Status Updates From Caitlin's Choice

He shook her shoulders, but with a trace of tenderness. “I don’t ever want to hear you refer to yourself as a whore. Is that clear?” She snuggled closer to him. “Yes, sir.” “As for the money, that is a secret known only to your father and now your brother. Not even Maggie knows. So I don’t want to hear it mentioned ever again. You gave me my family. I gave you yours. I’d say that makes us even.”

Long after her breathing had returned to normal, she gazed into his eyes. God, how she loved this man. She wanted to tell him, but the words died on her lips as he pressed a kiss against her mouth. Perhaps it was just as well that she didn’t tell him. If he didn’t share her feelings, she didn’t want to know. At least, not yet.

As she passed in front of him, she dug her spiked heel into his foot. He didn’t acknowledge the excruciating pain. “I hope you didn’t want the window seat. I had them give it to Tyler.” “I can see that, Andrew. I’m not blind as well as stupid.” She wasn’t taking this as well as he had imagined. “Nothing is as bad as you think.”

Can I help it if his touch turns my legs to Jell-O and my brains to spaghetti?” “Why don’t you tell him and put the man out of his misery?” “He already knows. I won’t give him the satisfaction of hearing me say it.” When she had agreed to Andrew’s bargain, the last thing she’d envisioned was falling for him again. Until Andrew trusted her enough to give her back her freedom, she couldn’t trust him with her heart.

Her impassioned words surprised him. “I can’t figure you. You claim to care nothing for me, yet you get in a snit over my dietary habits.” “Snit? You’re picking up your vocabulary from Maggie. Just because I think you’re an overbearing, pigheaded skunk doesn’t mean I don’t care what happens to you.” “Why, thank you,” he chuckled. “That was touching, Caitlin.”

If she didn’t pull herself together, she would give Andrew even more ammunition to use against her. “I’m sorry,” she said coolly. “Right back to square one, huh, Caitlin?” “I don’t know what you mean.” His face changed to a grim mask. “For a few moments you forgot I was the enemy and you opened up to me. And that scared the hell out of you, didn’t it?

His mother had become a nasty, bitter woman. And Leslie! She lived her life from the bottom of a gin bottle. At twenty-one, she looked older than Caitlin’s twenty-eight years. Not that he had won any awards in the decency department himself. Until last year, when his treatment of Caitlin had given him a wake-up call, he had been no better.

You had no right.” “I don’t want my son riding around in one of those tin boxes. You needed something bigger, safer.” “What did you lease, a tank?” “No. A Volvo.” “Are you out of your mind?” she snapped. “I can’t afford the payments on that.” “You’re not paying.”

I know his name is Tyler. What’s his full name?” “Figure it out, Andrew. My last name is Adams. I’m not married, therefore his name must be . . . Can you guess it yet? Tyler Adams.” “There’s no need for all this sarcasm. I meant does he have a middle name?” “Why all the interest? Since you’re not going to see him after today, what’s the difference?

He wanted her again. He should have told her the truth before asking her to spend the night. Omission might not be the same as lying, but it was damned close. He certainly hadn’t planned to have her in his bed this morning, sleeping off an incredible night of lovemaking. He hadn’t planned any of what happened the night before. But would she believe him? A painful knot tightened in his stomach.

Readm/m 3/2015

Another spiteful heroine! oh joy...