Dark Heart Surrender Read Online Free PDF

out in the attic?’ Jane asked, startling him as she cut in to his thoughts.
    ‘Yes, you two go on up,’ said Anna, swiping Dot’s plate off the table and putting it into the dishwasher.
    ‘Thank you for the delicious meal,’ said Luca. Out of sheer habit he gave a small deferential bow towards Anna. He was aware that this was a source of amusement to the family, but years of ingrained etiquette back on Nissilum made it feel odd not to show respect towards his elders.
    ‘Come on, Prince Charming,’ said Jane, pushing him gently towards the door. ‘We need to have some alone time.’
    Jane was waiting for him when he got back from his shower. She sat crosslegged on the bed, her dark hair falling about her shoulders as she bent over a textbook. He smiled at her childish socks, red with white stars. Jane had changed a little physically since he’d first met her. She’d been beautiful then, with a delicate, sensitive kind of beauty, her grey eyes, large and sad, her body changing into a woman’s, giving her a kind of endearing awkwardness. But now, now she had a different kind of allure. More assured. Graceful in the way she moved. Her shoulders were a little broader and there was a curve to her hips where she had once been skinny. He took a moment to take her in. And to feel how lucky he was to have got her back. And then, underneath this feeling, there was a sense of fear. That she would be taken away from him, or outgrow him. He had been at pains to let her know that her going to college made him proud, but in truth he felt twinges of jealousy when she glossed over certain details of her day. When she mentioned names that he hadn’t heard before. He wondered whether he should stop working for Pete and join her there. His own education had fallen by the wayside. But he had to repay her parents for taking him in and, besides, he wanted to provide for Jane, sooner rather than later.
    She looked up, finally detecting his presence.
    ‘Hey,’ she said, pushing her hair behind her ears. ‘How long have you been standing there?’
    ‘Not long.’ He smiled, tightening the towel around his waist. ‘What’s that you’re reading?’
    ‘Oh, just some notes I made today.’ She leaned back against the pillows. ‘My first day as student counsellor. Mrs Connelly wants me to mentor this new girl. So I met her after my classes. Really strange kid.’
    Luca flopped down on the bed beside her, adjusting his towel again.
    ‘Don’t bother on my account,’ Jane said as she reached out and touched his damp skin. ‘Nice abs, by the way.’
    Luca laughed, blushing a little. ‘Don’t change the subject, Jonas,’ he told her in a mock-stern manner, and hiding the desire he had felt when she’d touched him.
    She sighed. ‘OK. Well, this girl, Polly, sits in front of me. So defensive and angry. She obviously thought I was a dork, at first anyway. And it turns out she couldn’t care less about studying. I have a feeling her family are travellers or something. At any rate she despises them. Can’t wait to leave home. Coming to college is her solution. That and running away with her older brother.’ Jane paused. ‘She tried to set me up with him too.’
    Luca tensed instinctively. ‘She what?’
    ‘Don’t worry,’ Jane nestled her head in the crook of his neck. ‘I told her I had a boyfriend.’ She laughed lightly. ‘As if I could be interested when I have you.’
    ‘I’m almost reassured,’ said Luca dryly. Again he hid his true feelings. The thought of another guy hitting on Jane made him uncharacteristically tense, jealous all of a sudden. He was determined never to reveal this to her. In his mind, jealousy was a coarse and pointless emotion.
    Jane ran her fingers down his bare arm, causing his nerve endings to flutter. A feeling of total peace came over him for the first time that day. As her fingers arrived at his hand he grabbed them, then gently lifted her hand and kissed it.
    She stroked his hair.