Read Online Lined With Silver by Roseanne Evans Wilkins - Free Book Online

charge it. Did you bring yours?”
    Dread seized her heart. She hid her fear as
she answered. “No. I left it at the hotel. I didn’t want to take
any calls today. Sorry.”
    “We need to get back to the hotel. Do you
think you can walk? I doubt any taxis are going to come down this
street. It’s not heavy traffic, and the black ice…” He shook his
head.
    Sondra tried to look brave. She was an
accomplished attorney, after all. Still, after their experience the
night before, walking on the streets of DC was daunting. She looked
around, expecting a gang of hardened criminals to emerge from one
of the side streets. “How far is it?”
    “It’s four blocks.”
    She slipped and slid to his side and held on
to his arm while they crossed the icy streets. They managed to push
their way against the wind for a couple of blocks before she
stopped in the shelter of a building. Uncontrollable shivers shook
her.
    He reached down to hold her hand and quickly
pulled away. “Why didn’t you tell me your gloves are wet?”
    “I th-thought my body heat would dry them,
b-but I-I guess it d-didn’t work.” She could hardly speak through
her chattering teeth. He peeled off the gloves, held her hands
cupped in his and blew his warm breath on her frozen fingers.
    After a couple of minutes of his breath
moving past her fingers, she could feel them again. “Th-thanks.”
Her teeth still chattered, but his breath had warmed her whole
body.
    He put an arm around her shoulder and kept
her close while they headed back into the arctic blast. “Keep your
hands in your pockets. We shouldn’t be much longer.”
    Somehow, the next couple of blocks seemed
shorter. Having his warm body close to hers was distracting. Her
fingers tingled with more than returning circulation. Watching his
dark head bent over her frozen fingers had drawn out full-blown
desire. The intensity scared her.
    When they stepped into the lobby, he stopped
and pulled her to him. She laid her head on his chest while he
cupped one of his warm hands around her frozen ear. He held her a
moment, then stepped back. “That isn’t exactly how I planned to end
the day.” His crooked smile was distracting.
    She managed an answering smile through her
confused thoughts. “We survived. What are we going to do about the
car?”
    “The weather report was better for tomorrow.
It’s supposed to get up near 40°, so I think we can take a taxi and
pick it up. I doubt there are any tow trucks picking up stray cars
tonight. They’ll be plenty busy with accidents.”
    He steered her toward the elevator banks.
“Even though your chattering has stopped, I think you should go
take a hot bath. I’ll order some hot chocolate. We can have it in
my room, if that’s okay?” The last was tacked on as an
afterthought, but she felt like she was walking through a fog. It
was more than the icy walk. She wanted some time to examine her
intense feelings.
    At his mention of hot chocolate, she stepped
back into the moment. “I’m not really hungry, but something hot
sounds good.”
    He nodded as he pressed the eighth floor
elevator button. As the doors closed, she closed her eyes and
leaned against the wall. An almost overwhelming desire for his
touch had flooded her, and she could hardly walk down the hall when
the door opened. She was glad he couldn’t read her thoughts. She
was afraid he’d run like mad if he could. As she stepped into her
room and shut the door, she whispered “temporary” through gritted
teeth. And then the tears started.
     

Chapter Six, Changing of the Guard
    After a hot shower, Sondra felt much better.
She hoped her red, puffy eyes would be attributed to the drying
wind.
    Wrapped in her long pajamas and a fluffy
robe, she didn’t want to be seen wandering the halls, so she opened
the door between their rooms. To her surprise, another door was on
the other side. At her quiet knock, Zack opened it immediately, as
if he had been anticipating her choice.
    He glanced over