herself. He wanted to know her; he wanted all of her secrets laid out where he could see them. The way she withdrew from him triggered in him a primal, violent response to pursue and subdue, an instinct bequeathed from the age when men lived in caves and wore animal skins, and chose their woman by force.
One of these days, he said in a soft voice, deadly in its intent, Im going to find out what makes you tick.
Sarah looked up at him with panic running just below the controlled surface image she presented to him. If he did, if he found out that she loved him, what would he do? Would he accept it, or would he promptly bow out of a marriage that was more than he wanted?
Chapter 5
chapter_4 ^REF="#chapter_6" class="nava" alt="Next Chapter">
They were married three weeks later on a Friday evening, after work, by a judge whod agreed to perform the ceremony in his chambers. To her complete surprise, Max was one of the witnesses, and he winked at her as she and Rome took their places before the judge. About fifteen friends from work stood behind them in the small chamber, their feet shuffling about and their discreet whispering providing a rustling background to the ceremony. Sarah had worked out her two weeks notice and had spent the last week driving herself into the ground trying to get their apartment ready and everything that they werent going to use either sold or put into storage.
The apartment that theyd finally taken had seemed much too expensive to Sarah, but Rome had overridden her objections to it. It was a big roomy condo, as big as a medium-size house. It had seven rooms, and a large terrace-balcony where they could barbecue and lie in the sun, and where she could put her multitude of plants. It also had a gas fireplace in the livingroom, which she suspected was what had sold Rome on the apartment. Hed looked at the fireplace with an expression of almost fiendish satisfaction, and shed had to admit to a few shivers of anticipation herself when she thought of the coming winter and the nights they would spend in front of the flames.
The best thing about the apartment to her way of thinking was the building manager, who lived on the bottom floor. Marcie Taliferro was a thirty-two-year-old divorcee, a freelance writer as well as building manager, and she had the most fantastic fifteen-year-old son Sarah had ever seen. Derek Taliferro already stood six feet tall, and was a hard and lean hundred and seventy pounds, and not only was he shaving every other day, he really needed to, which was mind-boggling. His voice was a smooth, deep baritone, and he had inherited his fathers classic Italian looks, from the dark curls on his head to his imperious Roman nose. He worked after school at a small grocery store and helped his mother around the condo, as well as being at the top of his class in school. Rome had yet to meet Derek the Wonder, as even Marcie called him, with a little awe in her voice as if she couldnt believe shed really mothered that perfect specimen. Derek was saving his money to go to college, but from what Marcie had said, hed still be a long way short, and unless he was lucky enough to get a scholarship, he was going to have a long, hard haul getting through college. Sarah didnt know if Rome had any strings to pull with any colleges, but if there was ever a kid who deserved a break, it was Derek Taliferro.
Marcie was a friendly, commonsense type of person; a little short, a little plump, but the plumpness was mostly muscle. She had red hair, and freckles dashed across her nose, but she lacked the temper that was usually associated with red hair. She tackled every job with a casual manner that made it seem much easier than it really was; shed helped Sarah move their furniture in and arrange it, since Rome had left that Monday morning on a business trip and hadnt returned until Thursday night.
Sarah eyed him covertly as the judge ran through the ceremony. He was dressed in a dark blue suit, with an
One of these days, he said in a soft voice, deadly in its intent, Im going to find out what makes you tick.
Sarah looked up at him with panic running just below the controlled surface image she presented to him. If he did, if he found out that she loved him, what would he do? Would he accept it, or would he promptly bow out of a marriage that was more than he wanted?
Chapter 5
chapter_4 ^REF="#chapter_6" class="nava" alt="Next Chapter">
They were married three weeks later on a Friday evening, after work, by a judge whod agreed to perform the ceremony in his chambers. To her complete surprise, Max was one of the witnesses, and he winked at her as she and Rome took their places before the judge. About fifteen friends from work stood behind them in the small chamber, their feet shuffling about and their discreet whispering providing a rustling background to the ceremony. Sarah had worked out her two weeks notice and had spent the last week driving herself into the ground trying to get their apartment ready and everything that they werent going to use either sold or put into storage.
The apartment that theyd finally taken had seemed much too expensive to Sarah, but Rome had overridden her objections to it. It was a big roomy condo, as big as a medium-size house. It had seven rooms, and a large terrace-balcony where they could barbecue and lie in the sun, and where she could put her multitude of plants. It also had a gas fireplace in the livingroom, which she suspected was what had sold Rome on the apartment. Hed looked at the fireplace with an expression of almost fiendish satisfaction, and shed had to admit to a few shivers of anticipation herself when she thought of the coming winter and the nights they would spend in front of the flames.
The best thing about the apartment to her way of thinking was the building manager, who lived on the bottom floor. Marcie Taliferro was a thirty-two-year-old divorcee, a freelance writer as well as building manager, and she had the most fantastic fifteen-year-old son Sarah had ever seen. Derek Taliferro already stood six feet tall, and was a hard and lean hundred and seventy pounds, and not only was he shaving every other day, he really needed to, which was mind-boggling. His voice was a smooth, deep baritone, and he had inherited his fathers classic Italian looks, from the dark curls on his head to his imperious Roman nose. He worked after school at a small grocery store and helped his mother around the condo, as well as being at the top of his class in school. Rome had yet to meet Derek the Wonder, as even Marcie called him, with a little awe in her voice as if she couldnt believe shed really mothered that perfect specimen. Derek was saving his money to go to college, but from what Marcie had said, hed still be a long way short, and unless he was lucky enough to get a scholarship, he was going to have a long, hard haul getting through college. Sarah didnt know if Rome had any strings to pull with any colleges, but if there was ever a kid who deserved a break, it was Derek Taliferro.
Marcie was a friendly, commonsense type of person; a little short, a little plump, but the plumpness was mostly muscle. She had red hair, and freckles dashed across her nose, but she lacked the temper that was usually associated with red hair. She tackled every job with a casual manner that made it seem much easier than it really was; shed helped Sarah move their furniture in and arrange it, since Rome had left that Monday morning on a business trip and hadnt returned until Thursday night.
Sarah eyed him covertly as the judge ran through the ceremony. He was dressed in a dark blue suit, with an
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