Fairytale by MAGGIE SHAYNE Read Free Book Online Page A

recognize me, too, don’t you?”
    She shook her head, taking a single backward
step. “No.”
    “You do so. I can see it in your eyes. So
come on, tell me, where did we meet?”
    She closed her eyes, lowered her head. “It
can’t be...”
    “Gee, was it that bad?” He dipped his head in
an effort to see her downturned face, and tried to inject a little
lightness, because frankly the woman looked as if she’d seen a
ghost. “It was that bad? Hmm, maybe I’m better off not
remembering.”
    “I have to go.”
    “Oh, come on. Give me another chance, huh?
Isn’t there a rule somewhere that says you can’t blame a guy for
stuff he doesn’t even remember?”
    She shook her head, turned toward the door.
.
    “Okay, what if I can find a way to make room
for you in the class?” Damn, what made him say that?
    She went still, her back to him. And Adam had
no idea why he felt such an incredible longing to go to her, to
touch her. It was powerful stuff. Made him think of that damned
text he’d just been reading to the students.
    “I’ve...I’ve changed my mind,” she said
softly, her voice a little hoarse.
    And it hit him then, clear as day, that she
was lying to him. She wanted something, all right, but
taking his class wasn’t it. No doubt in his mind. Though how he
knew that, he still wasn’t sure. What he did know was that nothing
was more dangerous than a beautiful, dishonest woman. Especially
one who looked the way she did. She was probably ruthless to the
bone. Deadly to him. He felt her subtle threat right to his soul.
But he felt this sudden, inexplicable allure, too.
    Sirens and rocks, he reminded himself.
    And even as he was nodding in agreement with
his mind’s silent warnings, his body was moving toward her. His
hands were closing on her shoulders. “Tell me how you know me,” he
said softly. “It’s gonna drive me nuts if I can’t remember.”
    “I can’t,” she said as her chin fell to her
chest.
    It was a whisper, so low he barely caught it.
Something wasn’t right here, and his curiosity rose up to challenge
his wariness. It didn’t put a dent in his attraction to this
strange, familiar woman, though. “Maybe if you’d just tell me who
you are...”
    She turned to look up at him once more, shook
her head from side to side, sparkling moisture adding a sheen to
her eyes.
    “Are those tears?” he asked her, running the
tip of his thumb over her dampened cheek as his stomach clenched
oddly at the sight of her crying. “Look, if there’s something
wrong, maybe I can—”
    She lifted her hand, laid it gently upon his
as he touched her face, and stared so deeply into his eyes, he felt
his world begin to tilt on its axis. Very slowly, he trailed his
fingertips down the side of her face, tracing the curve of her
cheekbone, and the hollow beneath it, and the line of her jaw. And
she closed her eyes, and he felt the hand upon his tremble.
    And then she jerked away, eyes flying wide.
“No,” she whispered, and backed away as if his touch burned her.
Then even more softly she said it again. “No. You’ll be far better
off if you stay away from me, Adam Reid.” She turned and ran out of
the room. And though she seemed agitated, desperate to escape, Adam
later couldn’t recall hearing her footfalls when she raced down the
hall. Which was odd, because footsteps in that hallway tended to
echo nonstop.
     

Chapter Two
     
    Him! My God, it was him!
    Brigit ran all the way to her car, but when
she tried to fit her keys to the lock, she dropped them. And then
she just stood there, fighting to control her suddenly rapid
breathing. Her hands vibrated, and she braced them on the warm
metal of the car, arms rigid, head lowering between them. She tried
for a deep, steady breath but it became an open-mouthed gasp. Her
heart hammered. Her pulse thundered in her ears.
    This wasn’t possible!
    But it had happened. Only moments ago, she’d
looked into the eyes of the man she’d dreamed about, on and