Heart Signs Read Online Free PDF Page A

she didn’t retreat. This time she moved closer. She had to touch him, had to know. Her lips trembled open and she lifted her hand to his chest. She expected the wall of hard muscle. What she didn’t expect was the wild throb of his heart beneath her palm, its skipping beat encouraging her own to race.
    “It’s just a scratch,” she managed, unable to meet his eyes. She didn’t know what she’d see in those shadows, if there would just be two people there or three.
    “Some scratches go pretty deep.”
    “The rest of the car’s pretty beat up anyway. Not worth the effort.”
    He didn’t ask her to remove her hand or to stop caressing him through the threadbare cotton. His heart just beat faster. “How does it run?”
    “Like a charm.”
    “Then it’s worth it. The internals are what count. Dressing the window just helps convince people of what’s inside.”
    She didn’t want to talk, didn’t care about her car or his or the minute dings in the paint. None of that mattered right now. Or ever. Normally she didn’t have any trouble making the first move, and he’d asked her here, so technically this was the second. But she couldn’t get her voice to work.
    “Rory?”
    Her gaze snapped to his and utter shock rolled over her body in a hot wave. Oh my God . “You know?”
    “I know,” he said, one corner of his mouth lifting.
    “I know too.” She couldn’t believe she could smile. Who knew that even extreme sexual arousal didn’t preclude such banal gestures?
    He rubbed his thumb over her cheekbone. “Will you come inside so we can get to know more about each other?”
    Here it was, the bronzed invitation she’d been waiting for. It wouldn’t be long now, if only she could summon her inner sex goddess and purr a reply. She knew her moves on this checkerboard. Or she had before today.
    She had condoms in her purse. Two of them, brand new from the package she’d purchased last week. Though she hadn’t had a prospect in mind, she’d planned on hooking up with someone soon. The rush of being with a new lover couldn’t be beat. It was a little like falling in love—or what she imagined falling in love might be like—every time, even if the excitement didn’t last long. She’d just never guessed that lover would be Sam.
    If we all get just one love, Dani, you’ll be mine. For eternity .
    Her throat tightened, trapping her assent inside. He searched her face and frowned, taking a step back she hated that she couldn’t stop. Then he swore and strode forward, locking an arm around the backs of her thighs and hauling her straight off her feet. “Will you?”
    His breathless question reminded her she hadn’t answered. As if she could say no. “Yes.”
    His expression cleared, the strain and concern fading away. “Hang on to me,” he grated, taking off across the lawn toward the porch.
    She threw her arms around his neck. She’d never been shy before but none of those other men were Sam. If he hadn’t pursued this, she probably wouldn’t have been able to. Not now. Not yet.
    Shit, did he have any clue what he was getting them into?

Chapter Three
    Dani,
    Some people say love changes, that nothing can ever stay the same. But to me it’s a comfort to know that feelings never die. They just take another form. Even when people pass away, the love that existed remains.
    ~ Sam

    S am carried her up the stairs and across the creaky porch with its missing floorboards, jostling her in his arms until he could get the key in the lock and the door open. She didn’t make a peep as he carted her inside his apartment and down the hall, just held on with a grip that spoke more of fear than arousal.
    He got that. Because he was fucking scared out of his mind.
    What if he couldn’t do this? Sure, he had a huge hard-on, but when it came down to brass tacks, when the ass met the mattress and she looked up at him with her heart in her eyes like she’d done outside, what if he choked? He hadn’t been with anyone