Dangerous Refuge by Elizabeth Lowell Read Free Book Online Page A

more about his uncle than he already knew.
    Maybe that was why Tanner kept looking back at the natural blonde in the unnatural setting. She was real. The rest of the people were onstage.
    He walked close enough to see that her eyes were clear brown, probably deep amber in daylight and dark crystal in artificial light. Her tight smiles didn’t hide the aura of sadness that clung to her. She didn’t wear enough makeup to conceal the dusting of freckles across her high cheekbones. Her mouth was wide, full, and not painted on. Either she had nibbled off her lip dye or wore only a pale gloss. She brought her glass up to her lips with her left hand, but didn’t actually drink.
    So much that he’d missed last night in his anger at being summoned back to a place he wanted to forget. And couldn’t.
    No rings. No trophy jewelry. What is a single woman like her doing in this plastic party set?
    There were several ways to answer that question, but only one of them appealed to Tanner. He moved closer to her, close enough to smell her light perfume.
    “I think you’re the only person here who is genuinely sad at Lorne’s death,” Tanner said. “And I owe you an apology.”
    Shaye took a quick half breath and turned fully toward the man she had watched across the room. He was standing within easy reach now, as close as he had been last night.
    But tonight he didn’t look and act like a grizzly bear.
    “A lot of people are sad,” she said carefully. “I’m just not as good as they are at hiding it. Don’t tell me you came here to mourn. I won’t believe you, even if you do have his eyes.”
    “My dad turned red every time he heard that,” Tanner said. “I’m sorry I was such a dick last night.”
    “Really?” she said, surprised.
    “Let’s start over,” he said, holding out his hand. “My name is Tanner Davis.”
    “Shaye Townsend,” she said automatically, shaking his hand.
    Her touch was cool, polite. Hesitant. Like her eyes.
    He wanted to replace hesitation with heat.
    Should have been polite last night, stupid.
    “I wasn’t expecting visitors last night,” he said, holding her hand. “Hell, I wasn’t expecting to be in the state.”
    “I’m sorry. Your uncle’s death must have been a shock.”
    “Yes,” he said, meaning it for the first time. “For you, too.”
    He squeezed her fingers gently.
    She realized she was still holding on to his hand. She tried to let go, only to find her fingers tangled with his.
    “I don’t think anyone gets used to death,” he said. Then he thought about what he’d said the first time they met. “Or should.”
    And that was another truth he hadn’t thought about in years.
    She looked at his eyes again and realized they weren’t exactly like Lorne’s. They were both darker and more clear. And they were too old to belong to a man whose hair was black instead of silver.
    Belatedly she realized she was staring.
    And still holding his hand.
    No, he was holding hers. Before she could pull back, he gently let her fingers slide free. It felt like a caress. The dark blue eyes she had first thought of as bleak were anything but. He looked at her mouth like a man with some thorough tasting in mind.
    “Do you have a rude, identical twin?” she asked. Then she heard her own words and blushed. “Sorry, I must have an evil twin, too.”
    He smiled, then laughed. “We’re quite a pair. Or is it a quartet?”
    “Just make sure there are no sharp objects around and we’ll do fine.”
    “Truce?” he asked, taking her hand again.
    “Ah, sure. I guess.” She shook her head. “Ignore my inner teenager. Truce.”
    “Did you know Lorne well?” he asked.
    I shouldn’t have come here tonight, she thought. I’m not ready for this. I’m not ready to look at Lorne’s ghost. A really sexy ghost.
    “Yes. No.” She shook her head again.
    Wrong place, wrong time.
    “Why?” he asked.
    She stared. “Are you a mind reader?”
    His smile was as slow as it was hot. “Only