Tami Hoag - Heart of Gold

“What kind of letter?”

“A nasty one,” she said, her voice soft and tight. “It was typed on plain notebook paper and stuck in a cheap envelope postmarked Fort Bragg. No fingerprints, according to Mr. Matthews.”

“Damn,” Shane muttered.

“My sentiments exactly.”

She looked so fragile suddenly, so small and alone it tore at Shane. She stood there, looking away from him, staring at one of the wreaths of dried flowers that adorned the wall. Her arms were crossed tightly in front of her as if to keep her upright. The lady was putting on a hell of a show at being strong enough to handle this ugly business. Even as he cursed the man who was causing her trouble, he had to admire Faith’s courage.

“You could back out on testifying, you know,” he said softly, giving in to the need to offer her an option. Banks wouldn’t have liked it, but Banks wasn’t there watching this sweet flower tremble under the pressure. “It would hurt the case, but no one would blame you.”

Faith shook her head. She would not back down. Especially not now. William Gerrard had manipulated her for too long. She had run across the country to escape him, and he was still trying to control her. She wasn’t going to let him go on doing it.

“Everything’s going to be fine,” she said, almost to herself. “No one can actually get to me. Banks said so. You said so. Agent Matthews said so. Anyway, he’s just trying to scare me.”

And doing a damn good job of it, Shane thought. When he got his hands on the man responsible for terrifying her… In the meantime, he wanted to get his hands on Faith. The first time she had turned to him in fear, he had wanted to take her in his arms, but he had stopped himself. He didn’t try to stop himself this time, nor did he question the wisdom of his decision. This was what she needed, and he was going to give it to her.

Gently he wrapped his good arm around her slender shoulders, frowning when she tensed at his touch. “You are scared,” he said simply.

Her answer was little more than an exhalation of breath. “Yes.”

“It’s all right,” he whispered, drawing her to his chest. When she gave in and leaned against him, he stroked his big hand over her soft tangle of fiery gold curls. “I’ll take care of you.”

Faith let her arms sneak around his lean waist. She let her cheek press against the warm flesh of his bare chest. She indulged herself for this one moment. It felt so good to be in his arms. She felt a sense not only of safety, but of rightness. Something deep inside her told her it was where she belonged. Whether that was true or not, it was where she wanted to be.

Shane was warm and real, an anchor in the storm, her battered knight sworn to protect her. That was a romantic notion of a very unromantic situation, but Faith didn’t care. She let her mind shut down and her senses take over. She thought of nothing but the way it felt to be held. She drank in the warm male scent of Shane. She listened to the strong, steady beat of his heart beneath her ear. Her fingertips memorized the marble-smooth planes of his back.

For a long moment they just stood there, bathed in the amber glow of the small hurricane lamp on the nightstand. Faith felt as if she were drawing strength from Shane, even though he had to have precious little to spare. The past few days had worn her down to nothing. Between dealing with threats and intrusions and Lindy’s chicken pox and Shane’s fever, she had depleted every milliliter of energy she had. But standing there with Shane’s arm around her and her arms around him, she felt her power level rise.

“I’ll be all right,” she said, managing a smile as she looked up at him.

The impact of his gaze was like a physical blow that knocked the wind out of her lungs. His silver-gray eyes captured hers with a stare that was intense and predatory and possessive and so very basically male, everything feminine inside her responded. In that instant all the complications of their situation seemed to fall away, leaving just the two of them, just a man and a woman and a desire that was not to be denied.

Shane’s mouth swooped down, trapping Faith’s, taking hers in a kiss that was surprisingly tender, but barely tame. She let herself be swept along on the tide of passion as his tongue swept against hers. His fingers tangled in her hair as he tilted her head, giving him a better angle so he could deepen the kiss even more.

It was incredible how quickly and powerfully he could arouse the dormant woman inside her, Faith thought dimly, the woman her husband had never really wanted, the woman who had longed for love and passion. The needs of that woman caught fire like dry tinder touched to flame. Her body molded herself to his powerful frame, seeking total contact. Her breasts swelled against the steel of his chest. His good arm banded around her waist, lifting her and pulling her against his arousal.

Desperation and desire swirled together inside Faith like a whirlpool. She had waited a lifetime to feel what she was feeling now with Shane Callan, but once the danger had passed, he would be gone, and she would be left with a lifetime to wish she’d never laid eyes on him.

Shane was fighting his own inner battle. He knew to get too close to Faith Kincaid emotionally would be disastrous for both of them. Circumstances dictated that he offer her nothing but protection. Still, he had never known such a fierce desire to possess.

“I want you,” he whispered against her lips, simplifying the problem to the lowest common denominator. The ache of his need was not going to lessen. Their circumstances were not going to change. The only solution was to draw a line-satisfy the physical desire, safe in the knowledge that neither would ask for anything more from the other.

Faith didn’t have to hear the words to know what Shane was proposing. He wasn’t the kind of man to make empty promises. He wasn’t talking about love, but sex. For her there would be no separation of the two. As much as she wished she weren’t, she was in love with him. She wanted him, but she wanted his heart as well as his body. And while he stood nearly naked in the circle of her arms, more than ready to make good on his claim, she knew his body was all he was willing to give her.

“I don’t know if I can deal with this,” she said, deciding to take the coward’s way out for the moment. She stepped out of his embrace, immediately feeling cold and alone. “You should go back to bed. You need your rest.”

“That’s not my only need. What about you, Faith? A woman has needs too.”

How true, she thought. She had physical needs, needs that had long been neglected, needs that seemed to double and triple when she was in the same room with him. At this very moment her whole body was throbbing with the need he aroused in her. Her breasts swelled for his touch. The feminine core of her ached with an emptiness she wanted only Shane to fill. But her needs went beyond the physical, and his offer didn’t.

Shane sighed and raked a hand back through his tousled hair. “I won’t lie to you, Faith. I want a physical relationship with you, but I can’t give you anything more. That may sound callous, but it’s necessary. I think it’s best to be honest up front.”

She wanted to call him a liar despite what he’d said. He wouldn’t want her to be honest. He wouldn’t want to hear she was in love with him. Faith knew that as sure as she knew her own name. Shane was a man who shunned emotional entanglements. Even in his sleep he had tried to push her away. The man needed love, but she was certain he wouldn’t want it if she offered it to him on a platter.

“I have to put Lindy to bed,” she said, turning away from him, exhaustion weighing down on her like a huge stone.