Read Online Skin Like Dawn by Jade Alyse - Free Book Online Page A

and offer her opened mouth for the outpour.  
     
     
     
    IT WAS BETTER TO KEEP QUIET ABOUT THIS SORT OF THING.  Nothing would really change what was occurring.  And she had to be better about dealing with it. 
    She needed to be better for him.  
    Brandon was deadly quiet the entire cab ride to the airport.  He sort of stared out the window, as if attempting to take a mental picture of it all.  And she watched him, in an undetected way, behind the careful shielding of her brown aviator shades.  
    If he caught her, he would have questioned her, been more concerned with her thoughts than his own.  And he needed this time to think; he needed this time inside his own head.  
    She instinctively placed her hand on this thigh.  He looked down, grinned a little and covered her hand with his own.  He then looked back out the window, released a belabored breath and murmured, “I know, baby, I know…”
    And that was that. 
    Within a couple of hours they were boarding a plane to Portland.  When he reached for her hand then, he refused to let go of it, as though some semblance of his resolve lied inside of her.  
    But she was trembling, like a helpless small animal, left on its own to die.  What sort of comfort could she give him?
    They had not exchanged more than a few words the entire morning, and they couldn’t even make love the night before.  Exhausted minds made way for wary, languid bodies.  
    “I love you, Brandon David Greene,” she wanted to say.  “Let’s make the most of this…let’s stand by each other no matter what…” 
    But she remained quiet.  Instead, as the plane slowly taxied on the tarmac, she leaned over to him and pressed her brown lips into his jaw, savoring the taste of his skin, milking the small bout of intimacy for all it was worth.  Slightly startled by the gesture, he accosted her face and brought her lips to his, kissing her gently.  When she felt the warm, buzzing connection between her thighs, she knew then that they would be okay.  
    The plane took flight, she closed her eyes, and said goodbye.
     
     
    WHEN THEY LANDED AGAIN, Brandon had to jostle her awake.  
    “Tal,” he murmured, nuzzling her cheek with the tip of his nose.  “Wake, baby…we’re here…”
    Yes, they were.  She was still securely buckled in, the pilot was muttering something overhead, but she felt different.  They felt different.  
    She looked at her husband.  He smiled. 
    “You sure slept a long time,” he observed, reaching down below for her carryon bag beneath her seat. 
    “I guess I was tired…”
    “Glad you got your rest,” he told her.  “We still have to sign the lease, pick up our cars, and call the movers who are shipping our stuff…”
    “Can’t it wait?” she asked.  “I don’t want it to be real yet…” 
    “I start at the new firm in a couple of days, baby…we need to check into reality a little sooner than I’d like…” 
    Right.  A moment of clarity struck Natalie with a fierce coldness, that caused her to dart her eyes in her husband’s direction.  How could she forget that dinner with her mother and her sisters and him, where he ever so gallantly informed her of his new job and their move at the end of the month?
    Did she really have a choice?  
    Yes, the money was better.  Yes, he was creative and good at what he did.  But why hadn’t he chosen to discuss it with her first?  Why did he automatically decide that Portland was the better move for them?  
    Where exactly did her opinion fit in? 
    They shuffled down the aisle of the plane, and he stood behind her cautiously, carrying both of their bags.  
    “Problem, Tal?” 
    Damn it, he knew her far too well.  
    But she figured with the amount of history they shared between them, the use for secrets seemed pointless nowadays.  
    “No,” she answered curtly, nearly bumping into the older man ahead of her.  
    “You’re lying…”
    “Absolutely not.” 
    “Very well,” he said.