had suddenly abated, leaving her yearning for their resumption. She was beginning to want himin her life and that terrified her. Even though she was starting to understand why sheâd always kept men at armâs length, it didnât mean she could change it overnight.
âIâm not here to have a good time. Iâm here to get you to read the damned contract and sign it.â
âYou work too hard.â
âHow would you know?â
âI can tell. If you could have seen yourself Friday night...â He shook his head disapprovingly. âYou looked like an exhausted, woebegone little waif.â
âIf I looked that lousy, Iâm surprised you were so hot to take me in.â
âThatâs exactly why I was so determined to take you in. I wanted to see some sparkle in those beautiful green eyes of yours.â
Lindsay gave him her most beguiling smile. âYou should just see the sparkle when I get a signed contract in my hands.â
âI never promised Iâd sign it,â he reminded her. âOnly that Iâd read it.â
âWhen?â
âWhen the time is right.â
âDamn it, Mark! When will that be? Icanât stay here forever,â she said desperately. âI have other work to do.â
âIf you ask me, youâre running away.â
âFrom what?â
His gaze caught hers and she could see the knowledge that lit those black eyes until they burned with an exciting flame of passion.
âOnly you can answer that one. Think about it,â he suggested, as he calmly pulled on a jacket and went outside for a walk, Shadow bounding along beside him.
While he was gone, Lindsay did think, though not about Markâs taunting question. She already knew the answer to that: she was running from him. What puzzled her more was his ability to turn any conversation away from himself and back to her. While she had revealed so much last night, allowed herself to become increasingly vulnerable, he had remained a charming enigma. No amount of sensitive probing had revealed the reason for his brooding silences, the distant stares. It bothered her that even as she was growing to trust him, perhaps even to fall a little in love, if she were to admit the whole truth, he didnât seem to trust her at all. If for no reason other than that, it was time to retreat to the safetyof her own environment, where she could regroup her defenses.
Even more than wanting to escape from an emotional situation she wasnât prepared to handle, though, sheâd come to realize that these last few days had been a fantasy in other ways as well. Sheâd hardly noticed being virtually stranded in the middle of nowhere because Mark was constantly showering attention on her...talking to her, skiing with her, playing backgammon, simply sitting by her side while they were both engrossed in their own reading or thoughts.
But that closeness and attentiveness wouldnât last forever. It couldnât be sustained day in and day out over a lifetime, even if two people were madly in love. For one thing, sooner or later Mark would have to go back to writing, shutting her out for hours on end. What would she do then? Sheâd never be able to bear the loneliness. Perhaps one of the greatest paradoxes in her life was that while she was pushing people away to avoid commitment and loss, she was at the same time terrified of being alone.
CHAPTER SEVEN
L indsay didnât have to wait long to find out what living in the middle of nowhere with Mark would really be like on any kind of permanent basis. Not that heâd exactly asked her to stay forever, she reminded herself. He had, however, given her plenty of indications over the last few days that he wasnât in any hurry for her to
Terry Pratchett
Stan Hayes
Charlotte Stein
Dan Verner
Chad Evercroft
Mickey Huff
Jeannette Winters
Will Self
Kennedy Chase
Ana Vela