Read Online Pandora's Box by K C Blake - Free Book Online

years.   I thought you were past this jealousy crap.”   She sat next to him and took his beer away.   “You have to stop doing this.   You beat Chavez up after I had the one-night-stand with him and almost got thrown out of the service.   Now you shoot at the president’s son.   That’s insane.”
    He leaned forward and buried his face in his hands.   A groan rumbled deep in his throat.   Madison ’s hand hovered over his back for a moment.   She wanted to comfort him, but she didn’t want to confuse him with mixed signals.  
    “I’m sorry, Maddie.   I swear it won’t happen again.”
    “Why did it happen this time?”   She simultaneously put emotional and physical distance between them as she crossed the room to stand alone near the far wall.   “Do I need to remind you that it was you who broke things off with me?   You explained your reasons and I agreed.   Our careers come first, and you know I’m a walking disaster when it comes to relationships.   I don’t trust anyone.   Never will.   You couldn’t get far enough, fast enough.   Why are you acting this way now?”
    “I don’t know.”   He exploded off the couch and stalked to the window.   “It wasn’t planned or anything.   I’ve seen the way you look at the guy.   When he touched you, I went ballistic.   I couldn’t have stopped myself even if I’d tried.”   He turned her way, catching her with those warm brown eyes.   “If you want, I’ll report myself.”
    “That isn’t what I want.”   She joined him at the window, stood beside him without touching, and looked at the top of the Washington Monument in the distance.   “I just want you to be okay.”   Giving into her emotions, she slid an arm around his waist and tilted her head sideways until it rested against his.   “Thank you for defending me earlier.   I actually thought those idiots were going to lock me up and toss the key.”
    “I wanted to pound some sense into them.   I’m sorry you had to go through that and right after your father died too.”   He took her hand and squeezed it.   They shared a quiet moment.
    Then he ruined it.  
    “So what did your father say to you before he died?”
    Madison froze.   Her heart stopped cold.   Paranoia born of years spent with the CIA and then the Secret Service raised its ugly head.   She heard warning bells again.   She wondered if DeMarco was asking because he cared about her or if he was working for someone else who wanted the information.  
    She pulled free and walked away.   She hated suspecting everyone, hated the life she had to lead thanks to the service.   Life with the government had taught her not to take anyone at face value.   If you let down your guard, you got hurt.   Or worse.   Dead.   Madison ’s feet took her to the hall closet.   She pulled an extra blanket and pillow from the top shelf.
    When she returned to the living room, she found DeMarco back on the couch with the beer in his hand. He patted the cushion next to him again.   This time she chose to join him.   When she sat next to him, he slid closer to her until they were touching from shoulder to thigh.
    She said, “My father wanted me to get something out of his safe deposit box at the bank.   I’m going first thing in the morning.”
    Madison waited, back stiff, for his response.  
    “Want to watch a movie?” he asked.   “We can watch one of those old sad movies you like so much.”
    “You mean the ones that make you laugh so hard I can’t hear the dialogue?”
    “Give me a break.   They’re sappy and ridiculous.   No man talks like that.”
    “ Casablanca happens to be a much-loved classic.”
    He made a rude noise with his mouth.   “Can’t understand why.”
    She stood and tossed the blanket into his lap.   “Of course you can’t.   You think Rocky is a romantic movie.”
    “It is.”   His laughter slowly died.   He gazed up at her, taking her fingers between his.   “I