[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
. Frustrating.Never mind.Not sure what to do, she tried toredirect the conversation. Do yourdreams wake you up every night? sheasked softly.John folded his arms under his head. No, not all the time.It seems like whenI m especially tired they get worse.Tonight I ve been restless. I m sorry.Is the couch notcomfortable? No, no, nothing like that, he toldher.He briefly rested a hand on her bareknee before drawing away quickly. I veactually been very comfortable in yourhome, Shannon.It s just& other things. Oh, well, if there s anything I cando to help you out, just let me know.For the longest time, he didn t sayanything, and Shannon thought he hadgone back to sleep.She couldn t see hiseyes very well, because she blocked thelight from the fire. Would you mind&  he startedquietly, before he stopped to clear histhroat. Ah, don t worry about it. No, what? Shannon leanedforward, fighting to keep her hands toherself.After a long silence, he finally askedher,  Would you mind just sitting andtalking for a while? Absolutely, she told him with nohesitation. I like talking to you, John.You re a hard-ass, but you reinteresting. A hard-ass? he asked in affront,obviously teasing her. I don t knowwhat you re talking about.Shannon laughed at his expression,outrage mixed with twinkling devilmentin his dark eyes.This side of Johnappealed to her desperately and Shannonwas beginning to see it more and more.Was it just because he was getting usedto her in the office, or was it something alittle more personal? Did he see her as awoman he had an interest in? She had noclue. So, what do you want to talkabout? she asked him. Hell, I don t know, he told her ashe propped himself up on one elbow. You re the talker, you come up withsomething.For the first time, she noticed that hisshoulders were bare.The quilt was overhis chest, but his heavy arms wereexposed.Her eyes traced over the lineof his biceps, highlighted by the firelight.Did he work out, like, all the time? Onlyheavy-duty weightlifters usually hadthose kinds of arms.Or was all that bulkfrom being in the chair? An intricateMarine insignia tattoo wrapped aroundthe deltoid of his right shoulder.Thequilt covered most of his chest, butShannon knew it had to be just asimpressive.The tight cotton t-shirts hewore left little to the imagination.Shannon s mouth watered at the thoughtof tugging the quilt down just a bit toexplore.She forced her eyes away, andstruggled for something to talk about. Where did you get your tattoo?John s dark brows raised in theweak firelight. Uh, some little tattooshop off base.Working on servicepersonnel was pretty much all the guydid. What base were you at? Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.24thMarine Expeditionary Unit.Shannon her satisfaction lacing hisrough voice. Sounds like you liked it there.He looked down at the couch for amoment before meeting her gaze. Verymuch so.More than any other place I dbeen in my life.Smiling at her slightly, he shruggedhis shoulders, which dislodged the quilta bit more.Shannon forced her gazeaway again, and swallowed heavily asshe rubbed her hands over her goosebumped flesh.The man could probablyturn on any woman from eighteen toeighty, so she didn t castigate herself toomuch.He just had too much naturaltestosterone.John apparently noticed her goosebumps, and assumed it was because shewas cold.He sat up and tugged the quilttoward her. Here, I didn t mean for youto get chilled out here.Shannon waved a hand and lurchedto her feet. No, no, don t worry aboutit.Keep-keep yourself, uh, covered.I llget another blanket.Quickly, she moved to the hall closetand tugged down another blanket, thisone fuzzy with a horse running across thewidth of it.She wrapped it around herlike a robe, then settled on the floor infront of the couch.Shannon felt like acoward, because now she didn t have tolook at John directly, but she was stillclose enough to feel his body heatbehind her.She worked one elbow outenough to prop it on the edge of thecouch in front of him, and rested herhead on it.John shifted back to his side,and mirrored her position. Sorry, she told him. I had tomove.That corner was getting a bitsharp. That s fine.I don t want to put youout.Shannon frowned at him. You renot putting me out at all.I owe you forhelping me out.John frowned, then changed thesubject. What is your brother doing inFlorida?Shannon laughed lightly, pulling thefuzzy blanket closer around her. Whoknows? It seems like he s had tendifferent jobs since he s graduatedschool.He s spreading his wings.He sonly twenty-seven, so I guess it s okay.It s just kind of hard, because he wasliving here not too long ago.He wantedto get away from Mom and Dad after theshooting, and I was the farthest away.But not far enough away that they didn tcome to visit.A lot.I think he just pokedhis finger on a map one day to find a jobfar enough away that our parentswouldn t check up on him day andnight. Are your parents hard to get alongwith? he asked finally. No, no, not at all, she told himquickly. They just love us and want tosee us do well.And with Chris s injury,it just seems to be a bit harder for themto let him go.They ve taken care ofeverything for him.He was justseventeen when he got shot.I thinkthey re kind of lost as to what to do now,without him nearby [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]