2. Come Be My Love by Annette Broadrick Read Free Book Online Page A

had to get some sleep.
    ❧
    Brandi saw the men coming after her and tried to turn and get away, but one of her skis wouldn't move. She tugged and tugged, frantic to escape. She could hear them shouting and running toward her—big men dressed in white sheets with masks pulled down over their heads.
    They were almost upon her. She broke out of her skis and tried to run through the snow, but it was so deep that she couldn't move. She tried to run... she struggled. They were gaining on her. She couldn't get away!
    "Brandi? Honey, it's okay. It's just a dream. You're all right. I'm here. No one's going to hurt you."
    The soft, soothing words managed to seep through her anguished mind, and Brandi opened her eyes. She'd been dreaming. The covers were wrapped around her so tightly that she couldn't move, which explained the sensation of being trapped in her dream. Tears wet her face, and she was breathing in sobbing gasps.
    Greg hadn't turned on the lights, but she recognized his voice and his shadowy outline on the bed beside her.
    "Greg?"
    He smoothed her hair away from her forehead.
    "I'm right here."
    "Oh, Greg, it was so awful." Her shuddering breaths hurt her lungs.
    "I know, love, I know," he murmured, gathering her into his arms and holding her close. He could feel the rapid beating of her heart against his chest. Her breathing was rapid and shallow.
    Greg continued to hold her close, murmuring soothing phrases until she began to slowly relax in his arms. When he eventually loosened his hold, she stirred.
    "Please don't leave me."
    When Greg had heard her cry out earlier, his first thought had been to reach her side. He hadn't taken time to dress before racing up the stairs. She was still too caught up in her dream to realize that he was sitting there with very little on.
    "Go to sleep, little one. Nothing's going to harm you."
    "Stay with me," she whispered. "Please."
    He could not resist the appeal in her voice. Knowing that he was putting a great deal of strain on his already weakened willpower, Greg mentally acknowledged this latest test of his character and crawled under the covers with her.
    Brandi curled up against his chest like a kitten and sighed, arms draped around him. Despite the discomfort of having her so close and knowing he was not going to do anything about it, Greg found himself relaxing.
    It felt good to hold Brandi in his arms again. He was reassured by her trust in him, even though he recognized that it might be no more than the fact that she had no one else to trust. He had learned something important that day—to take pleasure in the present moment. He intended to do just that.
    ''What the hell is going on?"
    Greg fought his way from a distant oblivion in order to make sense of the noise that seemed to be filling his head. He forced his eyes open and saw a dangerously irate redheaded man standing by the side of the bed. Greg's eyes drifted closed. He felt as though he'd just managed to fall asleep, and now there was someone—
    He shot up in the bed. "Tim! When did you get here?" He glanced around and saw that Brandi was still sound asleep, although she had been curled up by his side before he'd moved.
    The full picture of what Tim must have seen when he'd come up the stairs hit Greg. If Greg had any doubts about the conclusions that Tim had drawn, he had only to look at the ominously cold stare coming from his friend's normally smiling blue eyes.
    Tim Walker was a few inches short of sue feet tall, but no one meeting him ever thought of him as small. His wide shoulders, muscled arms and broad chest created the image of a man you wouldn't want to tangle with. Greg glanced down at his watch. It was five o'clock in the morning, certainly not a time he'd choose for a confrontation with Tim Walker when he was upset.
    Greg hastily headed downstairs to where he'd left his clothes. "I can explain—"
    "You're damn right you will," Tim growled, following closely on his heels. He stood with his hands hanging