Read Online Pages of Passion by Dara Girard - Free Book Online Page A

an eyebrow, acknowledging his interest in her. “Generally.”
    “No, I don’t have one right now, but I’m hoping to change that. Anything I invest in increases in value.”
    “I see,” she said, with a knowing look in her sharp gaze that hit him at his core. For a moment he felt exposed, as if she was a savvy game hunter recognizing the predatory nature in him, but she didn’t judge him. He knew then that Arlene may be a lot of things, but she was no ditz.
    “So you’re not going to tell me anything more about Clyde?” Michael asked, determined to stay focused on his job.
    Arlene leaned back in her chair. “There’s nothing you need to know.”
    “Why isn’t he here with you?”
    “I told you my reason before. We’re giving each other space.”
    “Do you like keeping secrets?”
    She turned to him. “Just some.”
    “I get a sense that you don’t trust men in general.” Michael paused. “Or is it just me in particular?”
    “It’s not you. I have a poor record.”
    “How bad?”
    Arlene put on her sunglasses and pushed them up on her head like a headband. “The men in my life have been deceivers, betrayers, adulterers and a host of other things.”
    “And you expect me to fall into one of those categories?”
    Her eyes searched his face, looking for something he couldn’t fathom. “Let’s say I hope not, but I wouldn’t be surprised,” she said and he saw a vulnerable look of hurt that touched him. But before he could say anything Arlene covered her beautiful brown eyes with the dark shade of her sunglasses, effectively shutting him out.
    Later that night, alone in his cabin, Michael remembered that moment and scowled as he stared at his reflection in his bathroom mirror. He was one of the deceivers she’d tried to guard herself against and he hated himself for it, but he had no choice.
    He splashed cold water on his face. He had to pull himself together. She was just a woman. He’d never let a woman affect him like this, especially a target, and he wouldn’t start now. He could love them and leave them and usually did. He wasn’t cruel. He didn’t hurt anyone. He was a charmer, not a heartbreaker. He was a brief fling that made a woman feel good, and he was usually in and out of their lives before they could miss him and he liked it like that. He didn’t need permanency. He was a free agent.
    Michael wiped the water from his face with a towel, briefly pressing the towel against his face, remembering how Arlene had held him close. There was something different about her. Her soft warmth was like coming home. He’d never had a true place of safety. He angrily crumpled the towel into a ball and threw it at the mirror. No. He wasn’t going to fall for that crap. He wasn’t going to delude himself. A woman was a woman. That wasall. He’d met prettier women, smarter women, kinder women, sexier women. Why was she having such an effect on him?
    Because she was genuine. She lived her life and made no apologies for it. That truth rang in his mind like a lost echo. She hadn’t fallen for him initially because she’d seen through his game. She took care of him because he was wounded, not to get something from him. And she talked to him without pretense—or a hidden agenda. She didn’t tell him about her history with men to get pity. She told him because that was the truth. He’d been a liar so long that her honesty lured him in like a beacon of light in darkness. She made him want to be a better man.
    A knock on the door took him out of his thoughts. Michael glanced at his watch. It was only eight. They’d agreed to meet at eight-thirty at the restaurant. He opened the door and saw Joy standing there.
    “Darren told me to check on you,” she said. “How much have you gotten?” She was dressed for dinner in a seductive red sheath dress. She crossed the room and sat down at his small table.
    Michael tucked in his shirt. “Not much.”
    “You will. She’ll fall for you soon