SEIZED Part 2: Steamy Romantic Suspense (Seize Me Romance Fiction Series) by JC Coulton Read Free Book Online Page B

pale.
    “I just stopped seeing the relevance.”
    I’ve hit on something. It’s big. I just know it. I sense immediately this is where her pain lies. So I don’t push it. Instead, I start to give her something different to think about. I tell her some truths of my own.
    “I had my heart broken too, Carrie. I dated this girl not long after we moved to New York. I thought she was a good friend. We used to talk and laugh and have so much fucking fun together. She drank too. She was the only woman I knew who could keep up with me.”
    Carrie looks at me carefully. “Did you love her?”
    “I thought I did, I wanted to be with her, I wanted to be around her but she was out of control.”
    I shake my head at the thought of Erica, and the antics we used to get up to.
    “She was so damn cool, Carrie—cool and ruthless when it came to protecting what was hers. I once saw her take a guy down for trying to buy her a drink, just because he went about it the wrong way. She was angry, you know? I’ve never met anyone so angry.”
    I want to say more, but just talking about Erica brings up memories I don’t want to relive. I see a look in Carrie’s eyes, like she’s uncomfortable. So I change the subject instead.
    “So how come you didn’t become a track star, Carrie?”
    I remember wondering about that when I first recognized her at the station. The last time I’d seen her run was when she was kicking ass at the competition for nationals all those years ago. It was a beautiful thing watching her. So fluid and powerful, her lean body streaked down the track with rhythmic strides. She had her curves back then too. She was sexy. And she’s sexy and sitting here with me right now. Fuck .
    Carrie doesn’t answer right away.
    “By final year there was so much to think about, college applications for starters. I decided to not go ahead with competing because I didn’t have time.”
    “Time?” I splutter, putting down my coffee cup. “You were amazing! It was your passion, I saw it in your eyes; and it oozed from your pores. How could you not make the time?”
    I’m certain I’ve gone too far the second it comes out.
    “You don’t understand Blake. You weren’t even there.”
    Her hurt is apparent in her tone. I need to tread carefully.
    “You’re right, I’m sorry, it’s none of my business. I just thought the next time I’d see you it’d be on the sports channel. Winning medals, or joining the Olympic team or something.”
    This calms her a little, and I take it she doesn’t want to fight either. There are so many sore spots between us; so much that’s unsaid and off limits; it can’t all be resolved at once.  It doesn’t help that there are too many other things to worry about first—like finding April.
    I’m trying to make nice, so I keep at the conversation.
    “So what about college, then? How did you decide to do media studies?”
    Her face brightens and I’m relieved it’s something she wants to share.
    “I just fell into it during one of my social justice lectures in first year. Print and Television media are a dying trade, but something about uncovering the lies and making people see the real truth appealed to me.”
    She grins and shakes her head. “I’m idealistic, I know. It was incredibly hard to get a placement. It really is an at-risk industry, the way the web has taken over. People watch and read what they want on demand these days, and it’s really hard to be the authority anymore.
    “The changes are affecting everyone in all types of media. I feel like it’s especially bad in Iowa. It’s like they know they need to catch up with the rest of the country, but they’re still a little unwilling to acknowledge the changes, to make moves towards creating content rather than sharing news. My boss especially.”
    I love hearing her talk about this stuff. I’m about to reach out and touch her arm to tell her.
    “So for now, I’m a researcher,” she finishes up looking slightly