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Within an hour, she was stuffed beyond all rational possibility and there was still more food to try.
He d constantly bring her into conversations, until his siblings all began to expect her to express her
opinions on a variety of things. What did she think of Chloe and Danny s team s chances of getting to the
championship? Did she cook or did she bake? Did she have any tips on colic? Did she remember the time
Raul got in trouble for knocking down the beehive at the annual Fourth of July picnic when he was Chloe s
age?
As if the constant attention and the overfeeding she couldn t tactfully turn down weren t enough to
drive her insane, he found eight million different ways to touch her. Nothing she could directly point at as
bad. He didn t put a hand on her knee or slide his arm behind her head on the couch cushion. No, his
shoulder, his thigh, his heat, pressed into her where he sat next to her on the couch. His hand bumped into
hers, his fingertips grazing her leg every time either of them shifted. When he offered her food, often a bite
from his fingertips, he always touched her lips. And damn if she couldn t see everyone noticing. Couldn t
see them considering her just another conquest. Another notch on his tattered bedpost. Worse, a notch he d
already made long ago.
Unable to take any more of it, Penelope excused herself as best she could and wandered through the
house until she found her way onto the deck, lack of shoes be damned. Cool air breezed over her flaming
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Burn for Me
cheeks, tossing her hair around as she made her way to the edge. Down below, a rich green carpet of grass
covered what had to be an acre of gently sloping valley. Kids scrambled over it, kicking a soccer ball like a
pinball, screaming and cheering and yelling as they ran from one end of a makeshift field to the other. It
would all have been calming, she was sure, if she hadn t felt Raul step onto the deck behind her. It was a
large deck and others had been there when she arrived. She heard them shuffle and eventually pass her to
the steps down to the grass below.
Great. He was going to make a scene. Well& fine. She was angry enough to let him. She just hoped he
was prepared to get as good as he gave.
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Chapter Six
Penelope leaned against the railing, her arms crossed under her breasts. Was it his anger or his warmth
she sensed at her back before his dark hands rested on either side of her elbows? His chest pressed into her
lightly and his low voice rumbled dangerously in her ear.  Do you want to explain what the hell that was?
 Do you plan to listen? Because he certainly hadn t listened to anything else she d said.
His silence wasn t encouraging.
Penelope shook her head, not sure why she expected anything different.  I knew I shouldn t have
come here.
 Why? No one s mistreated you. Or said anything to you. Chloe s fine. You should be fine.
 Well, I m not, Raul. I m not fine. I m not fine with you.
He snorted, moving off her back to settle next to her, his back to the rail, his eyes crackling with
temper. He crossed his arms and glared at her.  You insulted them, leaving like that. They only want to
know you.
 They do know me.
 No, they don t. No one knows you, Pen. You put on this little smile and you disappear into the
fucking walls. How the hell is anyone supposed to get to know you? He kept his voice low, but it didn t
soften the sting.
 They don t need to know me. She wished her whisper didn t sound like a hiss.  How do you think
this looks to them, Raul? The way you re crowding me. Touching me. Trying to feed me, acting as if
there s something between us when there isn t.
His jaw flexed but he didn t answer. Which meant he knew he was doing all those things.
 It s bad enough they all know how I got pregnant. I refuse to look like another one of your
throwaway women. Or worse, so pathetic that I d be available to you whenever you came along. I m
neither and I never will be.
 They don t think that. But his gaze dropped to his feet.
 Everyone in this town, particularly in this house, knows the way I felt about you back then. You have
no idea what it s like to be looked at with pity by everyone you know. Do you think it ll be any different
when you move on to your next conquest? Because I m not like the others, Raul. I m not going to slink off
into the shadows and disappear into the fucking walls this time, am I?
Burn for Me
His head shot back up at her use of his words, eyes wide with shock. Which only served to make her
angrier. She spent all her time with Miranda and Trisha growing up she knew how to swear. Probably
better than he did. She just happened to have a better sense of control over her impulses.
 I still have to face these people. And so will your daughter. I d like a little dignity when I do.
The corners of his mouth were white and the lush curves were so hard they were nearly flat. Well,
fine. Let him be pissed off. It didn t change anything.
 We ll finish this later. His lips barely moved as he growled the words. She didn t bother arguing
more as he pushed off, leaving her alone on the deck.
Or so she thought.
 You have an interesting ability to put my son in his place. Thomas s graveled voice sounded
amused behind her.
Penelope half spun, catching him rising from a cushioned recliner tucked into the corner of the deck.
When he d come out, Raul probably hadn t even seen his father sitting there among the teenagers. Until
he d turned around. Well, that explained Raul s reticence, anyway.
She bit her lip when the older man gestured her to the deck chair next to him. A glance inside the
windows revealed no one listening nearby, which meant they d all already gotten an earful or no one
particularly cared about her little tiffs with their brother. They d care if she upset their patriarch, though.
 I think it s time we talked, güerita.
Apprehensive, Penelope crossed the deck to the chair next to him and dropped into it, knees together [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]