Need Me by Cynthia Eden Read Free Book Online Page A

security, but the system wasn’t on that night.”
    His hold tightened on her. “There are cameras
inside
the house?”
    She’d distracted him from the flash drive—good. She would be relieving him of that prize very soon. “Yes. I told you, Jeremy was always watching. Me. His house. Everything he owned.” A furrow appeared between Devlin’s brows and she mentally cursed herself for that slip. “He had extra security features installed at the house.”
So he could watch me and make sure I didn’t leave.
“But the system wasn’t turned on that night. I checked. The cops checked. Nothing was recorded the night he died.” Of course, she knew the cops just suspected that she’d destroyed any recordings, but she hadn’t.
    They would have proven my innocence.
    Right?
    “Oh, Julianna…” He said her name almost as if it were a caress. She shivered. “Why are you hiding secrets from me? I want to help you, but you’re making it so difficult.”
    Her heart was racing in her chest. “Please,” Julianna said, aware that she was nearly begging. “Just give me that flash drive.”
It had been right there, all along. Dammit!
    “Give me the truth,” Devlin ordered.
    She couldn’t,
wouldn’t
give it to him. It wasn’t just her life hanging in the balance.
    “Baby,” his voice roughened. “I’m going to look at whatever the hell is on that drive. You can’t hide from me forever.”
    No, no, she couldn’t. There was nowhere to hide. There was—
    Julianna didn’t pull away from him. She pressed closer. She put her body right against his and her hands rose to wrap around the back of his neck. Rising onto her toes, Julianna put her mouth to his.
    It was a wild, reckless move. A desperate act to stop his questions.
    It was…
    What she wanted.
    Because Julianna knew that once Devlin learned the full truth, he wouldn’t want to be close to her. He wouldn’t want to kiss her and touch her and caress her. He wouldn’t want to help her.
    He’d turn from her, and she’d be on her own.
    But I have him now. I can seize this moment—right now.
    He was tense, his muscles locked, as he growled against her lips, “What are you doing?”
    Screwing everything up.
She’d thought that when she kissed him, he’d react—he’d let the desire he felt pour out, wild and hot. Julianna had rather hoped they’d be clawing each other’s clothes off in that moment and that all of his questions would be forgotten.
    That wasn’t happening. Heat stained her cheeks as she eased back enough to admit, “I want you.”
    “You want the flash drive.”
    She shook her head. “That wasn’t—”
No, I wanted you, before you learned the truth about me from the flash drive.
“Forget it.” Could her humiliation get any worse? Probably not. She turned from him and headed for the door.
    “You can’t leave.” Flat. Hard.
    For an instant, past and present merged. Jeremy had told her those words, too, right in that same room. Right before he’d shown her the files on his computer. Files that the cops had never found—because they hadn’t recovered the flash drive.
    Something broke inside of her. Anger and fear and too much pain. “I can do any damn thing I want.” She ran, rushing out of the room. Julianna was sick of that place, sick of the memories, sick of the way her life had gone to hell.
    He called her name.
    She didn’t stop. She rushed past the staircase. She lunged for the door.
    He caught her. Devlin spun her around and pinned her against the front door. His breath was coming in hard pants and she knew he’d run after her. She hit out at him, desperate right then. Driven too far. “Let me go!”
    “Julianna!” He caught her arms and pushed them back against the door, chaining them in place. “What the hell is going on?”
    “You don’t want me, just let me—”
    He kissed her. Kissed her with a wild desire and a molten need. He kissed her the way she’d wanted him to kiss her back in that study.
    And Julianna