Read Online Desire (#4) by Carrie Cox - Free Book Online Page A

can afford it. So I paid.”
    I wanted to shake him. Didn’t he see how annoying that was? I wasn’t some sort of pawn he could push around.
    “I’ll pay you back,” I said sulkily. “I have eight thousand dollars save so far. I’ll give you a check in the morning.”
    “Like hell you will,” Benjamin said, his eyes blazing.
    “It’s my debt, and I’ll pay it.” I said scowling at him.
    “It wasn’t though, was it?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “The debt was your sister’s, not yours.”
    I didn’t know how he knew that. Come to think of it, I didn’t know how he figured out who I owed money to.
    He smiled at me, his eyes softening, and as if guessing my thoughts, he said, “Private investigator. It’s difficult to keep secrets these days.”
    He reached up a hand to stroke my cheek.
    I pulled away. “You hired a private investigator to dig around in my past?”
    “Be reasonable, Kate. A man in my position has to be careful who he gets involved with.”
    I shifted away from him on the grass. I couldn’t believe this. How could he? I focused of the sound of the waves crashing against the shore, trying to think straight. Involved with. He wasn’t involved with me. There was no relationship only sex.
    “Tell me,” he said, “how did your sister get into debt?”
    I looked up at him through my lowered lashes. He probably knew all this anyway from his devious poking into my past. There was no reason to hide it now.
    “My sister started taking drugs when she was sixteen,” I said. “My mother never gave up on her. She lost her house because of Tina’s addiction. She sold almost everything she had for drug treatment programs. When she died, Tina didn’t even show up at her funeral.”
    “When did your mother die?” he asked softly.
    “Six years ago. She battled cancer, but for a long time, she didn’t worry about herself. She was always too busy worrying about Tina.”
    He let out a long breath. “That’s hard. My mother died of cancer too.”
    I blinked up at him. He’d never mentioned his mother before.
    “When did she die?”
    “Ten years ago.”
    “I’m sorry,” I said.
    He took hold of my hand and gazed down at it, tracing a pattern on my palm with his fingers. “What happened to your father?”
    I shrugged. “No idea. He left when Tina was only a baby.”
    Benjamin’s jaw tensed, then he lifted my hand to his lips and kissed the tips of my fingers.
    Tears stung my eyes. I couldn’t lose it now. I couldn’t get sad. I needed to stay angry. “I can’t let Tina into my life. She’ll just take and take until she’s run me dry.”
    His dark eyes were warm with pity as he looked down at me. Did he think I was being too harsh?
    “That’s why she’s here now,” I said.
    “Tina?”
    I nodded. “My sister has a nose for money.”
    A solitary tear trickled down my cheek. Dammit. I promised myself I wouldn’t cry.
    Benjamin reached over and wiped away the tear with the pad of his thumb.
    I swallowed. No, don’t be nice to me, or I’ll lose it completely.
    I wiped my tears away with the back of my hand. “I’m sorry. I’ll make sure that this doesn’t affect you. I’ll leave in the morning, if that’s okay?”
    “Leave?” His eyes widened, and his fingers closed around my forearm.
    I turned to face him and tried to smile.
    “The past few weeks have been great,” I said. “But I always knew it was a short-term thing. It’s better if I go now. If I stay longer, Tina will realise how rich you are and stick to you like a leech. If I leave now, she’ll soon realise there’s nothing to stay around for.” I shrugged. “If there’s no money, she’ll soon lose interest.”
    Benjamin gripped my arm tighter. “Don’t go,” he said.
    A complex mixture of emotions played over his face.
    I stared up into his dark eyes. Did he really want me to stay? My heart leapt, but in the next instant I felt cold disappointment wash over me. He understood what it was like to have a