Catherine Spangler - [Sentinel 02] - Touched By Fire (v5.0) (html) Read Online Free PDF Page A

Ashley said. “They’re all the same—action and adventure with no real human interaction. But I’d really like to see the new Johnny Depp movie that hit the theaters last weekend.”
    Marla sat on the couch, sipping wine and trying to focus on the conversation. She was at the home of her good friends, Ashley and Scott Anderson, and they were discussing whether or not to go out to a movie or watch a DVD there at the house.
    “Not Johnny Depp.” Scott made a dismissive gesture. “He’s an offbeat character actor, and you just like him because he’s supposedly so sexy.”
    “He is hot,” Ashley shot back. “But he’s a good actor, too.”
    They bantered on, but Marla hardly heard the discussion, because she couldn’t stop thinking about Luke Paxton. She knew she’d done the right thing when she’d called the restaurant and left a polite sorry but I can’t meet you tonight message for him—even though she felt awful about it.
    So when Ashley called to see if she had plans for the evening, Marla jumped at the chance to spend some time with her friends and put Luke behind her. Since she’d decided to indulge in a few drinks—or maybe a lot, given her current state of mind—Scott had offered to pick her up and drive her home later.
    Forgetting about Luke wasn’t working very well. She told herself again that canceling the date had been the right thing. It wasn’t cowardly, it was smart. He was way out of her league, and she was too damaged to deal with a man like him—maybe any man, for that matter. She knew all that on an intellectual level, and yet emotionally, there was a gnawing sense of loss, like she’d given up something very special.
    Partly because she knew the odds of a man like him ever again showing interest in her were pretty much nil. And because, for a few moments, she’d actually had a surge of feminine interest in a man. Oh, who was she kidding? She’d felt pure, raw lust; experienced the primal urge to get down and dirty between the sheets.
    Even more amazing, she’d felt almost normal , as if that terrible night had never happened.
    “Agreed,” Ashley said. “Marla, is that all right with you?”
    She dragged her thoughts back to the here and now. “What?”
    “The movie. Is that one okay with you?”
    She shrugged, feeling foolish. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention. What did you decide?”
    Ashley shook her head. “You goof. Scott and I compromised, and agreed on the last Pirates of the Caribbean movie. It has enough action and adventure that maybe he won’t whine too much, and you and I can drool over Johnny. It just came out on DVD, and I bought it yesterday. Okay with you if we hang out here tonight?”
    “Sure. Go ahead and start it. I’ll be right back.” Marla went to the kitchen and refilled her wine while Scott got the DVD going. Feeling the need for emotional numbness, she took a few gulps and added more wine to the glass.
    Returning to the family room, she sat back and tried to focus on the movie. But every time she looked at Depp’s enigmatic brown eyes, instead she saw mesmerizing, sea blue eyes. Kept remembering the stunning chemistry that had sizzled between her and Luke.
    A strange, restless energy clawed through her, and her body hummed to life in response. Something was very wrong. And it was triggering memories from that night. Maybe she needed some sessions with Dr. Jackson—although she hadn’t seen the psychologist in over three years. If not therapy, then what? She’d struggled for years to overcome the memories of the trauma and get on with her life. Yet one chance meeting with a handsome stranger had sent her into a tailspin.
    What the hell is happening to me?
     
     
    MARLA Reynolds lived in an older suburb on the southeast side of Houston. The homes were circa 1960s, small, but well kept. Luke knew a fair number of astronauts lived in the area, which was fairly close to the NASA Johnson Space Center.
    Marla’s house was a neat, beige