Sybil Disobedience Read Online Free PDF Page B

speeding down the highway, one of Kellon’s hands firmly clamped around her thigh as if he expected her to jump from the car. She knew that wasn’t it. He liked to touch her, and she’d denied him that since she’d broken things off three months ago.
    “I moved into the new house a couple weeks after closing,” he said after a few minutes.
    An unexpected spout of pain burst in her chest. They’d picked out the place together. He’d been about to close on it when she’d ended their relationship. It had seemed a travesty to take that step toward happily ever after when she wasn’t happy at all.
    “How is it?” she asked.
    “Empty.”
    Oh God…
    She wanted to say “I’m sorry” but knew that would be misconstrued. She wasn’t sorry for doing what she believed to be the right thing, even if it hurt them, but she regretted all the pain.
    “I’ve only set up a few things,” he said, “but everything’s unpacked. One apartment just wasn’t enough to fill up that big old house.”
    No, they’d been counting on her things going into the Victorian, too. They’d intended to buy anything else together.
    The bright yellow house with white trim seemed to loom ominously in the distance as they approached down the long, tree-canopied driveway. In the middle of nowhere, Kellon’s home was surrounded by an enormous yard and bordered by a cornfield to one side, a field to the other and a small burbling brook to rear. In the distance, on the far side of the water, grew an apple orchard. The nearest neighbor, who owned the farmland, was a half-mile away. The landscape and the proximity to other people had been two of the major selling points. They both enjoyed nature, and neither wanted anyone living just across the yard, checking out their alternate lifestyle.
    Honestly, she’d thought Kellon would stop the purchase when she’d left him. Apparently, he’d still been set on the two-storey house with its finished attic, annexed kitchen and the tower where they’d once planned her sewing room. She’d loved it, too. It was really too big for two people, but they’d wanted lots of kids and space to raise them. Since it had needed restoring in a manner that was true to its era, it’d been on the market for awhile and they’d—well, Kellon—had gotten a steal.
    She gnawed on her lip as he pulled up to the wide steps leading to the porch. This was supposed to be her home, but now, she felt a bit like an intruder. It would be painful to see what she’d given away.
    “Kellon, this is a bad idea,” she ventured, unsure she could face what lay beyond the front door.
    “I don’t think so.” His fingers gently grasped her chin, turning her eyes to him. He dropped a kiss on her mouth. “And I’m in charge. Meet me at the door; I have to get a few things from the trunk.”
    Sad girl walking, she thought as she trudged up to the door. This was going to be painful—and not in a sexually good way.
    Before she could dwell on it, Kellon bounded up the steps with a black duffle bag slung over his shoulder.
    “Wait here,” he said as he unlocked the door, but to her surprise, he didn’t actually enter the house. He just leaned inside and dropped the bag next to the door. Turning to her, he grabbed her around the waist and lifted her back over his shoulder.
    Shadows surrounded them as he stepped into the entry hall.
    “You don’t have to lug me,” she protested. “I’d walk—”
    His hand smacked onto her rear, silencing her. She couldn’t help her grin, but then he couldn’t see it since she was upside down and facing his back so there was no need to hide her pleasure.
    “Maybe I wanted to carry you over the threshold,” he replied.
    That rang with something she didn’t want to explore, not until she felt as if their relationship stood on more solid ground.
    Without elaborating, he headed through the entry, past the dining room and library, and into the hallway. Moving past the wide stairs, he walked into the