Resurrecting Charlie's Girl Read Online Free PDF Page A

spread her arms wide. She'd knock him down and try to get past him
first. If that didn't work, she'd stab him.
    He
came closer. Her chest, so tight, her pulse vibrated her whole body. She leaned
onto the balls of her feet.
    Ready.
    Set.
    Go!
    Launching
from the tips of her toes, she sprang up, put her head down, and threw her
whole body at the shadowed figure that dared to enter the kitchen. Her shoulder
slammed into the person. She ricocheted off the human steel wall, and found
herself falling backward.
    Pain
radiated down her back, and paralyzed her. A pair of strong hands grabbed her
shoulders and yanked her upright.
    "What
the hell are you doing?" Tom gave her a shake that rattled her teeth.
    The
bravery whooshed out of her at the realization Tom held her imprisoned against
him, and not her ex-husband.
    "Didn't
I tell you to stay on the floor?" He thrust her back to look at her face,
but didn't relax his hold. "You know how serious this situation is. Jesus,
woman, if anything happened to you—" Tom brought her back within the
circle of his arms and smashed her against his chest.
    His
hands roamed over her back. Charlise's whole body shook in silent frustration.
Who did he think he was to order her around? She'd survived on her own this
long. She pushed against his chest and stepped back.
    She
slammed her hands down on her hips and glared at him. "You dumbass! Don't
you ever again tell me what to do. You have no right!"
    Tom's
eyes narrowed. He rubbed his chin and then a grin appeared on his face. The
dimples that drove her wild appeared on his cheeks. When Tom relaxed his
stance, it infuriated her more.
    Emitting
a low, guttural scream of frustration, she moved to step around him, but
punched her fist into his gut as she did. She was rewarded with an,
"Oomph!" as Tom doubled over. She continued toward the living room.
    "Hey,
now. Stop." He caught up with her and spun her around with a hand on her
arm. "You can be riled up and mad at me all you want, but you'll follow
orders when it comes to your safety. A stupid move like what you just pulled
could get us both killed."
    "Riled
up? You didn't mean—" She shoved the hair out of her face. "I'm
pissed. I'm so tired of being told what I can do or what I can't do." She
clamped her mouth shut, and breathed deep through her nose. "You kissed
me!"
    The
corner of Tom's mouth lifted. "Yeah, I did."
    "See!
You think you can use your manliness to make me do whatever you want. Just like
Jar—"
    "Whoa,
Charlise." Tom's mouth hardened and he narrowed his eyes. "Stop,
right there. That's not what happened and you know it."
    "I
don't know what the hell happened, because you didn't give me a choice."
The fever in her voice faded, and to her shame, tears gathered. "Oh, never
mind."
    The
emotional rollercoaster of her life was definitely getting to her. One minute
Jared's after her, and the next, Tom kissed her. Kissed me!
    She
marched up the stairs. Her fingers moved over her lips still warmed with Tom's
kiss.
    "Charlise?"
Tom's voice came from the bottom of the stairs.
    She
paused at the upstairs landing, but didn't turn around. She only wanted to go
to her room and shut out the outside world.
    "The
light outside—" Tom cleared his throat. "Was the neighborhood
security guard on his nightly rounds. The advantages of small-town
living."
    Tangled
up in the emotional mess Tom brought out of her, she forgot all about the
threat outside upon seeing him alive. A security guard? Another person Jared
will need to move out of the way of his goal to get her back. Did it never end?
    She
couldn't make herself turn around and thank him, yet she couldn't walk away
either. Lowering her hand, she stood there waiting for common sense to come
crashing down on her and tell her what to say, to do.
    Tom
took her need to decide away from her when he joined her upstairs. His hand on
her arm kicked her into motion. She turned to face him on the landing and
crossed her arms. "You kissed me."
    He
ran his hand