Read Online The Burning Point by Mary Jo Putney - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Mary Jo Putney
Tags: Fiction, General, Family & Relationships, Romance, Contemporary, Abuse, Family Violence, Wrecking
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when he entered her, but he was too far gone into mind-searing pleasure to retreat.
Within moments it was over, leaving him panting and shaken, with the horrible conviction that she had been playing him for a fool. His raw, helpless distress swiftly transformed into anger. He released her and pushed away. "Was giving your cherry to a parking valet a way of getting back at your father? You should have warned me. It would have been easier for you."
A lesser female might have burst into tears at his harshness. Not Kate. "This had nothing to do with my father," she said huskily. Her hands roamed over his chest and arms, as if she could not get enough of him. "It just seemed that...that tonight was the right night, and you were the right man. Was I wrong?"
He'd thought his childhood had left him tough and unsusceptible, but her sweet honesty cracked through all his defenses, and he tumbled headfirst into love. Here is my heart, carissima . And my life, my body, my soul, if you want them.
His emotions were so raw, so powerful, so terrifying, that all he could manage was to catch one of her wandering hands and press it to his cheek. "I think you probably were wrong, Kate." He turned his head and pressed his lips into the center of her palm. "You deserve champagne and satin sheets and rose petals, not me and an old Chrysler."
She laughed, a joyous sound that drew him into a place he'd never been. For the first time in years--maybe ever--it occurred to him that happiness might be possible.
"I'm not sorry," she murmured, her eyes like dark stars. "I hope you aren't."
He hadn't been. Not then, not even now, despite all of the pain and guilt that love had brought them both.
Chapter 7
Donovan returned to the present gripping the steering wheel so tightly it was in danger of bending. No wonder he'd kept those memories securely bottled up for so long. Releasing them was almost as disorienting as the original experience had been.
The brutal truth was that he'd stolen Kate's life. He was the one who'd ended up with the exciting job in the family business, the warm, supportive relationship with her parents. Not that he'd deliberately tried to cut Kate out. In fact, he'd resigned from PDI the morning after she left him, sure it would be impossible to keep working there.
He'd been sitting in his kitchen grimly lowering the level of a bottle of Irish whiskey when Sam marched into the house. After pouring the whiskey down the sink, he'd asked his son-in-law to come back to PDI.
Sam had looked like hell--a man torn apart by irreconcilable forces. He had too much pride to beg Donovan to change his mind, but it had been clear that he desperately needed to salvage at least one relationship from the family disaster.
Though Donovan had tried to confess, Sam hadn't wanted to hear it. Apparently his father-in-law assumed that his split with Kate was one of the repercussions of the blow-up that had broken the Corsi family in half. Kate had sided with Tom, while Donovan, as always, stood with Sam.
The truth was far more complicated than Sam's guess, but because Donovan and Sam needed each other so much, the next morning he'd been back at work at PDI, doing his best to bury his misery in sixteen hour days. Stoically he gave Kate the uncontested divorce she requested.
But it was no accident that he'd never sought an annulment from the Church. He hadn't wanted one, because in the Catholic corner of his heart she was still his wife. As long as that was true, he would never take another. It was the real reason his dating relationships had stayed casual. Though he'd been plenty busy over the last ten years, he could have found time for a courtship if he'd wanted one. But he hadn't.
It was Kate he had wanted. Only Kate.
Yes, the sex had been intoxicating, but it was Kate's essence that had captivated him. Though she could play the role of cool aristocratic blonde to perfection, most of the time her disposition was as sunny as her glossy
Within moments it was over, leaving him panting and shaken, with the horrible conviction that she had been playing him for a fool. His raw, helpless distress swiftly transformed into anger. He released her and pushed away. "Was giving your cherry to a parking valet a way of getting back at your father? You should have warned me. It would have been easier for you."
A lesser female might have burst into tears at his harshness. Not Kate. "This had nothing to do with my father," she said huskily. Her hands roamed over his chest and arms, as if she could not get enough of him. "It just seemed that...that tonight was the right night, and you were the right man. Was I wrong?"
He'd thought his childhood had left him tough and unsusceptible, but her sweet honesty cracked through all his defenses, and he tumbled headfirst into love. Here is my heart, carissima . And my life, my body, my soul, if you want them.
His emotions were so raw, so powerful, so terrifying, that all he could manage was to catch one of her wandering hands and press it to his cheek. "I think you probably were wrong, Kate." He turned his head and pressed his lips into the center of her palm. "You deserve champagne and satin sheets and rose petals, not me and an old Chrysler."
She laughed, a joyous sound that drew him into a place he'd never been. For the first time in years--maybe ever--it occurred to him that happiness might be possible.
"I'm not sorry," she murmured, her eyes like dark stars. "I hope you aren't."
He hadn't been. Not then, not even now, despite all of the pain and guilt that love had brought them both.
Chapter 7
Donovan returned to the present gripping the steering wheel so tightly it was in danger of bending. No wonder he'd kept those memories securely bottled up for so long. Releasing them was almost as disorienting as the original experience had been.
The brutal truth was that he'd stolen Kate's life. He was the one who'd ended up with the exciting job in the family business, the warm, supportive relationship with her parents. Not that he'd deliberately tried to cut Kate out. In fact, he'd resigned from PDI the morning after she left him, sure it would be impossible to keep working there.
He'd been sitting in his kitchen grimly lowering the level of a bottle of Irish whiskey when Sam marched into the house. After pouring the whiskey down the sink, he'd asked his son-in-law to come back to PDI.
Sam had looked like hell--a man torn apart by irreconcilable forces. He had too much pride to beg Donovan to change his mind, but it had been clear that he desperately needed to salvage at least one relationship from the family disaster.
Though Donovan had tried to confess, Sam hadn't wanted to hear it. Apparently his father-in-law assumed that his split with Kate was one of the repercussions of the blow-up that had broken the Corsi family in half. Kate had sided with Tom, while Donovan, as always, stood with Sam.
The truth was far more complicated than Sam's guess, but because Donovan and Sam needed each other so much, the next morning he'd been back at work at PDI, doing his best to bury his misery in sixteen hour days. Stoically he gave Kate the uncontested divorce she requested.
But it was no accident that he'd never sought an annulment from the Church. He hadn't wanted one, because in the Catholic corner of his heart she was still his wife. As long as that was true, he would never take another. It was the real reason his dating relationships had stayed casual. Though he'd been plenty busy over the last ten years, he could have found time for a courtship if he'd wanted one. But he hadn't.
It was Kate he had wanted. Only Kate.
Yes, the sex had been intoxicating, but it was Kate's essence that had captivated him. Though she could play the role of cool aristocratic blonde to perfection, most of the time her disposition was as sunny as her glossy
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