More Than Rum (The Maple Leaf Series Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

hand—closed around the
bottle and set it on the counter before anything went crashing to the floor.
    “I didn’t mean to scare you,”
Adam said.
    “It appears to be easier to do
this evening.” Hope stayed facing the window, not sure if she could turn around
and not lean into Adam’s muscular, protective body. “You move like a
ninja. I didn’t even hear you.”
    “That’s because of the noise up
here.” He moved his hand to tap a finger to her temple. That one touch of his
fingertip to her skin set off dynamite in the rest of her body.  
    “You don’t know what’s going on
up there.” Her voice wasn’t above a whisper.
    Adam let out a puff of
breath—one that moved her hair and sent a warm wave down her neck. “Trust me. I
know.” Gently, he tugged on her shoulder until she had to turn around.
    She expected him to step back
when he realized how close they were standing, but he didn’t. Instead he put a
hand to either side of her, gripping the sink as she had earlier and corralling
her between his arms.
    “You’re telling yourself that you’re
perfectly safe, but you feel completely unsafe. That darkness out there,” he
gestured over her shoulder with his chin, “is almost paralyzing right now, and
every time you blink you see something you don’t want to see.” He angled his
head at her. “How’d I do?”
    “Spot on.” She stared at his
chest, afraid to make eye contact and want more from him. “Will it go away?”
    “God, I hope so. At least for
you. For me…” He let his voice trail off and took that step back now. His arms
dropped to his sides, and he stood still for a moment. His broad shoulders
moved up and down with each breath he took. The fleece sweatshirt he wore
looked so soft, exactly what her cheek would love to snuggle against. In
contrast, his arms looked hard, strong enough to protect her from anything real
or imagined. Her gaze traveled lower, stopping to survey the way his faded
jeans molded to his thighs and finally ended at the brown work boots covering
his feet. She wanted nothing more than to sit him down somewhere, crawl into
his lap, and not move for a long, long time.
    Finally, he reached next to her
and grabbed the bottle of wine. “Don’t let your head win, Hope.”
    She looked him in the eye then
and immediately wanted to gather him close. Behind that gorgeous green-gold
gaze, she saw incredible pain. And regret. She wanted to erase all that for
him.
    Could she?
                                                                              ****
    Bits of dirt and gravel rained
down on him like earthen rain while the taste of blood filled his mouth. His
left ear hurt like a motherfucker, and the ringing inside his skull was driving
him mad. He tried to take in a breath, but something pierced his lung when he
did so. Running a hand over his ribs, he found the source of the ache and
pressed tentatively on the spot.
    Cracked ribs, for sure.
    Add it to the list of injuries
he was amassing during this raid. Where the fuck was everyone else? He’d come
into this area with a whole team, and now it was just him wandering around,
smoke filling his eyes. What he could see looked exactly like an area he’d passed
at least ten minutes ago. He was moving, wasn’t he?
    He slammed the heel of his hand
against his head, hoping to put an end to the ringing, hoping to be able to
concentrate.
    No such luck.
    Something exploded behind him,
sending him to his hands and knees. Sharp rocks cut into his palms and a
heaviness descended onto his legs. Looking over his shoulder, he saw a body
draped across his calves.
    Well, parts of a body anyway.
    Immediately, his stomach heaved,
and he vomited bile and dirt and blood as his ribs screamed in protest. His
arms buckled and he pitched forward, his head cracking down on the ground near
his own puke.
    Get up. Get up.
    His brain ordered him to keep
going, but his body no