Heartless Rebel by Lynn Raye Harris Read Free Book Online Page B

was the other person sharing it with her. He encroached on her
space simply by breathing. Made her jumpy and achy all at once.
                 “I’d
hate to bump into your ribs in the night,” she said. The words were hardly more
than a whisper.
                 “I
appreciate your concern. But I don’t think that’s the reason.”
                 “Of
course it is,” she said.
                 “Get
in the bed, Cara. You can put the pillow between us if it makes you feel
better. To protect my ribs,” he added.
                 Was
that sarcasm she heard in his voice?
                 But
she was tempted. Because the floor would be hard, and because she was so tired
and achy already that she just wanted to sleep in a soft bed.
                 Tomorrow,
everything would look better, especially if she slept well. Her head would be
clear and she could think of what to do next. Of how to get home when her
passport and all her money was back in Nice.
                 “Fine,”
she said. “But if you touch me anywhere inappropriate, I’ll black your other
eye.”
                 Jack
only laughed.
     

  CHAPTER FOUR

 
                 JACK
slept fitfully. The injuries woke him from time to time, but it was the
proximity of the warm woman next to him and the dreams he sunk into whenever he
fell asleep that kept bringing him back to the surface. He wanted to reach for
her, pull her into the curve of his body and just hold her. Because he wanted
to be close to someone.
                 The
dreams hadn’t bothered him in years, but tonight they were back in force. His
father was a chameleon, making them all laugh and building a fabulous tree
house for them one moment, only to explode the next. The screaming and rage
rained down on him, on his brothers and sister, like fire from above. The tree
house was destroyed as the sobs of his younger siblings rent the air.
                 But
Jack had never cried when his father raged.
                 Unlike
the others, he’d always known when William was on the verge of cracking and
he’d mostly avoided his father’s wrath. But he’d ached for his siblings, for
the ones who seemed to draw William’s attention most of all. Tonight, it seemed
as if he was destined to relive those memories every time he closed his eyes.
                 And
he figured he knew why. Nathaniel’s wedding … the trip home. In a couple of
days, he would probably come face-to-face with Jacob again. Jacob, who he’d
looked up to and admired. Who he’d wanted to be exactly like when he was
growing up.
                 Until
Jacob had betrayed them. Until he’d left and they’d had to learn how to live
without him there to guide them. He’d loved Jacob, but Jacob hadn’t loved
him—them—enough to stay.
                 Though
it hurt like hell, he pushed himself up and swung his legs from the bed. If one
of Bobby’s men hadn’t delivered a blow that had knocked him unconscious, he’d
hate to think of the sort of shape he’d be in now. Because they would have kept
punching until they did more damage than just a few bruised ribs.
                 “What
are you doing?” Cara cried, scrambling up beside him.
                 “Looking
for something to drink.”
                 “I’ll
get it. You stay there.”
                 He
hated being dependent, hated that she’d had to help him undress when it wasn’t
for pleasure. But he let her get up and go to the minifridge. When she bent
down and opened it up, the interior light shone on her bare legs, on the curves
of her bottom beneath the towel she still wore. His body reacted, in spite of
the aches and pains.
                 “There’s
water, juice, soda—”
                 “Water’s
fine.”
                 She
twisted off the cap