A Shot at Love. Peggy Jaeger

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СКАЧАТЬ Gemma allowed herself to start acting like a teenager and did the one thing all her contemporaries did that simply terrified her: date.

      There was no lack of boys who wanted to be with her. Hair the color of ink framed a face with eyes a vivid blue no one could look away from. Tall, lithe, and angular, she quickly became the It girl in her class. And just as quickly lost her heart.

      Her first boyfriend, being a typical teenage male ruled by raging hormones, had wanted nothing more than to claim he’d had sex with her, which he did, to one and all. That it was a lie, no one cared, despite Gemma’s protestations. Just as soon as the rumor started, he’d broken up with her.

      The next boy to come into her life had expected her to do the same with him as he’d heard she’d done with the other. When Gemma refused, he’d become physical, smacking her and forcibly restraining her in the backseat of his car while he brutally shoved his fingers inside her. He laughed when she cried, telling her no one would believe her if she tried to get him in trouble. Her easy-girl reputation would negate any claims she made about being assaulted. He dropped her off at home without so much as a word or another look. Mortified, Gemma never told anyone what he’d done to her. Thoughts of her father’s betrayal, coupled now with this boy’s attack, consumed her and she spent the remainder of her high school career the whispered subject of rumors and painful innuendo by her peers.

      College had fared little better. She’d hoped higher education and age would have instilled a sense of maturity into the male species. Disappointment met her at every corner when the reality of drunken and sex-starved frat boys spilled around her.

      When Kandy hired Gemma as her primary photographer and launched her professional career with the very first cookbook she’d photographed, opportunities opened left and right, and with them an influx of new, available men.

      The lessons of her early days stayed with her, though, and Gemma protected her heart like a lioness protecting its young. To truly love a man she knew she’d have to give away the two things she could not and would not: her trust and her control.

      She’d been lucky so far. No man had made a lasting impression, and she’d easily kept up her guard. The number of people she trusted could be counted on one hand. Gemma took care of herself financially, physically, and emotionally. But now she was being forced to put her safety and trust in a man she didn’t know, wasn’t sure about, and who made her feel just the slightest bit uneasy in a way she didn’t like.

      Before rising from the bed, she straightened out her injured knee. It was a little stiff, but the pain had abated. When she stood she was able to put her full weight on it. An internal sigh of relief blew through her when she dropped to the floor and began her daily stretches.

      Twenty pushups, forty crunches, and five minutes of meditation later, she thought to check her cell phone and e-mail when she remembered Ky had her phone, and he’d disabled the Internet connection to her laptop.

      “This just sucks wind,” she mumbled while moving to the adjoining bathroom.

      When she emerged, dressed and ready for the day, she made a silent wish for her confinement to come to a swift end.

      In the kitchen, Jon Waters was standing by the counter speaking with two men she’d never seen before.

      “Good morning,” Gemma said.

      Jon’s smile was bright and fast. “Morning.”

      When her gaze flicked to the two others in the room, Jon said, “These are Agents LaRoux and Coble, Miss Laine.”

      Both men nodded at her.

      “They’re part of our team and have been assigned to help with keeping you safe.”

      Gemma moved forward and shook hands with both men, committing their faces to their names. Both had the basic look of all the government men she’d met so far: six foot, square jawed, and somber.

      “Any news?” Gemma asked Jon when the men left. “Have they found the man who attacked me?” She shook her head when he lifted the coffeepot.

      “I haven’t heard anything yet,” Jon said. “Sure you don’t want some of this?”

      “I don’t usually drink coffee or tea, but thanks.”

      His eyes widened. “No? I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who doesn’t need a hit of caffeine in the morning.”

      She smiled at him, having heard that line many times in her life from scores of people. “Oh, I need a caffeine hit just like the rest of the world,” she said. “But I prefer to get it from a cold soda. I don’t like hot liquids as a rule and rarely drink them.”

      “Unfortunately we don’t have any, but if you tell me what you like, I’ll have LaRoux or Coble get it for you.”

      “That’s okay, you don’t have to.”

      “You don’t have to what?” Ky asked as he came into the room.

      Gemma mentally steeled herself before turning to face him.

      Clad in a muscle hugging T-shirt and loose-fitting sweats with the FBI logo running down one leg, his body was bathed in shiny moisture. He reached into the refrigerator and pulled out a bottled water. When he tipped his head back and took a long chug of it, his Adam’s apple shifting and bobbing with the effort, Gemma found herself swallowing as well.

      “Our guest doesn’t overdose on coffee like you and I do, Papps. She prefers soda to get her going in the morning.”

      Ky recapped the bottle and leveled his gaze at her.

      His breathing was fast but even, his shoulders and chest rising with each inhalation, pulling against his drenched shirt.

      Gemma’s fingers itched for her camera. He was so profoundly male, so starkly masculine, bathed in sweat, testosterone gushing off his body in waves, she knew exactly how she’d photograph him.

      “Soda?” His gaze zeroed in on hers, and her back instantly stiffened at the judgment she heard in his voice.

      One word. It had taken just one word from him for her to get irritated again. Okay, maybe not the word itself, but definitely the mockery in his tone. She was all set to ask him if he had something against drinking soda, but before she could get the words out, he forced them back into her, unspoken.

      “My sister Ariadne drinks soda for breakfast, too. Diet Mountain Dew by the case. Drives my mother nuts.”

      Gemma’s grin came so fast she couldn’t have prevented it if she’d tried. “A girl after my own heart. And taste buds. That’s my morning wake-up drink, as well.”

      “I’ll have LaRoux go pick some up,” Jon said.

      “Please don’t go to any bother on my account,” she told him. “I can do without it for a day.”

      The look that passed between Ky and his partner had Gemma’s internal radar kicking up. “What?” she asked, her question aimed at Ky.

      Before answering, Ky uncapped the water again and took another long draught. Gemma’s nerves, frayed to begin with at the circumstances she’d been forced into, went into overdrive waiting for him to respond.

      “You СКАЧАТЬ