Shield My Heart (Heaven Hill Book 9) Read Online Free PDF Page B

walked out, his head held high.
    At one time, he’d let his parents control how he felt about himself. No more. He was his own man, and he’d tried his best to build a life he would be proud of—and for the most part he was—but he still didn’t think he’d be able to bring a child into the chaos. A child would be better off without him as a father.
    *
    Dalton inhaled and exhaled steadily as he walked out of the jail towards his bike. After situations like this, he needed to be on the back of his bike, needed to feel the rumble of the engine between his thighs. The only thing that felt better there was Mandy and her heat.
    His thoughts immediately turned to her. Being this close to the town square, he couldn’t help but turn his bike in the direction of Charity’s office. Even if he couldn’t bring himself to walk inside and say something to Mandy, he would be able to tell if she’d made it to work or not. He wondered if she was sick, if she cried for him, and how their baby was making her body change. All those thoughts were pointless though, because he knew he had to stay away.
    Driving down the side street, he saw her car and breathed a sigh of relief she was there. He liked keeping tabs, even if it did make him a bastard. Pulling out onto the main avenue, he gunned the bike as he drove past the plate glass window. Feeling her eyes on him, he refused to glance over.
    To protect her and the baby she carried—it was best for them all if he stayed as far away as humanly possible. That meant no encouragement, no contact, and most of all no alone time.
    In the end, he hoped he still had a relationship to come back to; and if not, it was a price he knew he would willingly pay to keep them safe.

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Chapter Five

    M andy wasn’t sure if she wanted to fume, rage, or chase after Dalton as she watched him pass by the window of Charity’s law office. He looked good on the bike, completely in control of the horsepower between his thighs. It’d always been a turn-on for her, and it pissed her off he could still affect her like this. More than anything, she wanted to get out of her chair and run after him, force him to stop and listen to her. She wanted to take her rightful place behind him, throw her arms around his waist, put her cheek on his shoulder and let him drive her to a place they could be alone together. He taunted her, showing her a little bit of what she could have, but also what she couldn’t have, what he refused to give her. As in all things with him, she was undecided on what to do.
    Her heart wanted one thing, while her head told her to do something completely opposite. It wasn’t the first time he’d done a drive-by of a place she’d been in, and she knew it wouldn’t be the last. She wanted to call him, demand to know why he didn’t come inside, why he didn’t ask how she was doing. She wanted to send him a text and tell him how her body had changed, how sick she’d been, and how much she wished he were with her.
    She tried to tell herself that it wasn’t her, it was him. That’s what Doc Jones kept telling her. Not to take it personally, that apparently Dalton was going through something highly distracting right now. Doc Jones speculated it was making him withdraw into himself and it was emotionally tapping him out.
    The fact of the matter was, he hadn’t told her though, and that’s what hurt more than anything. In the years they’d been together, she hadn’t fully earned his trust. She’d stood by him, no matter what had gone on, and he didn’t trust her? If he had, she would have been the first person he ran to with any problem. It hurt like a motherfucker that he didn’t trust their relationship enough to come to her with any problem he had, and damned if it didn’t piss her off too.
    Her temper ignited. She could feel her blood pressure skyrocket and her hands shook with fury. It wasn’t fair. She was going through something too. Namely a pregnancy she hadn’t planned, one he