GONE - Part Two (The GONE Series Book 2) by Deborah Bladon Read Free Book Online Page B

feels natural to me even after everything we've shared. "I know that this is about something else."
    "It's about my desperate desire to fuck you again, Lilly." He doesn't temper his tone at all. "It's more than that though. I've never met anyone like you. I want to know you. I want to spend time with you."
    He wants something that is buried just there below the surface where I can't see it clearly. "Is this still about the organ donation app?"
    "The app?" His brow furrows. "I told you that I was sorry I'd jumped to the conclusion I had about that."
    "What's going to happen if I decide to move forward with it and bring it to market?"
    "I would hope that it would become the success I know that it has the potential to be." He rakes his hand through his hair. "It's on the tip of the iceberg for you, Lilly. You're going to do amazing things in your career."
    "You're not going to have a team of lawyers at the ready to sue me for some sort of infringement on your sister's memory?" The words sound harsher than the intention that is fueling them. I'm not bitter. I'm simply trying to gain a sense of understanding about where his head really is.
    "I will do whatever I can to help you make the app a success. You can use any of my resources." He taps his finger on the edge of the table. "I mean it, Lilly. It's an important undertaking and I know that it's going to make a huge difference in the lives of many people. I'll do what I can to make it happen for you."
    I tilt my head to the side to run my hand through my hair in a thoughtless attempt to gather my emotions together. I don't hear or sense any ulterior motive brewing behind the words. He sounds honest and genuine but this is Clive Parker. The man has already proven to me that he can manipulate me in ways I don't see coming. "Would you sign something guaranteeing that you won't sue me over this?"
    His shoulders jerk back suddenly. "I don't have any legal right to sue you, Lilly. I'm sorry I threatened you with that."
    I feel relief wash over me but the question is still there, lingering in the air between us. "Would you sign something?"
    "I will sign anything you want me to." He leans forward in his chair, his hand skimming gently over the top of mine. "I want to protect you, Lilly. If I can prove that to you in any way, I'll do it."
     
    ***
     
    "Can I ask you something before you go up?" His hands are tucked into the pocket of his pants, his suit jacket hanging open. "Would that be okay?"
    I glance at the door to my building a few feet away. Even though Ben had texted me more than an hour ago apologizing for having to cancel our plans for the night, I hadn't told Clive that. He's still under the impression that I'm in a rush to get home because I have a friend stopping by. The truth is that I'm in a hurry to get upstairs so I can think within the peace that is my apartment. I need to process everything he said to me tonight and I can only do that if I'm by myself.
    "What do you want to ask me?" I toss the question at him as I fumble in my large purse for my keys.
    "How do you do it?" He sucks in a deep breath before he continues, "I mean, how do you manage as well as you do?"
    I stop what I'm doing to look up at his face. I catch the pain that is there the moment his eyes lock on mine. I know what he's asking. I can see it there, hiding behind the sheltered veil of control that is always at the surface of his demeanor.  "Do you want to come up for a few minutes?"
    "I do." The rasp in his voice catches me off guard. "Please let me."
     

Chapter 14
     
    "She died more than ten years ago." He teeters on the edge of one of the stools that sits next to the counter in my small kitchen. It's the only spot, other than the bedroom, where I can carry on a comfortable conversation with him.
    "You miss her a lot," I say because it's what I see every time I look at him. I know the face of grief. It stares back at me from the mirror on my bathroom wall every day when I'm readying to go to