Explosive Passion by Marissa Dobson Read Free Book Online

could help it.
    “Damn it.” He dragged his hand over his buzz cut. “That’s not what I meant.”
    “Then what did you mean?” She kept her tone hard, hiding her emotions.
    “The call was from my mother.” He clenched his fist, just thinking about the call made him angry. “My father was in a car accident…it’s bad.”
    “I’m sorry.” She shot off the bed, came to him and pressed her body against his, holding him tight.
    “I’ve got to go to them. I’m sorry. Our weekend will have to be rescheduled.” He ran his hands up her back, needing to feel her against him while he gathered the strength to deal with the curse he called family.
    “Don’t worry about the weekend, we’ll do it later. Your family is more important.”
    “No, sweet cheeks, you’re wrong there. You’re more important.” He kissed the top of her head. “They’re an obligation I must deal with. It’s worse than a deployment, at least then I know what I’m getting into. My family is a whole different can of worms.”
    “We’ll get through it. I’ll be right by your side.”
    Every muscle in his body went stiff. “No. You’ll stay here.”
    “What?” She looked up at him, her eyes filled with uncertainties. “I thought you’d want my support.”
    “I do, but not there. You don’t understand my family or what you’d be getting into.”
    “I don’t care about them. I want to be there for you. What’s wrong with that?”
    “You’ll have to deal with their hatred toward me. I had planned for you to never have to deal with them.” His mother’s cruel tongue had already been wagging enough on the phone, degrading him. He didn’t want her to have to deal with that.
    “I want to be there for you.” She ran her hand up his chest. “You have no idea what you’re about to walk into or if your father will make it. If you’re going home to a hostile environment then you need me. If you’re worried things will change between us because of your family, don’t be. They have nothing to do with what’s between us.”
    “You have no idea what you’d be walking into. They won’t curb their hostility just because you’re there. It could be worse and I have no doubt that they will try to take some of it out on you. You shouldn’t have to deal with that.”
    “I’d walk through fire for you, aggression from your family is nothing compared to that.” She ran her finger over his cheek. “Where are we heading?”
    “Minneapolis.” Saying his hometown sent dread through him. He didn’t want to go there or see his family. Though if his father was actually dying, as his mother claimed, then it was his duty. Fourteen years.
    “Guess that means I should make plane reservations while you pack. If we have time I need to go to my condo and grab a few other things before we leave.” She rose up onto her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his lips.
    “I’m going to owe you big for this.” He hugged her tight, not willing to let her go yet. “Leave the dates open, we’ll fly back as soon as we know how my father is. If he’ll live we’ll be on a plane back tonight.”
    “However long you’ll need,” she reassured him. “Where’s your laptop? I left mine at home.”
    “On the coffee table in the living room, my credit card is in my wallet.” He nodded at the dresser, trying to get his thoughts in order.
    “I’ll deal with it. Are you okay?”
    “Going home after fourteen long years of having little to no contact with any of them makes me sick.” He leaned his head back against the wall, making a solid thump as it connected. “One of the men on the team said going home always makes him feel like a child again, but for me it’s sickening. They call and I jump, even after all they’ve said and all I know they’ll do when I arrive.”
    “You go because even through all the shit they’ve put you through, you still care about them. I’ll apologize for saying this upfront, but everything you told me about your