Captiva Captive Read Online Free PDF

the night.  With her floor no longer vibrating, it was the perfect time to catch some shut-eye.
    “Dismissal time,” he ground out. “So I go and pretend you mean nothing to me when you close your door in my face?”
    “God, don’t.”
    “Why not?  Do you think, even for a second, that this can go on indefinitely?” He looked as if he wanted to yell, rant and rave.   Throw something at someone other than her.  But he didn’t.  That wasn’t Ryan – not him.   No way, he was too cool-headed, eerily calm at all times. 
    “We’re close friends,” she said, helpless to offer more.  Her head was too messed up, and she refused to use the one man who had never let her down since high school.  If they attempted a romantic relationship, and it failed, she’d lose him for good. That just wouldn’t do.  She was still hoping that all his flirting with Dakota would amount to something.  However, Dakota wasn’t interested and Ryan’s heart truly wasn’t into her.
    “Call up whatever you need to fight me.” Gently he grasped her waist and efficiently planted her on a dry section of tile. 
    “I don’t want to fight.”
    “That’s just it,” he rounded on her, a sudden lightning storm reflected the depths of his shockingly bright eyes, “you don’t fight for anything when it comes to us .”
        “Ryan, there’s never been any us .”  She watched him walk over to her shabby bookshelf and pick up their prom picture.  Why she still displayed it after all these years, she’d never know.  But she couldn’t find it in her heart to stuff it in a box and shove it in the closet.
        “Our only true date,” he murmured.
        “Ten years ago,” she carefully reminded him.
        “You were radiant that night.”
        “I don’t think so,” she scoffed.  “I wore a hand-me-down dress accessorized by cheap high heels our dog chewed the night before prom.  And just look at my hair,” she groaned. “The only salon Dad could afford employed an ancient hairdresser who smoked while she worked and still thought Kennedy was president.”  Blythe cracked a smile.  “She gave me a black beehive and we both know it.”
        “It was beautiful.”
        “Uh huh, for someone who was marrying Elvis.”  Blythe stepped closer, staring down at the past.  “She must’ve plowed through two cans of Aqua Net to get that kind of height.”
        “I thought you looked more like Wonder Woman,” Ryan said wistfully. “I twirled you around the dance floor, hoping that dress would fall down and reveal your red, white, and blue body suit - a true tribute to the American flag if there ever was one. And when you finally kissed me, I thought we were headed for your Invisible Jet to place our membership in the mile high club.”
        “Weren’t you afraid of my golden lasso?”
        “Never afraid of the lasso, Blythe, and it’s not too late to whip it out.”  With great care, he repositioned the picture and faced her. “What I am afraid of is your continuing to take care of your brother while neglecting yourself, and I can’t have it.”
        “You can’t have it?” Unfortunately, he didn’t really get a rise out of her since she was used to his macho bullshit. Or maybe she was just too tired to step up to the podium and speak for women everywhere. Ryan was a ‘club them and cave them’ kind of guy.  He’d been that way since she first met him years ago.  His father was that way, and at this point, would never change.  And why should he?  Ryan’s mamma loved him dearly. He stayed faithful and loved her deeply in return. They had an awesome marriage that anyone would long for.  Depending on how you looked at it, Ryan had learned from the best and would make someone happy one day - just not her.
        “You work three times the hours you should,” he placated, trying his best to back off though they both knew he couldn’t. “You say you can’t give up