Shadowing Shahna. Laurey Bright

      I must be crazy, Shahna thought. Why had she allowed him to do that?

      “You’ll want your clothes,” she said, trying to appear unaffected by the kiss. “They’re dry now.”

      “If there’s anything else you need done…”

      “You’ve done enough,” she answered huskily. “And had your payment.”

      Immediately she wanted to bite her tongue. A stolen kiss that she hadn’t made the least effort to avoid was hardly compensation for the amount of work he’d put in both yesterday and this morning.

      Kier smiled again, tipping his head to one side as he regarded her with lurking amusement. “And very nice too,” he said.

      Anger dispelled the warm afterglow of the kiss. Was it a game to him? Coming here, upsetting her hard-won equilibrium, intruding on the life she’d made for herself and Samuel, simply for some sort of whim.

      “I’ll get your things,” she told him, and marched back to the house. As she climbed over the barrier keeping Samuel inside, Kier was right behind, entering after her.

      Samuel was absorbed in poking wooden shapes into matching holes in a colored plastic bucket. He stopped to watch the two adults pass, then returned to his task.

      Shahna picked up the neatly folded garments from the top of the washing machine and turned to present them to Kier. But as he held his hands out to take them she gasped, staring at his upturned palms.

      He looked down too, at the reddened skin and broken blisters. “It’s not as bad as it looks,” he said, letting his hands drop.

      “It’s bad enough!” Shahna felt quite sick. “Have you put anything on them?”

      “Disinfectant, last night when I broke the blisters I collected yesterday. And Alison gave me some salve.”

      But he’d been digging her garden this morning! Unaccountably angry, she said, “What the hell are you trying to prove?”

      “Apart from the fact that I’m not accustomed to using my hands for physical labor,” he said wryly, “nothing. But I’d hate to see this happen to you.”

      So he’d taken over the job when he realized she meant to dig the soil herself. “I wouldn’t have gone on working if it had,” she retorted.

      He reached out again and took the clothes she held. “Thanks for this,” he said, not moving away, and she found herself crowded against the washing machine. The laughter had left his eyes and they were searching, intent. “I’ll be back,” he said.

      “What?” Her own eyes widened.

      Kier frowned. “Why are you scared?”

      “I’m not!” Shahna floundered, torn between a useless hope and the prospect of future heartbreak. “I just don’t know why you’d bother.”

      “What is it with you?” He sounded exasperated. “I’d never thought you lacking in self-esteem.”

      “There’s nothing wrong with my self-esteem, thank you! I told you, I’ve changed.”

      “Some things don’t change.” His gaze lingered on her mouth, then he lifted his eyes to hers in challenge and added softly, “Do they?”

      What was the point of arguing? He was leaving anyway, and once back in his own milieu, absorbed in the world he knew and loved being a part of, he would forget her again.

      After all, he hadn’t chased her up until the sight of her name on her jewelry had reminded him of her existence. “It was nice seeing you,” she said, striving for a pleasant indifference, “but I won’t be holding my breath for another visit. Enjoy your life, Kier.” She had to look away in case he saw sadness in her eyes, guessed at the tug of grief inside her.

      “I intend to.” A grittiness had entered his voice. “What about you?”

      “My life is just fine. I have everything I need.”

      “Including a lover?”

      She glared at him. “Like I said before, I don’t need a man.”

      “You’re a passionate woman, Shahna. How long do you think you can do without sex?”

      “Just as long as I want to,” she returned, meeting his eyes defiantly. “There are plenty of other pleasures in life.”