Dream Shard Read Online Free PDF Page B

why I said something, not phrase it so formally.”
    He nodded. “But no tags.”
    “True.” She studied the clothing for a long moment before realizing an obvious fact. He turned his head to look at her in the same moment the idea blossomed inside her mind. Her grandfather had believed in the supernatural, but she’d always considered it just legends from a time when science hadn’t been evolved enough to explain the natural world.
    “What did you notice, Kalin?”
    She pointed at the dresser top, needing him to break eye contact so she could think. “It’s all laid out in the order you’d put it on.”
    “That doesn’t take military training.” He looked back at her. “But you have a reason why you think it does.”
    “Stop reading my mind.” She backed away from him, unable to stand so close. She’d never felt so exposed, so bared to anyone.
    Surprise flashed across his face but not denial. He took a step after her, reaching out with a lightning-fast motion to capture her wrist. With a swift jerk, she tumbled toward him. She put her hands out to brace herself but only ended up with her hands flattened against his chest. He closed a solid, immovable arm around her waist and bound her against his body. With his free hand, he captured the back of her head, making it impossible to turn her face away.
    “Think something.”
    It was an order, but there was a hint of need edging his tone. It wasn’t hard to comply. His body felt too good. It didn’t seem to matter what she thought about him or his actions. A massive response was welling up from somewhere deep inside her brain, so great it seemed like it was going to drown her. She needed space, needed him to let her go. It was a desperate cry being screamed inside her skull.
    He broke his hold so fast, she fell backward. She landed on the bed and then bounced back onto her feet as she realized what she’d sat on.
    Arousal twisted around inside her belly, horrifying her with just how bad her timing was. There couldn’t be a worse situation for her libido to decide to rear its head. It was Stockholm syndrome at its worst. She could not want him.
    Why not? He is pure hunk…
    Her eyes widened with the idea and her cheeks caught fire. Cowardly or not, she turned and escaped the confines of the bedroom. She ended up at the front door. She opened it but something kept her from crossing the threshold.
    It was the lack of pursuit. She looked over her shoulder, her heart racing with anticipation of what she might find. But her house guest wasn’t hot on her heels. He was leaning against the doorframe of the bedroom, watching her with dark eyes. There was a look of resignation on his face and it pulled on her heart.
    “Go on,” he encouraged in a tone that suggested he’d been through the same scene before. “You were right. I was hearing your thoughts.” His lips set into a hard line. “So run.”
    Kappel stopped hiking and opened his cell phone.
    “Report,” Aurik Dresner demanded smoothly.
    “The Army took our bait. They accepted the body as that of their Operative Devon Ross.”
    “Good,” Dresner responded. “Do you have the merchandise?”
    Kappel wasn’t known for hesitating, but he didn’t want to admit his failure. “Not yet.”
    “Your answer is less than satisfactory.”
    “He made it out of the helicopter but he can’t be too far. Most likely holed up in one of the summer cabins up here. There is only one road into town. We’re watching it. He’ll surface at some point.”
    “For your sake, I hope so.”
    The line went dead and Kappel’s throat tightened. He cussed under his breath as he dropped the phone back into his lapel pocket. He’d get Devon Ross and he was going to enjoy shooting the man in the leg for putting him through the stress of finding him.
    She couldn’t leave him.
    Not after hearing the acceptance in his voice. There was something glittering in his eyes that tugged her back toward him. A sense of loneliness that was