Kiss an Angel(101)

She countered by lifting her hips to welcome him, and her throaty whisper fell softly on his ear. “Take your time with me, you bastard, or I’ll kill you.”

He laughed. “You’re a pip, Sheba Quest. A real pip.”

She balled her hand into a fist and smacked him in the back.

The battle for mastery was on, and by unspoken agreement, the one who shattered first was the loser. An acrobat and an aerialist—the flexibility of their well-trained bodies filled their lovemaking with infinite possibilities. They reveled in their need to conquer, but each erotic punishment they inflicted on the other they also inflicted on themselves. This forced them to bring their rapier-sharp tongues into the battle.

She said, “I’m only letting you do this so you don’t hurt Heather.”

“Like hell.”

“It was the only way I could think of to give you time to cool down.”

“You’re a liar. You needed a stud. Everybody knows how much little Sheba needs her studs.”

“You’re not a stud. You’re a charity.”

“Alex was the only man you wanted for anything more than stud duty, wasn’t he? Too bad he didn’t want you back.”

“I hate you.”

On it went, the wounding and punishing until, at some point, the vicious words stopped. They clung together, soared together, and in one shattering moment, lost themselves to everything else.

Afterward, she tried to fling herself from the bed, but he wouldn’t let her go. “Stay here, babe. Just for a little while.”

For once, her sharp tongue was silent, and she curled into his arms. Strands of auburn hair, like burnished ribbons, trailed across his chest. He felt her tremble as she spoke.

“Daisy’s going to be a heroine now.”

“She deserves to be.”

“I hate her. I hate him.”

“They don’t have anything to do with you.”

“That’s not true! You don’t know. It was all right when everybody thought she was a thief. But not now. Now he’s going to think he won.”

“Let it go, babe. Just let it go.”

“I’m not afraid of you,” she said defiantly.

“I know you’re not. I know.”

“I’m not afraid of anything.”

He kissed her temple and didn’t call her on her lie. She was afraid all right. For some reason, the queen of the center ring didn’t know who she was any longer, and it scared her to death.



Alex gazed blindly into the darkened window of the Hallmark store. Three doors down, light shone from the doorway of a small pizza parlor, while next to it, the neon sign of a dry cleaner, closed for the night, flickered wearily. He’d long ago stopped holding the theft of the ticket money against Daisy, but he’d never really believed she was innocent. Now he had to face the fact that he was part of the terrible injustice that had been committed against her.

Why hadn’t he believed her? He prided himself on being fair-minded, but he’d been so certain that her desperation had pushed her into the theft that he hadn’t given her the benefit of the doubt. He should have known that Daisy’s strong moral code would never allow her to steal.

She shifted at his side. “Can we go now?”

She hadn’t wanted to accompany him on this night walk along the deserted strip mall that sat across the highway from the circus grounds, but he knew he wasn’t ready to go back into the cramped confines of the trailer, and he’d insisted. As he turned away from the display of ceramic angels and photo albums, he felt her tension and saw how worried she was.

Inky curls tumbled around her cheeks, and her mouth looked soft and vulnerable. A sense of awe swept through him that this sweet little feather head with the will of iron was his. He brushed his thumb over her cheek. “Why didn’t you tell me about Heather?”

“We can talk about it later.” Her gaze darted impatiently toward the highway, and once again she turned to get away from him.

“Hold on.” He caught her gently by the shoulders, and she stomped her foot like an angry toddler.

“Let me go this minute! You should never have let Brady take her away like that. You saw how angry he was. If he hurts her—”

“I hope he blisters her butt.”

“How can you say that? She’s only sixteen, and this has been a terrible summer for her.”

“It hasn’t been too hot for you, either. How can you defend her after what she did?”

“That’s not important. The experience toughened me up, and I needed that. Why did you let him take her away when he was so angry? You practically gave him permission to brutalize her. I expect better of you, Alex, I really do. Now, please, I’m begging you! Just let me go so I can make certain she’s all right.”

I’m begging you. Daisy said that all the time. The same words that had poisoned Sheba Quest’s spirit two years ago when she’d pleaded for his love rolled off Daisy’s tongue without a second thought. In the morning she’d stick her toothbrush in her mouth and call out, “Coffee! Please! I’m begging you!” Last night, she’d tickled his earlobe with a soft, sultry whisper. “Make love to me, Alex. I’m begging you.” As if he needed to be begged.

But begging didn’t threaten Daisy’s pride at all. It was simply her method of communication, and if he were ever foolish enough to suggest that begging might be demeaning, she’d give him that pitying look he’d come to know so well and tell him to stop being so stuffy.