Read Online Mating Fever by Crymsyn Hart - Free Book Online Page B

recuperate, get some water, and I wanted to talk to you.”
    He sighed but claimed my lips in a kiss. “Okay.” I heard the exacerbation in his tone.
    I grasped the bedpost to help me stand and then made my way back into the bathroom. After cleaning myself and drinking a few mouthfuls of water, I told myself I had the courage to do this.
    The images of Mark’s death stole my breath and pulled the happiness from my heart the way it had done in the past. I sank to my knees. The encompassing loss drove a forlorn wail from my throat. The world felt as if it was pressing around me, and the walls I’d built were starting to crumble. I gripped the sink. Keaton rushed in.
    “What is it?”
    Concern filled his gaze and pinched his forehead. There was no way to face him. I launched myself in his arms and buried my head against his shoulder. He pulled me close and rubbed my back.
    “Was it something I did? What just happened?”
    “No. That was wonderful.” I hugged him tighter. He picked me up and carried me back into the bedroom. Keaton laid me down gently on the covers.
    “I’ll be right back.”
    When he left the room, emptiness swallowed my soul again. I drew my knees up to my chest and began to shiver. Keaton returned with a box of tissues and glass of water, which he set on the nightstand. He dabbed at my cheeks with the tissue. His soft touch helped to keep me anchored in the present.
    “Tell me what haunts you. If I could read it in your mind, it would make it easier for me to understand.”
    Sniffling, I chuckled and hiccupped. “You wouldn’t want to see what’s in my mind. It’s a poisonous place where everything that lives there is toxic.”
    He brushed the hair from my face. “I don’t believe that. If it were so, then it would’ve manifested in you. You are perfect.”
    A small laugh tumbled over my lips. “I’m not perfect. Far from it. See.” I let the robe drop from my shoulders. There was a large scar there that marred my back. A reminder of what had transpired. His fingers traced the jagged skin that slashed across my spine and came to rest on my left buttock. It was sheer luck not to have been permanently damaged from it.
    “How did you get this?”
    “Five years ago, I dated a man named Mark Cooper. We went out for two years. We were happy. Then things went to shit. I started working late. I thought things were good, but he accused me of having an affair with my boss. He was jealous of other guys, but he wasn’t controlling or abusive or anything. My boss was going through a lot of personal problems, and the company was restructuring so I was helping him out. If it all worked out I would’ve gotten a really great promotion.
    “Anyway, one night I got home past ten. Mark had mentioned that he wanted to do dinner, but I had completely forgotten about it. When I arrived, I saw the candles and how they had burned down. The plates of cold food. I felt bad. I walked into the bedroom, and he was sitting on the bed. He had tears in his eyes and a ring lying on the bed. An empty bottle of wine stood on the nightstand. Mark said that he’d had enough and that he was going to leave. I tugged on his arm, nearly dragging him back into the bedroom. He shoved me into the wall. I lost it. I ran after him and clutched his arm again. We were in the living room.
    “He said he found evidence. Receipts for hotels and dinners, but those were from the clients I had handled for my boss. Mark thought it was all part of me trying to hide the affair. I was distraught. I grabbed one of the vases and threw it at him. He dodged it. He’d been drinking and pushed me backward. I stumbled and landed back first into the glass coffee table. He tried to help me up, but lost his footing and fell down into a shard of glass. It went straight through his chest. The phone had been knocked down near me. I called the cops. They broke the door down. I was taken to the hospital and was questioned. The courts ruled it was an