Shadows of the Past Read Online Free

her scars to the world. Especially the emotional ones.
    Franc stood. He towered over her but there was no menace in him, simply the means to make her forget why she’d come here. “What if I said I’d rather have a dance than your thanks?”
    She slid her fingers into his, her heart racing as she abandon all thought of her previous goal. “I’d say, perhaps even two dances.”
    He pulled her to her feet. Even in heels her eyes only came level with his chin, perfect for watching his throat move as he swallowed hard. “Why don’t we make that all? The rest of tonight’s dances are mine.”
    His breath feathered across her eyelids. Made them flutter. Made them heavy, so heavy she wanted to close them and rest her head on his shoulder. The music grew louder as if it played in her head instead of at the other end of the passage.
    Could this be her Cinderella night? What had she to lose but a slipper?

Chapter 2

    “I ’ve had a wonderful evening.” Maria’s whisper reached Franc from somewhere below the level of his chin.
    Soon it would be midnight. The lights were low, the music soft, and Maria was exactly where he’d wanted her from the first moment he’d observed her entering—in his arms, her body a mere heartbeat from his. Every few seconds her breasts brushed his chest, and on the turns his leg slid between hers. It was torture of the worst kind. And he never wanted it to end. “The evening’s not over yet.”
    “But it will be, like all good things. That’s life.” Her voice sounded regretful, as if she didn’t want to be wakened from the dreamlike state they were dancing in.
    “I don’t want to know that. I want to stay in the here and now and forget about tomorrow. This is a night for stolen kisses.” He trailed one down her temple. “Soft touches.” His fingers shivered down the skin covering her spine. “And secrets, lots of secrets.”
    “I already know your secrets.”
    “You what?” His head reared back, breaking the moment. Had Randy been running off at the mouth?
    How the hell had Randy found out that practically before his dad’s body had gone cold, his father’s best friend and partner against crime in the New Zealand police had outed Milo Jellic as being a drug dealer.
    As if Milo’s suicide hadn’t been bad enough.
    “I’m sorry.” She hid her eyes from him, but the way her white teeth pressed down on her lip was telling.
    One look wiped his annoyance aside. “I hope Randy left me some secrets to share.” His gaze dipped to the lip her teeth had left bee-stung. He’d taste that for himself before the night was over.
     

    As Franc’s face cleared, Maria’s roiling stomach settled down. She hadn’t ruined her night.
    “It’s nothing personal, just the new project.” She galloped on, afraid to stop as his eyebrows met in a line. Perhaps personal would have been better? “I work on your project at Tech-Re-Search. It sounds so exciting to make a thread that carries…? Darn. I guess I shouldn’t discus here.”
    Heavens, she’d just caught herself before she apologized again. Nothing was worse than sounding whiny.
    “It’s fascinating, but I’m not allowed to mention it at work…we have this Chinese wall deal…you know, no one can discuss the projects they are working on. But I think it’s great that you guys are ahead of the game…” Was he never going to butt in and save her?
    “So it’s you who make sure we don’t infringe on someone’s copyright or spend a million dollars inventing something that’s already out on the market. Somehow I had the impression that you’d met Randy through working on reception at Tech-Re-Search.”
    “No, I was called to reception since he wanted to hand over the envelope of data personally.” She felt Franc’s hand tighten round hers.
    “Understandable. We don’t just want anyone getting their hands on our data. That’s why I was surprised you knew about our project.” He hesitated then asked, “You don’t