Echoes of Desire: Dance of Deception

to pace about the room. The low throb of a bike reached my ears, and

ood wide open, splintered. Drawing a breath, I stood motionless, listening. All too soon, I h

red my shoulders, and drew anoth

rame. He gazed in my direction, eyes inscrutable. Finally, he

ed, remains of the door, he shook his head. Turning, he

imbing into the bed. Picking up a ramp, he positioned it from the bed, down the t

of the cab. Afterward, jumping out of the pickup's bed again, he shoved the ramp in beside the bike before s

aising his head, he reached out and started the engine. Slowly, backing out, he turned the pickup

round at the sound of a motor, and peered toward Nathan's truck as it

and see why he'd returned. As I approached, he didn't exit the truck, instead, he sat gazing in my direction, his eye

head. "I'll

eing so fucking stubborn and let me help you. Hell, I'm the one

to express what I was feeling had killed me. The name, Brianna, in any dictionary right now, woul

d for the door, then Nathan had suggested I pi

isting, he'd talked me into a small oak kitchen table and chairs. Next, had come, a bedroom suite. We'd argued over the merits of king-size, versus que

licity, and I'd gazed at it, my imagination running wild. I'd pictured myself rocking a black-haired, green-eyed baby to sleep in

rocker, I'd made my way toward the front desk

There, I'd picked out sheets and pillowcases for my new bed, and a suede comforter that begged a person to climb beneath

le we'd been in there, he'd helped me choose cookware, utensils, plates, glasses, and si

e cabin. Before we reached it though, we made one more st

c containers of food into the kitchen, I set them on the counter. Afterward, maki

cover everything he'd insisted I'd needed, and he'd paid for what I couldn't, though only after a few hushed and heated words f

as avoiding looking in my direction, busying himself setting the bags on th

ing him as we made several more trips. I tried to draw him into a conv

ged and gave up,

in, Nathan hung the new d

eat something no

th a woman's intuition, I knew he was going home, making it no surprise, when he shook his head. "No. I, uh...in f

items in the kitchen and bathroom, occupying

a few of the takeout boxes in the microwave I heated them through

almost untouched meal in the trash, when my cat

the trash as I'd intended, I scr

I'd had enough, I made my way outside. I knew what I would see, but I had to s