Read Online Intimate Strangers by Laura Taylor - Free Book Online Page A

was insane to think or to hope that they could ever be anything more.
    As she stared up at Nicholas, Hannah raised trembling fingers to her swollen lips. With his head thrown back, his eyes closed, and his entire body corded with strain, he reminded her of a warrior in the heat of a fierce battle, a battle she didn’t completely comprehend.
    Awash in uncertainty, she feared he’d chosen to use any tactic available to him in order to silence her. Any tactic, she thought, up to and including seduction. While her common sense suggested that that was exactly what he’d just done, she still prayed that he’d touched her out of desire and not as the result of his need to manipulate her into submission.
    Hannah sagged against the doorframe. Lifting her hands, she pressed her fingertips to her temples to ease the dull pain throbbing there. All the while, she again tried to convince herself that she hadn’t driven Nicholas to the point that he’d decided to shut her up any way he knew how. She failed in both endeavors.
    "This can’t happen again," he told her in a low, grit–filled voice.
    "If my brother has become at all like you, then it’s a good thing I didn’t wait any longer to search for him."
    He reached for her. "Hannah…"
    She ducked away from his hands, certain that if he touched her again she would throw herself directly into his arms. Turning away from him without a backward glance, she fled his sad eyes, the bleak expression etched into his harshly carved face, and the knowledge that she still craved the intimacy and intensity of his possession.
    After locking her bedroom door, she crawled into bed and tugged the covers up to her chin. Hannah fought the urge to weep. And each time she thought about the vulnerability she’d seen in Nicholas Benteen’s eyes, she clenched her fists at her sides and told herself to quit crediting the man with human qualities.
    He’d tried to seduce her, she decided, as a mean by which to distract her from the real purpose of her trip. He didn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt, although a part of her longed to give it to him.
    The tension in her body slowly retreated. Hannah fell asleep, too emotionally bruised and physically depleted to resist her body’s need for rest.
    ** ** **
     
    Nicholas walked into the kitchen late the following morning. He didn’t bother to disguise his ugly mood as he glowered at Hannah.
    She glanced cautiously at him and then returned her attention to the platter she was filling with scrambled eggs and bacon. She kept her thoughts to herself as she added several slices of buttered toast to the side of the platter.
    Nicholas blamed her for a sleepless night and the low–level state of arousal that still tortured his body. He felt like a fool for allowing her mere presence, whether or not she knew it, to bring into sharp focus the loneliness that had been his constant companion in recent years. He considered her a disruptive force in the parcel of the world under his control, and he vowed to put an end to the situation as quickly as possible.
    Nicholas hadn’t bothered to return to the master suite after their late night confrontation. Instead, he’d spent the intervening hours in his study. Frustrated with his inability to concentrate on his work, he grew more and more annoyed with Hannah.
    He’d monitored her throughout the night and well into the morning hours. Thanks to his sophisticated security system, he knew the instant she’d left her bed, showered, and dressed. He tracked her movement through the house as she made her way to the kitchen, courtesy of a bevy of motion sensors and a few well–placed microphones. Once she initiated breakfast preparations, he allowed himself the time to shower and dress for the day.
    "Do you ever do anything besides eat?" He filled a mug with coffee before he slouched that long, muscular body against the edge of the countertop.
    Hannah swallowed a laugh. "Aren’t we in a good mood this morning."
    She