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BOOK 5
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Being Yours BOOK 5
On Monday morning, Cliff heard her laughter before he saw her and his head snapped back with enough force to jar him. The joyful sound of that laughter sliced into him, and, though he’d never heard her laugh before, he knew exactly who was in the corridor. Even his second of advance warning wasn’t enough to prepare him adequately. Grant, entering after a brief knock, ushered her in, beaming as if he’d personally followed the rainbow and located the pot of gold. ‘Look who’s joining us after all,’ he said to Cliff. Cliff rose to his feet. ‘Miss Castle,’ he said, wishing his voice had sounded stronger, hoping its ragged edge hadn’t given away the strength o the jolt the sight of her had produced. How could merely looking at her make him dizzy? Dammit, it hadn’t. His immediate and potent response to this woman ... woman? — hell, she was scarcely deserving of the term — this girl, could be put down to his having stood too abruptly, or having overslept and missed breakfast. It had nothi
Being Yours BOOK 5
“It's going to be great, guys!’ Lynne flopped back on her motel room bed following her first day at work. Her brother and sister-in-law, each of whom was on an extension phone in their home, tried to speak at once, but Lynne cut them off. ‘After I accepted the job, I had lunch with the junior partner, then spent the rest of the day getting my office organized.’ She laughed. “Though “‘office’”’ is something of an exaggeration, I have to admit. There’s room for a small desk, a computer, a visitor’s chair, and me and not much else. But at least it has a window.’ ‘With a view?’ Ann asked. In the background Lynne heard baby Mandy fussing. ‘A view of a perfectly gorgeous gray concrete wall,’ Lynne said. ‘I’m hoping some enterprising artist will paint a beautiful scene on it, but I’m not holding my breath.’ She laughed. ‘Even some graffiti would be an improvement, but unless it was so innocuous as to be totally uninteresting, I’m sure Cliff Foreman would personally paint over it. He’s as
Being Yours BOOK 5
Littte boats scurried out of the way as even the behemoth car ferry responded to the forces of tide racing through Active Pass, being forced this way, that way, its path twisting and turning between the close shores of the two islands flanking the pass. The warm, gold and green slopes of Galiano Island to the left and Mayne Island to the right rose in rocky humps, their broken reflections dancing sunlit in the sea. Lynne’s coppery hair flew around her face until she turned into the wind, which then molded her soft silk blouse to her shape, forcing Cliff to avert his eyes. ‘What would you do if a big, international accounting firm moved in next door and started undercutting your rates, taking your clients away from you and you had to start laying off employees?’ she asked, surprising him by bringing up the subject again. ‘I wouldn’t like it, but I’d have to learn to live with it.” He shrugged. “Then, on the other hand, maybe I would like it.” Putting his hands on her shoulders, awar
Being Yours BOOK 5
'She’s all clean and changed, Mommy,’ Lynne said, glancing at her sister-in-law. ‘And she really was awake. I heard her when I went in to put the coffee on.’ ‘Right,’ Ann said, disbelief in her tone, but her expression held nothing but loving indulgence. Lynne continued to rock the baby, stroking a finger tenderly along the Mandy’s cheek. In response to that touch, a small, pursed mouth made sucking motions as the infant turned her head toward Lynne’s breast. ‘Wrong fountain, angel-face,’ she said with a laugh, dropping a kiss on the soft, downy, pale red hair before passing the baby over to Ann. ‘Better go see your mom.’ Ann, quite unselfconsciously, discreetly lifted her T-shirt, snuggled the baby close and let her nurse. Cliff looked at Lynne, and the heavy, dragging pain grew to unmanageable proportions. ‘I have to go,’ he said, abruptly shoving back his chair. ‘Thanks for dinner.’ ‘Oh, dear, I’ve embarrassed you,’ Ann said. ‘I’m sorry. Come on, Lynnie, let’s us girls go ins
Being Yours BOOK 5
Lynne spent the next hour wandering through the main floor and basement, making notes of pieces of furniture she thought would fit in her apartment. There was so much here! All her mother’s things, all Taylor had bought when he had his own apartment, and all of Ann’s things as well. In the basement were boxes and boxes of dishes, cutlery, knick-knacks and linens. There’d be no difficulty finding enough. The difficulty would be in trying to choose. Tomorrow, she reminded herself. She’d worry about it tomorrow. Now, she’d go to bed, sleep like a log, and be ready for a hard day’s work. But, as she lay there breathing in the perfumed breeze, picking out the individual aromas of nightscented stocks, nasturtiums and freshly cut grass, sleep was far away. She wandered to the balcony and watched the moon reflect on the water of the river, silvering a rippled path that seemed to arrow right into her heart the way Cliff’s kiss had. No. He was too old. He really didn’t like her. He was all s
Being Yours BOOK 5
Mindful that Lynne had left her bicycle in the office building over the weekend, Cliff arrived at her house Monday morning in what he thought would be plenty of time to offer her a ride to work. Once he learned from the old man upstairs she had set out walking half an hour before, he slammed his car door so hard, it likely did internal damage to its workings. Why couldn’t she have waited for him? Didn’t it occur to her that he’d come by to get her? When he arrived at the office, she was safely ensconced behind her desk, peering at the top sheet of a sheaf of papers as Joe tapped a pencil on it and explained something to her. Unseen, Cliff watched as Lynne slanted a smile up at Joe and thanked him for his help. Before they could notice him, he slipped into his own office and shut the door. All the rest of the day, he forced himself to keep his office door closed, to ignore the sound of Lynne’s voice, her laughter, both of which he heard during the lunch break. He knew half the men
Being Yours BOOK 5
Stay away from her. Cliff clenched his teeth and repeated the sentence over and over silently every time he found himself drawn to Lynne’s office during the next week. He checked once per day to make sure she wasn’t having any difficulty with the tasks he assigned her, but beyond that, he kept to himself. It did him no good at all and it was his own fault. He’d kissed her that evening upon leaving her brother’s home. And he’d kissed her again outside her apartment. What a fool! If he hadn’t done that, he wouldn’t remember the soft trembling of her lips, the way they’d parted shyly for him, the feel of her in his arms. Her scent somehow lingered in his car, even days after she’d last been in it. She invaded his dreams at night to the point where he wondered if he should even bother trying to sleep. When it became impossible to escape thoughts of her, he’d put on jogging clothes and run until he was physically exhausted. Sometimes after that he could get a few hours’ rest. When, one
Being Yours BOOK 5
“Yesss ...’ His breath whistled in and out and then, as she made the same motion again with her hand, he capitulated. He covered her hand with his and moved it just the way he wanted, then, only moments later, he tore it from him and entered her in one strong thrust that filled her with his power, sent need spiraling again deep inside her. This time, he moved slower, holding her so she couldn’t increase the pace, taking it slowly, kissing ‘her eyelids, her face, her mouth, all the while stroking in and out of her with a deliberate rhythm. The sensations grew stronger, rippling through her, sending her head tossing from side to side, making her squeeze her eyes tightly shut. ‘Look at me,’ he said raggedly, and she opened her eyes to see the darkness of his turned even blacker, lines of strain in his face, his mouth a hard, taut slash. She managed to lift one trembling hand and cup his cheek with her palm. He pressed his lips into it, thrusting with his tongue as he thrust with his bo
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