Ghostwalker 06 - Predatory Game

ignore the damned thing, so could he.
    “Are you sure you’re all right, Saber?” he asked quietly.
    She nodded, making a little sound of affirmation, muffled against the broad expanse of his chest.
    The wheelchair was locked in place, the lift lowering them to the ground. Normally, Jess preferred his lightweight racing chair. He propelled it manually, maneuvering it with ease, liking the exercise, the control, the freedom to play. But at the moment, he was grateful for his larger, heavier electric chair. It left his arms free to cradle Saber against him. She seemed a little lost tonight, very vulnerable, and she rarely showed him that side of her. Saber preferred humor to anything else and used it often as a barrier between herself and the rest of the world.
    Once in the house, he took them straight through to the darkened living room. His hand tangled in her hair, fingers massaging her scalp, easing the tension out of her.
    “So facing me was preferable to sleeping with this bum, hmm?” he teased gently.
    She turned her face up to his. “I would never sleep with someone I wasn’t in love with.” And she wouldn’t either. She was going to live her life to the best of her ability. She was going to make friends, have causes, know what fun was. And damn it all, just once, just one time, she was going to know real love. When that time came she’d give that man her body, because she wouldn’t have anything else to give him.
    “You never told me that. You mean all these idiots you date…”
    She sat up abruptly, would have jumped from his lap, but his arms came up to circle her slender form, effectively holding her prisoner. She glared at him, furious. “Is that what you’ve been thinking of me all this time?” she demanded. “You think I just go to bed with anyone at all?”
    Actual tears sparkled in her eyes, tugging at his heart. “Of course not, angel face.”
    “You’re such a liar, Jess.” She shoved at the solid wall of his chest again. “Let go of me. I mean it. Right now.”
    “Not like this, Saber. We’ve never had a fight before and I don’t want to start now.”
    For a moment she stayed stiff, holding herself away from him, but she couldn’t stay angry with Jess.
    With a small sigh, Saber lay back against him, the tension draining out of her. His arms were the only place she ever felt safe. The darkness was everywhere, waiting, watching. She could almost hear it breathing, waiting for her to climb the stairs and go to her lonely room.
    She couldn’t remember clearly the first time Jess had pulled her onto his lap, probably after one of his outrageous races, but it had always been the same. The moment his arms closed around her, she felt as if Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    she never wanted to leave. Maybe that was why she’d allowed their relationship to go so far. It was why she’d stayed too long and taken too many chances. She couldn’t bear the thought of walking away from him, and that made her just plain stupid.
    “So, are you going to hide from me or are you going to accept my apology?” His chin rubbed the top of her hair.
    “If that’s the way you apologize,” she sniffed indignantly, “I’m not sure I will ever forgive you. I don’t like what you think of me.”
    “I think the world of you, and you know it.” He tugged at a particularly intriguing curl. “Is, ‘I’m sorry,’
    good enough?”
    “I hope we never get into a really serious fight.” Saber slapped at his hand, but she was more irritated at herself than him. She could stay right where she was forever, just inhaling him, feeling the muscles of his body and the warmth of him spreading through her with a luxurious heat she’d never known before.
    He laughed softly, the sound feathering down her spine like the cool touch of fingers.
    Instantly Saber lifted her head, horrified at the disturbing sensations in her body. “I’d better go upstairs, Jesse, and let you get some sleep.” Because if she didn’t get away from him, she might make a fool of herself and give in to the urge to feather kisses up and down his throat and over his jaw and find his oh-so-disturbing mouth…She jumped up, her heart pounding.
    Reluctantly he allowed her to escape. “I know you better than that, baby; you’ll go upstairs and keep me up all night with your ridiculous pacing. Go get your bathing suit on, we can go swimming.”
    Her face lit up. “You mean