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"Yes," Jack and Deke said in unison in voices that indicated they weren’t backing down

Ki coddled and hidden away, but doing it kept Logan, and now Hunter, free to watch over Dad, rather than standing guard over her…just in case

"Fine You win"

After dropping another kiss on her dad’s cheek and getting a stiff half hug from Hunter, Kimber allowed Deke to escort her out the door

On the way out, they crept through the hospital, taking a different route It whipped theazines and newspapers And there on the front was a picture of her and Jesse the night he’d announced their engage Off?"

Before Deke could drag her away, she slipped into the store and grabbed theThe pictures the--

al she was "the one" There was a brief news iteazine was far more concerned about whether Jesse had really reined his party ways and whether his upco album would do poorly now that he appeared to be both taken and unstable A picture of hi frenetic and off-kilter, confiro-round of Jesse’s behavior went on Hell, he looked like he’d lost touch with reality

Deke snatched the azine out of her hand and put it back on the rack "Don’t read that shit You, of all people, know it’s not true"

"What the hell has he been doing? I called off the engageanization I could think of"

Deke gritted his teeth as he led her out of the gift shop and toward the car Jack flanked her, holding Morgan’s hand "Soarded your e-mail as a hoax"

"Das off with him He knows I sent that e-"

Kied her into the car, his ever-observant eyes scouring every inch of the parking lot, probably seeing every ant that lived in the cracks of the concrete Jack clapped Deke on the shoulder and took off with his beautiful wife

What the hell was she going to do? She couldn’t do anything about Jesse’s massacre in the press… When she left the swaht and day And this couldn’t be healthy for Jesse

"Whatever you’re thinking," Deke warned as he sat in the driver’s seat and backed out, "the answer is no"

"I have to do so to stop all this"

"No"

"But--"

"No"

"Da and hard to protect you Jesse’sbed I stood there and watched while you went to hi to risk your life to drag his stupid ass out of this mess because he’s a head case"

"But--"

"You want to go back to him?"

Damn Way to back her into a corner with just a feords

"No"

Deke flashed her a look with those wild blue eyes she couldn’t quite decipher

"You okay without in theto be away fro, see if she was happy and wanted to stay with him and his cousin? It seemed to matter to him She repressed a sary hope inside her

She reached across the SUV and put a hand on his thigh "You know I am" He nodded as if that ended the conversation "Then no more about that prick

Ever"

The next week passed by slowly, a hs in Deke’s and Luc’s ared condition

Hunter’s chilly disapproval blared through the phone every ti to her tu her confusion and sadness this , Deke had awakened her with soft kisses on her neck--and deers inside her sex Luc had added the talent of his tongue on her nipples and those clahts from her head except the need for theain to heights she could barely colow, Luc pressed a soft kiss to her forehead and rolled fro her alone with Deke The big blond warrior held her against hi in unison

Ki to e her fro would ever come of her love for Deke Here in the swa back or forward until so happened and they achieved so asshole

"Kimber?" Deke stroked a wide pal if she was okay

Do you loveto ask Kimber knew better And maybe she didn’t want the answer Deke wanted her That would have to be enough for now Theher in their laps, kissing her…getting her between them two, three, four tias…except she had no idea how Deke felt about her He’d never said a word, and she still knew nothing about the past that haunted him

"I’m fine," she lied What else was there to say?

He shifted, rolled to his side and looked down into her face God, the ht bend in his nose told her it had been broken so the way But those blue eyes of his juolden face Military short hair only accentuated the hard, Ger to do if this was nothing e fuckfest to him?

"You’re too tense to be fine" He smoothed a hand down her belly, toward her sex

"You need rabbed his wrist to stop his doard progress God knew he could sweep her away But he wouldn’tabout his feelings If he even had any Luc insisted that Deke loved her, but who knew?

"No more" She rolled out from under him and started to rise

Deke curled a beefy arht her back down "You need to call Logan again, hear about your dad?"