Solitary Man Read Online Free PDF Page A

swallowed hard. How could she react this way to the same person who’d used her and dumped her all within twenty-four hours? Her mind understood the facts. Her body didn’t seem to care. Apparently neither did his because she noticed a slight hitch in his breathing, telling her he felt it too.
    “Tell me,” he said.
    “When I think about that night …” She purposefully emphasized her words and a muffled noise tore from deep in his throat.
    She recognized the sound as one of desire. An answering tremor shook her and she squeezed her legs together in a futile effort to halt the waves of need he inspired. She wanted to give in to the moment but she’d done that once before and suffered the consequences. Yet when he reached for her, cupping her face in his hand, she couldn’t walk away and turned her cheek into his embrace instead. Her eyelids fluttered closed and she let herself believe…
    “Princess…”
    She jerked back, fantasy gone, reality returning in full force. No doubt, the name had the opposite effect of what he’d intended. Nikki knew she had one chance to make him understand what he’d done and she had no intention of losing the opportunity.
    “You wanted to know what I remember most about that night?” she asked in a deceptively soft voice. “I remember waking up naked and alone.”
    This time he stiffened reflexively.
    “I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing with me, but you’ve already shown me how much you care,” she said. “One little fainting spell and a good Samaritan gesture doesn’t change a thing.”
    A muscle twitched beside his mouth, but he didn’t say a word so she continued. “Now if you don’t mind, I’d like my keys and then I’d like to be alone.” She held out her hand and waited.
    Tension reverberated between them. As his silence continued, Nikki expected an explosion. Perhaps she even wanted one. Anything to give her the means to relieve the building pressure.
    When he finally answered, she was disappointed. “I don’t play games.” He spoke softly, with determination but not anger. “I promised Tony I’d look out for you. I may have done a lousy job so far, but that’s about to change.” He turned, inserted the key and pushed open the door. “Get some sleep.” He stepped back to allow her inside.
    She walked over the threshold, drawing into herself as she passed him, refusing to be lured back into the vortex of desire he effortlessly created. She stared into his ebony eyes. “I don’t need a keeper.”
    “I disagree.” His gaze raked over her and she knew if she looked into a mirror now, she’d cringe in disgust. Yet she couldn’t mistake the subtle darkening in his gaze and marveled that she could affect him still.
    Not that it changed anything. Desire was a far cry from love and caring, and Nikki could accept no less for herself. She’d lost too many people in her life. She’d come too far to be just a charity case to the man she… Damn .
    “Good night,” he murmured. The door closed behind her with a soft click. She’d have preferred a loud slam.
    Instead, he’d marched back into her life, turned her heart upside down once more, and retreated… all without a sound. He’d left her wound up and full of energy. Anger throbbed inside her, a rapid pulse that matched the beat of her heart. Tony had asked Kevin to look out for her? He intended to take care of her as if she were a child? The hell he was.
    Nikki grabbed an overstuffed pillow and punched the center hard before sinking into the couch. She’d always been somebody’s obligation. She’d been her parents’ little girl, even after she’d graduated from high school and come East to college. Within the year, her parents had died in a fire and Tony, who had migrated to Boston long before, had become her surrogate parent. With Tony gone, Janine had assumed the role. Now Kevin wanted to get in on the act.
    Well, she was an adult, though no one in her life had ever acknowledged