THIRTY-FIVE

DORIS' EYES wavered as Brad stared right back at her, his dull eyes wide and unblinking. She felt her heart skip a beat as their gazes locked, and she couldn't help but smile.

Uh. . .!" In a need to avoid the awkward moment, Doris asked, "How do you feel? Are you still in pain?"

Brad did not respond to her questions. He just kept staring at her. His silence was deafening, and his unblinking stare sent shivers down her spine. She felt as if she was being scrutinized, and examined under a microscope, and it made her feel vulnerable and uncertain. The tension in the air was palpable, and she held her breath, waiting for him to say something, anything, to break the silence.

But he did not and as his gaze lingered, she could feel the temperature in the room rising, or perhaps it was just her own body heating up under his intense scrutiny.

She expected him to flare up and begin to remind her how many laws she'd just broken by stealing a kiss from someone without their consen