Forbidden

this sort of upheaval when I was married to Anthony, this kind of uncertainty and fear. I thought i ended when he died, that I could get on with my life and have a semblance of normalcy. Now, everything i falling apart, and there isn’t a damn thing I can do about it.” Her voice caught, faltered, and she struggle to maintain her composure. “I don’t even have a house to live in anymore.”

“The detectives on the case will need a few days to search for evidence, which I’m doubtful they’ll find.” His mouth thinned in resignation. “The house should be cleaned up and back in order shortly after that. You could probably be back in by the end of next week.”

Her brows rose. “And you think I actually want to go back there, after what happened tonight?” Her tone of voice said he was crazy for making such a suggestion. “I can’t go back, because nothing will ever be the same again. It was bad enough when you discovered the hidden safe, but now someone has actually invaded my home, pawed through my possessions, and tainted everything in that house.”

“I know,” he said quietly, as if he understood, but didn’t quite know what to do to ease her uncertainties.

She made it easy on him. “Since I can’t bring myself to spend another night in that house, I’ll be hiring someone next week to pack up all my belongings except for the necessities, and have everything shipped to my sister’s place. Once this is over, I’m leaving, Josh. Once you slap handcuffs on Carranza, I’ll be on the first flight back to Connecticut.”

His gaze flickered over her face, so tender, so cherishing. “I’d really like you to rethink your plans.”

He all but wore his heart on his sleeve, and that open display of emotion was nearly her undoing. She was horrified to feel a rush of hot tears burning the back of her eyes and tightening her throat. She was incapable of speaking, which was probably for the best because she didn’t want to hurt him any more with her answer, and there was no way she would ever offer him false hopes or promises for a future together. Their situation was hopeless, for so many reasons… and everything tied into Anthony.

Anthony had brought them together. And Anthony would tear them apart.

Needing to be alone before she finally gave in to the emotional release hovering just beyond the superficial self-control she’d managed to maintain all day, she escaped to the only place that afforded her any privacy: the bathroom.

SITTING ON his rumpled, unmade bed across from Paige’s, Josh watched her sleep during the early, shadowed hours of morning, unable to remember the last time he’d seen her so peaceful. She looked breathtakingly beautiful with her features softened, and her silky auburn hair tousled around her face. Her relaxed mouth even curved ever- so-slightly into a sweet, serene smile. It was all an illusion, he knew, because as soon as she woke up, reality would intrude and steal away the tranquility touching her expression.

But until then, he enjoyed the quiet simplicity of just looking at her and letting his imagination indulge in some pleasant, sensual thoughts. His gaze roamed slowly down the length of her as she lay on her side, her hands tucked beneath her pillow. The motel’s outdated air-conditioning hadn’t sputtered out enough cool air to make the clanking, chugging sound worth a sleepless night, so they’d opted to leave the unit off. As a result, the room was warm, and Paige had kicked off her covers.

Since he hadn’t grabbed any clothing for her at the house, last night he’d offered her one of his T-shirts to sleep in, which she filled out incredibly well. The soft cotton molded to her full breasts, and he could see the rosy crests through the white material. He imagined brushing his fingers over the tips, teasing them to hardness, then soothing that ache with the slippery wetness of his tongue, the heated depths of his mouth…

She sighed softly through parted lips, and rolled to her back. The full swell of her breasts, crowned with tight, beaded nipples, pushed enticingly against the shirt she wore. His mouth watered, his body quickened, and his blood heated and spread low in his belly, then lower still, until it gathered in his loins.

The hem was bunched around her hips, affording him an intimate view of white, silky panties, and sleek, long legs. In his mind, he pictured sliding his hands along the back of her calves, stroking the sensitive spot he’d discovered behind her knee the night they’d made love, too long ago. Envisioned skimming his fingers up her smooth thighs, using his palms and the stroke of his tongue to cajole them to part, then pressing his mouth to the silk covering that intimate, feminine part of her to taste her passion and bring her to the brink of desire. And then, once she’d found that first exquisite release, he’d strip away that flimsy barrier, wrap her thighs tight around his hips, and ease deep, deep inside her, until she climaxed again and took him with her…

A low moan purred in her throat-as if his thoughts had somehow slipped into her mind-and her legs shifted, rubbing sensually, restlessly together. Beneath the zipper of his jeans he grew hard, uncomfortably so. Her breathing deepened, her chest rising and falling as heavily, as rapidly, as his own.

Christ. Deciding to end the physical torment he’d inflicted upon himself, with no relief in sight, he flopped back onto the mattress and squeezed his eyes shut, attempting to focus his mind on anything except losing himself in the lush warmth of Paige’s body, anything but the way his thoughts could seemingly become a part of her own…

Her response to him, even in sleep, shouldn’t have surprised him. They’d always shared a special connection, which they’d blanketed in a nice, cozy friendship because of her marriage to Anthony. But that subliminal bond had always been there, even if she’d beer physically off-limits. Invisible lines had been drawn from the moment Anthony had laid eyes on her and staked a claim-Josh had been there that fateful night and clearly remembered the events that had irrevocably changed Paige’s life.

She’d come to Miami with her sister, Valerie, for a weeklong summer vacation, intending to soak up the sun on the beach during the day, and enjoy the loca nightlife in the evenings. When he’d first spotted Paige from across the crowded, popular Miami nightclut where Anthony had coerced him into meeting him, the first thing that had caught Josh’s attention was her natural beauty. She stood out from the rest of the heavily made-up women wearing tight, clingy clothes meant to tempt and entice the men in the bar. Such brazer women were more Anthony’s style and had never appealed to Josh, which made Paige’s fresh face and her calf-length, sarong-style dress all the more attractive to him.

As he’d surreptitiously watched her from the bar while shooting the breeze with Anthony and nursing a beer, he noticed other things that appealed to him: her vibrance, her quick smiles and lilting laughter, and those guileless green eyes that seemed so clear and bottomless.

Unfortunately, Paige had snared Anthony’s attention as well, though Josh never would have guessed how deeply Anthony’s interest had run or his purpose for pursuing her. At the time, he’d suspected Anthony’s competitive nature had been part of the initial chase-Paige would never know that Josh had slid off his bar stool to approach her first, only to have Anthony beat him to the punch. Before both of Josh’s feet could hit the floor, Anthony had purchased a bottle of the wine Paige had been drinking and was heading across the crowded room to deliver it to her personally.

Josh didn’t bother to rise to Anthony’s silent challenge. He’d seen Anthony work his charm on enough women to know that he didn’t stand a chance. So he’d watched his friend weave his magic and seduce the unsuspecting woman-all the while hoping Anthony’s interest in Paige would eventually wane, as it had with all the other women he dated.

This time was different. This time, Anthony had underlying motivations even Josh would never have imagined possible. Three months later, Anthony had moved Paige from Connecticut and married her in a lavish ceremony with over three hundred guests attending. Within a year of that joyous occasion, Anthony’s obsession with Paige finally became clear. Anthony hadn’t wanted a wife, but an asset, someone wholesome and sweet to complete his warped perception of “having it all.” Ambition. Power. Wealth. And a beautiful, genteel wife on his arm when the need arose.

Anthony’s interest had diminished, just as it always did, just as Josh thought it would, leaving Paige disillusioned, confused and struggling to understand what had gone wrong. And the only thing he could do was offer her friendship and support, when he wanted to give her so much more.

Josh opened his eyes and stared at the water-stained ceiling, wondering, not for the first time, how differently things would have turned out if he’d accepte Anthony’s challenge that night at the club and pursue Paige as well. Certainly falling in love with her was given, considering how his feelings for her ha evolved. And there was no doubt he would have mar- ried her. Likely, by now, they would have had at leas one baby, maybe two…

His stomach twisted with so many regrets. He still wanted those things with her, but knew he didn’t stand much of a chance when it came to competing with th bitter memories instilled by Anthony’s egotistical aspirations.