Read Online Gone to Her Grave (Rogue River Novella Book 2) by Melinda Leigh - Free Book Online Page B

Actually he’d ignored it. Carly wanted to make their divorce as easy as possible. Seth wanted the opposite. “It’s no trouble.”
    “What time will you bring her back?”
    “Is nine all right?”
    “There’s no school, so it’s fine.” Carly tilted her head.
    For the span of one long minute, he just looked at her, as if he were saving up the sight for later. Her warm brown eyes searched his face, and Seth struggled to find the words to express the pain, the missing her , that was lodged in his heart.
    But Carly broke the moment. “Why are you here, Seth?”
    “I just wanted to see you for two minutes without fighting.”
    “All right. You accomplished your goal.” The corner of her mouth turned up. “Maybe we should quit while we’re ahead.”
    “I was never very good at that.” Thunder cracked. Seth walked to the railing and stared out over the meadow. “I love a good storm. Shame we hardly ever get them.”
    “Not me.” Carly shivered. “You’ll be careful with Brianna, right? If the weather looks too bad . . .”
    “It’s a thunderstorm, not a—” Seth stopped himself from mocking her fears. He met her gaze. No yelling. No criticizing. No friction. He could do this. “Of course I will. Nothing is more important.”
    She blinked away, but not before he saw surprise in her eyes. That was something, he supposed. He could change. Every little thing didn’t have to be a confrontation. Whatever else he’d done wrong, he could stop doing it.
    “Carly—”
    She raised a hand. “Don’t do this, Seth.”
    “You know I still love you.” He moved closer, until he could smell the floral scent of her shampoo. Her eyes filled with sadness.
    “Love was never our problem.” She dropped her gaze.
    Seth put a finger under her chin and lifted it. Her eyes darkened. He forgot about easing his way back into her heart and dropped his lips to hers. The taste of her overwhelmed him. He pressed closer, his body yearning for more than an appetizer. His hands cupped her jaw as his tongue swept into her mouth. She opened for him, her head turning to give him room.
    He slid a hand down her arm and around to her lower back, urging her hips to press against his aching need.
    Thunder cracked, the sound rattling the panes in the windows behind them.
    Her hands hit his shoulders and pushed him away. “No.”
    Seth stepped back. “Why not?”
    “Because it won’t solve anything.” Carly wiped the back of her hand across her lips, then pushed her hair off her face.
    Desperation clawed its way up Seth’s chest. “Then what will? Tell me. I’ll do anything.”
    “Respect.”
    Shocked, Seth forgot his self-control. His voice rose. “What?” He reined in his temper. “I mean. How did I disrespect you?”
    “You don’t value my job.”
    “As that bruise on your chin shows, your job is dangerous. Its value has nothing to do with it.”
    “There you go again disregarding what I do. It’s all right for you to risk your life as a cop, but for me to take chances for an equally important task isn’t acceptable.”
    “I love you. I want to protect you.” There was nothing civilized about Seth’s urge to keep her safe. The instinct was primitive and animalistic and didn’t listen to reason.
    “I’m an intelligent professional. I will take precautions if necessary.” Her cheeks flushed. “When you were a patrol cop, every day when you walked out our door, I had to live with the knowledge that you could be shot or stabbed. I never once asked you not to go. Actually, you never even asked me not to go. You told me I shouldn’t go, that I shouldn’t even want to go, and the sheer act of doing my job made me selfish.”
    “I never said you were selfish.” But on the rest, he was guilty as sin. He couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to his wife.
    “I’ve said all this to you a hundred times, Seth.” Carly crossed her arms and hugged her middle. “There are kids out there who don’t have