The Enemy Within (Daughters of the People Series Book 3) by Lucy Varna Read Free Book Online Page A

another, with a short stint as a
teacher at another of the People’s centers in Europe. And about trivialities.
Books read recently, the best grocery stores outside of Tellowee, who was
dating whom in the insular community.
    Gradually, the
awkwardness faded between them. Sometimes, she thought Bobby might be holding
back, especially when he talked about Hiro and Drew. He was very open about
what he did share, though, and she tried to be as well. They were working
toward some sort of friendship, after all. If he touched her hair as they talked
or held her hand when they wandered through crowds, she put it down to his
solicitous nature. He was a toucher. She’d seen him do the exact same things
with his sisters, during that before time she refused to dwell on. If
her hand tingled from the warmth of his touch and sparked off a chain reaction
of dizzy heat that rocketed through every cell in her body, well, that was her
problem. She could deal with it.
    After lunch, he
drove her to a huge furniture store in Buford. Once inside, she paused in awe
of the sheer size of the selection.
    “Bobby, really.”
She looked around at row after row of furniture grouped into functional
settings for every room in the house. “I only need a serviceable sofa and a
bed. We’ll never sort through all of this in one day.”
    “Sure we will.”
He placed a hand on the small of her back. “C’mon.”
    Indigo allowed
him to guide her through a series of artfully arranged living areas. He stopped
at a grouping consisting of a large couch, a loveseat, and a recliner, along
with a coffee table, matching end tables, and more accessories than she would
ever need.
    She bit her lip
and searched for a polite way to tell him no. “I don’t need this much.”
    “You don’t have
to take the whole thing.” He grinned, took her hand, and led her toward the
couch. “Let’s try it out.”
    He sat in the
middle of the couch, pulled her down beside him, and draped a friendly arm
around her shoulders. A tang of his soap tickled her nose, sharp and masculine,
like Bobby. She shivered when his hand grazed her upper arm through the thin
sleeve of her blouse.
    The couch was
soft and cushy, easy to snuggle into. Maybe a little too easy, especially with
an attractive man sitting next to you with his arm draped over your shoulders. “This
is comfortable.”
    “Sturdy, too.”
He patted the cushion with his free hand. “Easy to clean. This model has a
fold-out bed.”
    “A useful addition.”
She turned to look at him and her breath caught in her throat. His mouth was
inches from her own, sensual and tempting. “You’ve done this before, I take
it.”
    “Mmm.” He rubbed
a finger over her lower lip, slowly, carefully, as if he were memorizing the
shape and texture. “The extra bed comes in handy when you’ve got a large
family.”
    “I suppose it
does,” she murmured. His gaze dropped to her mouth and his arm tightened around
her shoulders, drawing her closer, and she put a hand on his chest, to stop him
or encourage him, she didn’t know.
    He blinked and
drew back a moment before she heard footsteps approaching. Indigo stood, as
much to pull herself together as anything, and managed a smile for the salesman
walking toward them. The not-quite-kiss she shoved out of her mind. She
couldn’t do a thing about the heat that lingered from Bobby’s touch.
    In the end, she
chose to take the sofa and a recliner in a deep chocolate brown, not because
they were sturdy and easy to care for, but because Bobby looked so comfortable
there. Since he looked comfortable, she reasoned others would as well.
    Buying the sofa
had absolutely nothing to do with her sudden need to encourage him to drop by
her home. Nothing at all.
    Bobby talked her
out of looking for bedroom furniture at that store, saying only that he had
something else in mind. She let it go and set her attention to haggling the
price down on both pieces, then arranged for them to be delivered to