Beast in the Tower
Page 21
“Oh, Damon.” She cupped his face in her hands.
“No, let me get through this.” He pulled her hands from his face and stepped back, letting her read the blend of need and uncertainty on his face. “My hands are never going to look any better than this. My face isn’t gonna get handsome. I can work on the moods. But I want to ask you…I need to ask you…are you sure what you feel for me isn’t morbid fascination? Or gratitude? Or even just lust?”
Kit tipped her head, considering that poignant admission of humanity in his words. “I love you, Damon. The scars and synthetic skin don’t matter. I love the man you are inside—the man you are in spite of, or maybe because of, your scars.”
He studied the sincerity in her eyes. Then his mouth curved with a wry laugh. “Ironic. That’s what I told Miranda after the first fire. When there was still a hint of the woman I once loved inside her.”
She waited a telling moment. “Okay, Dr. Logic. Did you believe it? When you said those words to Miranda, did you mean them?”
He did. The light went on. The smile reappeared. “Yes.”
She reached for him then. “I love you. Believe that.”
“What do you want, Kit? Anything, it’s yours. Just name it.”
“I want you.”
“Done.” He closed the distance between them, folded her into his arms and kissed her until they were both shaking with need. When he pulled away, his rusty voice held a mischief she’d never heard before. A boyish self-assurance she loved. “Now ask for something else.”
“Will you continue mentoring Matt? He really seems to like and respect you.”
“Absolutely. I want to. Now ask for something tough.”
She thought a moment. Felt a little mischievous herself. She dropped her voice to a seductive whisper. “Show me your tattoo.”
“Who told you I had a tat…” Damon shook his head and spun away, heading for the kitchen door. “Helen!”
Kit jumped down from the counter and hurried after him. She caught his hand and laughed. He held her tight—trading strengths, trading hope, trading love—and walked with her, together, into the diner.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-6760-6
BEAST IN THE TOWER
Copyright © 2007 by Julie Miller
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†The Taylor Clan
†The Taylor Clan
†The Taylor Clan
†The Taylor Clan
*The Precinct
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*The Precinct
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