His to Possess #5: Entangled Read Online Free PDF Page B

hand. The feel of his fingers around hers sent sparks dancing along her skin.
    “Jess, I love you. And if your feelings for Dane interfere with that, there’s going to be tension between him and me. There’s nothing we can do about that.”
    “I guess. But I don’t want you to blame him. Not like with your prom date.”
    Rafe’s eyebrows arched. “He told you about that?”
    She nodded. “It was before we knew you and Storm were the same person. We were just getting to know each other. I was telling him about my ex—you—and he told me about his brother.”
    “Why would you tell him about me?”
    She glanced at him. “Actually, you were the reason we met. I was eating breakfast at a restaurant before going to the career fair and I saw him outside. At first, I thought he was you.”
    “Did you just walk up to him?”
    She smiled. “I followed him into Starbucks and walked over to him, then got embarrassed when I realized my mistake.”
    “And he used that excuse to pick you up?”
    “No, I left, but then he saw me standing in the rain trying to get a cab and he offered me a ride.”
    “So he became the knight in shining armor.”
    “Well, he got me to the job fair, and gave me some helpful advice along the way.” She pulled out the worry stone from her pocket. “He also gave me this. It helped me to stay focused and calm at the career fair. I was a bit of a wreck having to cope with all the stress, but his advice helped.”
    He took the stone from her hand and stared at it. “My brother had a worry stone? That’s hard to believe.”
    She nodded. “He was carrying it in his pocket.” She gazed at the stone as his thumb stroked its smooth surface. “In fact, he told me he’d actually gotten it for you, but you’d left and he didn’t get a chance to give it to you. He said he wanted to show you that he respected your beliefs, even though they are different from his.”
    “Really?” He looked at the stone with renewed interest.
    “I think you should keep it.”
    He glanced at her. “You sure?”
    “Of course. I think it’s an important gesture on his part.” She shrugged. “And I can always get another one.”
    “Thanks.” He placed the stone in his jeans pocket. “So what did you tell him about me?”
    She glanced down at her hands. “I told him about when you left, and how devastated I was.” The pain still resonated inside her.
    “He probably thought I was a jerk.”
    She didn’t say anything.
    “It’s okay. I was a jerk. I never should have left. But it was the best I could do at the time.” He took her hand in his. “You know I never meant to lie to you. I was just being who I wanted to be. Leaving my old identity behind. But when I met you, it became a lie and I didn’t want to keep lying to you.”
    Her insides ached. “You could have told me the truth.”
    He nodded. “I know I made some major mistakes and totally screwed things up between us.” His lips compressed. “But I know that now, and it made me realize how much I need you in my life.”
    He stood up and walked to the coat tree and reached in his jacket pocket, then returned with a small gift box. He handed it to her.
    She gazed at him warily as she took it. “I hope this isn’t another ring.”
    He chuckled. “God, no. I learned my lesson on that one. When…” He hesitated, his gaze locking on her, and he turned serious again. “If you say finally say yes, we’ll pick out the ring together.”
    A lump formed in her throat. She wanted to tell him the moth ring was perfect. It was so beautiful, both in form and concept, but its dazzling beauty and high price had emphasized the difference between the Storm she thought she’d known, and Rafe. But she loved the ring and everything it said about him.
    He gesture toward the gift box still in her hand. “I wanted to get you something special, but this time I kept it simple. Open it.”
    She pulled on the thin, curled ribbon and the simple bow pulled loose. She