you wish. Listen to this, and listen very closely.” He moved his hands to the arms of the chair and grasped them so tightly that his knuckles turned white. “Here is the greatest lie I have ever told: I don’t want you .”
His big body shuddered and the muscles in his arms flexed as he tightened his grip on the chair, and then he continued, his voice barely more than a rasp, as the heat raced through her at his stark words. “I’m not battling a desperate, soul-searing hunger to touch you, and taste you, and take you. I’m not fighting the results of the curse and two thousands of years of bleak loneliness in order to protect your honor. I’m not ashamed almost unto death that I assaulted you earlier. There is nothing about your beauty or your courage that makes me desperate to carry you away from this place and spend the next several weeks or months or years worshiping your naked body while you tell me every detail about your life.”
He stopped suddenly and pinned her in place with the naked yearning in his gaze. “Is that enough of a lie for you, Tiernan Butler?”
She had to catch her breath before she could speak. Her lungs were somehow empty; his words had deprived her of both oxygen and speech. Every nerve ending in her body was jangling, and a new, harsh sound was buzzing in her eardrums. If she had to find a label for this level of lie, it would be chain saw.
Chain saw times one thousand.
He’d been lying, oh yeah. He had definitely been lying at the same time he’d been telling her a very real truth. No man she’d ever known had said anything like that to her. No one had ever wanted her as much as this man—this warrior—wanted her, with an intensity that should have frightened her more than it did. It stunned her and drew her to him, even as it frightened her. Intensity could turn to obsession, fast. She was likely in far more danger than she was willing to admit.
However, her Gift worked on him. She had definitely known when he was lying. She could listen to his story. She could find a way to work with him. She had to—for Susannah. The rest of it, including the odd compulsion she had to go to him, touch him, and forgive him, could be ignored.
She could almost hear Rick’s voice in her head, repeating over and over again: The story is everything .
She finally took her hand off the door handle and stepped away from the door, ignoring her suddenly wobbly knees. “Maybe I could sit down now,” she said, her voice only a little shaky.
She pulled the second of the pair of hotel chairs toward her, still needing distance from him, regardless of whether he was telling the truth or not. He was sorry, yes, but he hadn’t said anything about whether or not he’d be able to control whatever had pushed him to attack her in the first place.
As she sank into the chair, her cell phone rang. She glanced at her backpack but then ignored it. Probably Rick. No matter who was calling, it couldn’t be as important as this. She fixed a measuring stare on Brennan. “I think that’s enough lying. Please tell me the rest of your story. But first I need to ask you one thing, and this time, please tell me the absolute truth.”
“Anything,” he said, but caution or something else narrowed his green eyes.
“Whatever happened earlier. Can you promise me that it won’t happen again? Can you promise me you won’t hurt me in any way?” She bit her lip, knowing that everything rested on his answer.
“I pledge this to you, Tiernan Butler. No matter the intensity of the curse as it tries to destroy me, I will do everything within my power to protect you, even should it mean giving my life in order to keep you from harm,” he said, each word clear and distinct, spoken with the weight of a solemn vow in that deep, sensual voice of his.
She was shaken by both the words and the utter honesty in which they were offered. He leaned forward, searching her face as if he were willing her to believe him. He
His big body shuddered and the muscles in his arms flexed as he tightened his grip on the chair, and then he continued, his voice barely more than a rasp, as the heat raced through her at his stark words. “I’m not battling a desperate, soul-searing hunger to touch you, and taste you, and take you. I’m not fighting the results of the curse and two thousands of years of bleak loneliness in order to protect your honor. I’m not ashamed almost unto death that I assaulted you earlier. There is nothing about your beauty or your courage that makes me desperate to carry you away from this place and spend the next several weeks or months or years worshiping your naked body while you tell me every detail about your life.”
He stopped suddenly and pinned her in place with the naked yearning in his gaze. “Is that enough of a lie for you, Tiernan Butler?”
She had to catch her breath before she could speak. Her lungs were somehow empty; his words had deprived her of both oxygen and speech. Every nerve ending in her body was jangling, and a new, harsh sound was buzzing in her eardrums. If she had to find a label for this level of lie, it would be chain saw.
Chain saw times one thousand.
He’d been lying, oh yeah. He had definitely been lying at the same time he’d been telling her a very real truth. No man she’d ever known had said anything like that to her. No one had ever wanted her as much as this man—this warrior—wanted her, with an intensity that should have frightened her more than it did. It stunned her and drew her to him, even as it frightened her. Intensity could turn to obsession, fast. She was likely in far more danger than she was willing to admit.
However, her Gift worked on him. She had definitely known when he was lying. She could listen to his story. She could find a way to work with him. She had to—for Susannah. The rest of it, including the odd compulsion she had to go to him, touch him, and forgive him, could be ignored.
She could almost hear Rick’s voice in her head, repeating over and over again: The story is everything .
She finally took her hand off the door handle and stepped away from the door, ignoring her suddenly wobbly knees. “Maybe I could sit down now,” she said, her voice only a little shaky.
She pulled the second of the pair of hotel chairs toward her, still needing distance from him, regardless of whether he was telling the truth or not. He was sorry, yes, but he hadn’t said anything about whether or not he’d be able to control whatever had pushed him to attack her in the first place.
As she sank into the chair, her cell phone rang. She glanced at her backpack but then ignored it. Probably Rick. No matter who was calling, it couldn’t be as important as this. She fixed a measuring stare on Brennan. “I think that’s enough lying. Please tell me the rest of your story. But first I need to ask you one thing, and this time, please tell me the absolute truth.”
“Anything,” he said, but caution or something else narrowed his green eyes.
“Whatever happened earlier. Can you promise me that it won’t happen again? Can you promise me you won’t hurt me in any way?” She bit her lip, knowing that everything rested on his answer.
“I pledge this to you, Tiernan Butler. No matter the intensity of the curse as it tries to destroy me, I will do everything within my power to protect you, even should it mean giving my life in order to keep you from harm,” he said, each word clear and distinct, spoken with the weight of a solemn vow in that deep, sensual voice of his.
She was shaken by both the words and the utter honesty in which they were offered. He leaned forward, searching her face as if he were willing her to believe him. He
Similar Books
