A Will and a Way

into his lap and weep for hours. “I don’t want you here.”
    “I know. Just pretend I’m someone else.” He drew her against his chest.
    “I’m only crying because I’m angry.” With a sniff, she turned her face into his shirt.
    “Sure.” He kissed the top of her head. “Go ahead and be angry for a while. I’m used to it.”
    She told herself it was because she was weakened by shock and grief, but she relaxed against him. The tears came in floods. When she cried, she cried wholeheartedly. When she was finished, she was done.
    Tears dry, she sat cushioned against him. Secure. She wouldn’t question it now. Along with the anger came a sense of shame she was unaccustomed to. She’d been filthy to him. But he’d come back and held her. Who’d have expected him to be patient, or caring? Or strong enough to make her acceptboth. Pandora let out a long breath and kept her eyes shut for just a moment. He smelled of soap and nothing else.
    “I’m sorry, Michael.”
    She was soft. Hadn’t he just told himself she wouldn’t be? He let his cheek brush against her hair. “Okay.”
    “No, I mean it.” When she turned her head her lips skimmed across his cheek. It surprised them both. That kind of contact was for friends—or lovers. “I couldn’t think after I walked in here. I—” She broke off a moment, fascinated by his eyes. Wasn’t it strange how small the world could become if you looked into someone’s eyes? Why hadn’t she ever noticed that before? “I need to sort all this out.”
    “Yeah.” He ran a fingertip down her cheek. She was soft. Softer than he’d let himself believe. “We both do.”
    It was so easy to settle herself in the crook of his arm. “I can’t think.”
    “No?” Her lips were only an inch from his—too close to ignore, too far to taste. “Let’s both not think for a minute.”
    When he touched his mouth to hers, she didn’t draw away but accepted, experimented with the same sense of curiosity that moved through him. It wasn’t an explosion or a shock, but a test for both of them. One they’d both known would come sooner or later.
    She tasted warm, and her sweetness had a bite. He’d known her so long, shouldn’t he have known that? Her body felt primed to move, to act, to race. Soft, yes, she was soft, but not pliant. Perhaps he’d have found pliancy too easy. When he slipped his tongue into her mouth hers met it teasingly, playfully. Hisstomach knotted. She made him want more, much more of that unapologetically earthy scent, the taut body. His fingers tangled in her hair and tightened.
    He was as mysterious and bold as she’d always thought he would be. His hands were firm, his mouth giving. Sometimes she’d wondered what it would be like to meet him on these terms. But she’d always closed her mind before any of the answers could slip through. Michael Donahue was dangerous simply because he was Michael Donahue. By turns he’d attracted and alienated her since they’d been children. It was more than any other man had been able to do for more than a week.
    Now, as her mouth explored his, she began to understand why. He was different, for her. She didn’t feel altogether safe in his arms, and not completely in control. Pandora had always made certain she was both those things when it came to a man. The scrape of his unshaved cheek didn’t annoy her as she’d thought it would. It aroused. The discomfort of the hard floor seemed suitable, as was the quick rush of cold air through the still-open door.
    She felt quietly and completely at home. Then the quick nip of his teeth against her lip made her feel as though she’d just stepped on uncharted land. New territory was what she’d been raised on, and yet, in all her experience, she’d never explored anything so unique, so exotic or so comfortable.
    She wanted to go on and knew she had to stop.
    Together they drew away.
    “Well.” She scrambled for composure as she folded her hands in her lap. Be casual, she ordered herself while her pulse thudded at her wrists. Be careless. She couldn’t afford to say anything that might make him laugh at her. “That’s been coming for a while, I suppose.”
    He felt as though he’d just slid down a roller coaster without a cart. “I suppose.” He studied her a moment, curious and a bit unnerved. When he saw her fingers twist together he felt a small sense of satisfaction. “It wasn’t altogether what I’d expected.”
    “Things rarely are.” Too