Bane Read Online Free PDF

a way of doing that to you,” he said, in that husky voice she was trying to get used to hearing.
    He was admitting to being different
.
    Was this his way of saying his transformation had changed his preferences? Like his taste in women? He was older now, five years older, in fact. Had he shown up on her doorstep tonight of all nights to let her know that he wanted a divorce?
    Fine, she would deal with it. She had no choice. Besides, she wasn’t sure if she would like the new Bane anyway. He was probably doing her a favor.
    “Okay,” she said, placing her revolver on the coffee table. “If you brought any papers with you that require my signature, then give them to me.”
    He lifted a brow. “Papers?”
    “Yes.”
    “What kind of papers?”
    Instead of answering, she glanced at her watch. She needed to call a cab to the airport. The plane to the Bahamas would take off in three hours.
    “Crystal? What kind of papers are you talking about?”
    She glanced back over at him. And why did her gaze automatically go to his mouth, the same mouth that had taught her how to kiss and given her so much pleasure? And why was she recalling a lot of those kisses right now? She drew in a deep, shallow breath. “Divorce papers.”
    “Is that why you think I’m here?”
    Was she imagining things or had his voice sounded brisk? She shrugged. Why were they even having this conversation? Why couldn’t he just give her the papers and be on his way so she could be on hers? After all, it had been five years. She got that. Did it matter that she had spent all that time waiting for him to show up?
    “Crystal? Is that why you think I’m here? To ask for a divorce?” He repeated the question and she noticed his tone still had a brusque edge.
    She held his gaze. “What other reason could there be?”
    He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and braced his legs apart in a stance that was as daunting as it was sexy. It definitely brought emphasis to his massive shoulders, the solidness of chest and his chiseled good looks.
    “Did you consider that maybe I’m here to keep that promise I made about coming back for you?”
    She blinked, not sure she’d heard him correctly. “You aren’t here to ask for a divorce?”
    “No. What makes you think I’d want to divorce you?”
    She could give him a number of reasons once her head stopped spinning. Instead, she said what was in the forefront of her mind. “Well, it has been five years, Bane.”
    “I told you I’d come back for you.”
    She placed her hands on her hips. “Yes, but I hadn’t counted on it being
five
years. Five years without a single word from you. Besides, you just said you’ve changed.”
    The look in his eyes indicated he was having a hard time keeping up with her. “I
have
changed, Crystal. Being a SEAL has a way of changing you, but that has nothing to do—”
    “SEAL? You’re a navy SEAL?”
    “Yes.”
    Now she was the one having a hard time keeping up. “I knew you’d joined the navy, but I figured you’d been assigned to a ship somewhere.”
    He nodded. “I would have been if my captain in boot camp hadn’t thought I would be a good fit for the SEALs. He cut through a lot of red tape for me to go to the naval academy.”
    That was another surprise. “You attended the naval academy?”
    “Yes.”
    Jeez
. She was realizing just how little she knew about what he’d been doing over the past five years. “I didn’t know.”
    He shifted his stance and her gaze followed the movement, taking in his long, denim-clad, boot-wearing legs.
    “Bailey said the two of you lost contact with each other a couple of years ago,” he said.
    Now was the time to come clean and say losing contact with Bailey had been a deliberate move. The periodic calls from his cousin had become depressing since they’d agreed Crystal wouldn’t ask about Bane. Just as he wouldn’t ask Bailey any questions about Crystal.
    That had been Bane’s idea. He’d figured the less