Broken Ties Read Online Free PDF Page B

tired to try to hash out whether they’d crossed the line between employer and employee, acquaintances to lovers or whatever they had been to each other to what they were now.
    “I’ll sleep on the couch, Sid.” When she would have protested, he explained. “I need to be near the door.”
    “I’ll get you a blanket and pillow, then.”
    She hurried to the linen closet in the hallway. For a long moment, she stared blindly at the blankets and sheets folded neatly on the shelves. Who I am? That question had haunted her for so many years before she finally pushed it away, silencing it by creating a woman who knew who she was, or could at least pretend to know. She pressed trembling fingers to her temple. How could she be less certain of her identity now than she had been before?
    “Why don’t you do what you need to do to get ready for bed? I can make up the couch.”
    She nodded in agreement, then trudged to the bathroom to bathe before covering her modest flannel gown with a robe. She had never had a man sleep at her house, and it made her more nervous to have him here than she would have thought.
    She entered the living room to find him sound asleep, his head leaned back against the arm of the sofa and his eyes closed. A smile turned up the corners of her mouth, and she bent to pull his soft leather deck shoes from his feet. She carefully lifted his legs onto the cushions and settled a soft fleece throw over him. Before moving away, she brushed a dark lock of hair from his forehead and pressed her lips where it had been.
    “Good night,” she whispered.
    “Night,” he murmured, settling deeper into the sofa without opening his eyes.
    It was surreal to have him here, kissing her one minute and pushing her away the next, sleeping on her sofa with Coda and the calico kitten curled up at his feet and his gun on the coffee table, so near he could snatch it up in seconds if need be.
    She turned away, unwilling to think of why he might need the gun or imagine the moment he might use it to protect her or himself. He wouldn’t hesitate this time. She knew him well enough to know that. That moment when he had hesitated, when he waited to fire a shot, was what had cost him his brother, and he would be determined not to let that happen again. She prayed they never found themselves in that situation.
    “Go to bed, Sidra.” The sound of his voice made her jump, and she glared at him. His eyes were mere slits, but his voice was deep and reassuring as he promised, “I’ve got this.”
    “Thank you,” she said quietly, before turning toward her bedroom. Once in bed, she did her best not to imagine a stranger there, rummaging through her things, looking for God alone knew what. She worked equally hard to keep from imagining Levi joining her in bed, his shirt unbuttoned and his eyes dark with passion.
    ****
    Levi put an arm over his eyes, trying not to remember the taste of her lips or the way she felt in his arms. Most of the women he’d dated over the years wanted nothing more than he did, a few months of monogamy, sex while they saw each other, and a fond farewell that might or might not be permanent when the fun was over. None of them had wanted anything serious, and he had been more than willing to comply with their wishes. Sidra, however, was different. Whatever happened between them would change his life forever.
    He peeked under his arm at the bookshelf where the princess dolls stared down at him with serene, knowing smiles. If the romance novels weren’t enough to convince him, the benevolent smiles on their porcelain faces told him all he needed to know. He was beginning to suspect that, despite her own sad past, Sidra believed in fairytales and happy endings. He didn’t know the first thing about fairytales, and he had no idea how to even begin giving her a happy ending.

Chapter Five
    “Sidra!”
    Her heart stopped and she stumbled from the shower to the bathroom door, wrapping a towel around her body as she