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was nothing but an act suddenly and it made it all ugly and dirty.
Anger tightened Navarro s face.  It wasn t and damn it, you know how much I
want you every damn time I touch you. I wasn t acting. You can t really believe that shit
now, can you?
 I didn t want to. I wanted to talk to you in the bar but you were so damn cold and
it just hurt. You humiliated me with that comment you made. I know no one but me
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understood it but it really hurt. Then your ex-girlfriend showed up and&  She paused.
 That really hurt. I have no right but God, it just tore me to shreds seeing you together. I
was jealous and she was touching you and& it just tore me up. It still does.
Navarro looked at the floor. Trina stared at him. His face was a little pale and he
was chewing on his bottom lip. His gaze rose and she saw guilt radiating from his eyes.
It was so clear an expression that she could read it easily. Inside, pain stabbed at her
heart. She closed her eyes, turning away, as tears burned behind her eyelids.
 I take it that you re back with her? Her voice was so soft she questioned if he
even heard her.
 No. His voice was firm.
Trina studied his features as she opened her eyes, carefully trying to judge the look
in his steady gaze to see if she could read honesty or not. He didn t look away from her.
 We re not back together. Yes, she was with me in town today but it wasn t because
she was invited or I wanted to eat a meal with her. She just saw us and sat down at our
table.
She wanted to believe him desperately.  But you ve slept with her recently, right?
It took every ounce of her courage to ask the question, knowing that his answer could
tear her apart in a hundred different ways.
Navarro stared at her.  She kissed me but that was it. I thought about sleeping with
her to get even with you, to be honest, but I just wanted you regardless of how angry
and hurt I was thinking you d lied to me. I couldn t stomach her touch with you on my
mind so I went home alone.
Desperation gripped her, hoping he was telling the truth, and then feeling
disgusted with herself over how eager she was to believe him. She took a deep breath,
trying to rein in her emotions. She d gotten hurt, she didn t want a repeat of it, and she
was still reeling from the pain she d suffered.
 It doesn t matter, she lied.  It was probably better that this happened because it
was a bad idea from the beginning. I don t know what I was thinking to proposition
you that way. It was crazy and now it s over.
 No, Navarro snapped. He shook his head, taking a step toward her.  I won t let
you go, babe. It s just not going to happen. I can t walk away from you or I know I ll
spend the rest of my life regretting it. We are going to work this out, it s that damn
simple, and I won t take no for an answer. You need to give us another shot.
Confusion, pain and frustration slammed her on all sides.  What do I even say to
that? What do you expect from me?
He shrugged.  I don t know. I m just trying to be honest. I want you, damn it, and I
want it the way it was. I want you to come to my house at eight o clock at night after I
spend all day thinking up fantastic shit that I want to do to you. I want you to walk into
my bedroom, strip when I tell you to and I want you happy because you make me
happy. How do I get you back, Trina? How do I do that, babe? Will getting on my knees
to beg work? You could bring me to them. If I had a time machine I d take us back to
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Saturday morning when you kissed me goodbye and when I thought that Sunday night
you d be right back in my bed. I was happy then.
She stared up at him, astonished.  You just want to pretend none of this happened
and just go back to the way it was before I left?
 Desperately. He nodded.  I d give anything to be back in that place we were.
She stared at him, seeing total sincerity there. She also saw pain his features.  Will
you answer me a few things?
 Anything.
 Would you ever trust me and not instantly assume I m lying because your ex-wife
was the way she was or will I have to deal with this over and over if we give it another
shot? If you hear something will you swear to ask me before you just accept it?
He flinched.  I learned an important lesson and I ll trust you. It s just that you were
too good to be true, babe. I was looking for the brick to hit me in the head so when
Ryder handed it to me, I believed the blow was real. You re just& hell, as I said, too
good to be true.
 What do you mean, I m too good to be true? She stared at him with astonishment.
 I m not.
He walked to the couch and sat down hard.  You loved your husband. He jerked
his head toward the mantle.  The guy is dead and you still have his picture up. Nobody
has ever loved me that way. He was shooting blanks even and you didn t give a damn. I
tell women I m sterile and they run. I told you the truth and you re the only woman
who ever tried to comfort me. You didn t look at me with pity, horror, or treat me like
I m half a man. I ve had women react that way. He paused.  A few even joked about it
and it was downright mean. Try to imagine standing there hiding your emotions while
a woman is making fun of something that tore you to hell and back. I ve been there,
babe. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]