Sacrifice of Passion (Deadly Legends) by Melissa Bourbon Ramirez Read Free Book Online

button-down shirt hung like a thin curtain between them, the fabric of her floral dress not nearly enough of a barrier against his proximity. Her nipples pulled as he moved a breath closer. The warmth that had settled low in her gut moved down, her thighs tingling with arousal, heat centering between her legs.
    “We’re both still pissed off. If you plan on staying in San Julio, we’re going to see each other. I don’t want all this anger and frustration hanging over me. This is the only way I can let go of the past.” His gaze pinioned hers, then swept down to the swell of her breasts, his fingers tracing her jawline.
    She shivered from the touch. She might as well have been naked in front of him, the way he made her body come alive.
    “And I bet,” he said, “that you need to let go, too.”
    She laughed, struggled for air, the sound growing hysterical. “I’ve been trying to let go of the past for years. Sleeping with you isn’t going to make it happen.”
    He hesitated, and then ran the back of his fingers over her cheek. Her knees started to give again. His voice grew seductive. “I’m tired of wondering…”
    Oh, God. She swallowed, then knocked his hand away. “I’ve never wondered,” she lied.
    Another heavy moment of silence sat between them. Maybe he was right and all she needed to let go of the past was to sleep with Vic. Get him out of her system. But she didn’t have to test that theory.
    At length, he stepped back. “Okay,” he said lightly, but she could see his eyes cloud. “You know where to find me if you change your mind.”
    Delaney shook her head and headed back up the stairs. “Don’t worry, I won’t.”
    Now she just had to convince herself.
    …
    A little while later, Delaney sat opposite Carmen at a little table in El Charro’s dining room. They’d leaned in, head to head, and Delaney had told her everything. Well, almost everything. Carmen gripped her hand, squeezing as Delaney told her what had happened after Vic hadn’t shown up that night, and how her nightmares and sleepwalking had invaded every pore of her body and taken over every moment of her life. But she couldn’t tell Carmen about the rape. She wasn’t ready.
    “Maybe he’s right,” Carmen said. “It started with Vic. Maybe it needs to end with him.” Carmen had always been the optimist. From the time she and her sister, Jo, had lost their mother, Carmen had never given up her desire for a happy ending. She hadn’t found it yet, but she’d keep trying.
    Delaney was more cynical, but then, she had good reason. There was no such thing as a happy ending. The night she’d planned on eloping with Vic had seen to that.
    “Sleeping together is not going to help anything.” She’d tried to dull her senses in a slew of ways, and nothing had ever worked. Not therapy. Not alcohol. Nothing made her sleepwalking go away. Sex with Vic wouldn’t be a magic charm, either.
    “If I can help…” Carmen’s words trailed off.
    It was a nice offer, but there wasn’t anything anybody could do. “Let’s dance.” Delaney grabbed Carmen’s hand and pulled her to the crowded dance floor. She turned her back to the bar, but there was no mistaking the heat of Vic’s gaze on her. He had some nerve suggesting that “deal.” The Rio Grande would freeze over before she would ever accept.
    Vic Vargas could try all he wanted, but she’d show him just how out of the realm of possibility his deal actually was.
    …
    Vic felt like a damn Peeping Tom, the way he watched Delaney. He’d seen the longing in her eyes when he’d had her up against the wall. Seen her commiserate with Carmen at a little table in the dining room. She seemed shaken, but the fact was, he was shaken, too. If she wasn’t willing to bury their past, he had no choice but to get her the hell out of his mind.
    The band was in full swing, raucous laughter coming from the dance floor. Vic tracked the sounds, saw Delaney shimmying, arms bent over her head.