Amarinda Jones Tantalizing Tilly (pdf)

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her voice. You can t make me do anything I don t want to do by trying to seduce me
with sex.
I m not trying to, cariad. I just want to be with you.
So if I said no to sex and the making the freaks sick thing you d be okay with
that? She knew if she was a normal person this whole conversation would be insane.
But then she hadn t been normal for the longest time, if ever.
Titch pulled her into his arms.
You won t say no.
He sounded so smug she was happy to play along and pull away from him.
Won t I? How do you know?
Because you need me and you love me and you want us to be together.
That sounds like blackmail.
It sounds like true love. Titch looked at her pointedly. What would you do for
true love?
For you everything.
What has loving you got to do with anything?
If you love me enough you will do what I ask.
Tilly stamped her foot for added emphasis.
Oh how frigging archaic. She hoped Argon was buying this. Sex is one thing,
running my life is another.
You have to do this. Titch made it sound like an ultimatum.
No, I don t. I am tired of helping everyone with their freaky-assed problems. That
was true enough. Just once Tilly wished she could deal with something boring like
needing to mow the lawn, instead of trying to decide how to handle the supernatural
problem.
If you don t do this we cannot be together. Titch sighed in exasperation as he ran
a hand through his hair in frustration.
Nice touch.
How do you figure that? She almost smiled at the spiky blond strands that stood
on end on his head.
Because Argon will only release me if you love me enough to do this. Titch s eyes
locked on hers. And I cannot be with a woman who does not respect me enough to do
as I bid.
Just as well she loved him and they were playacting or she would have punched
him in the stomach for such a statement.
You leave me no choice, spellbinder.
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Amarinda Jones
Titch smiled at the cool tone of her voice.
I knew you d see it my way, cariad.
Argon had almost missed this conversation with Titch and his woman. He had been
so preoccupied observing Augusta Lawrence. He always knew she existed but he had
chosen not to give in to curiosity and find her. Now here he was and there she was and
they both were aware of the situation between them, which was crazy for complete
strangers.
Or are we strangers? Argon mused to himself as he stood and watched the
woman with the nickname of Rowdy. She was nothing like he expected. She was
quietly beautiful with her thick jet black hair scraped haphazardly on top of her head.
The broken glasses did not hide the intelligence of her eyes nor diminish the loveliness
of her face.
I know you re there, Rowdy spoke out loud in the empty garage.
She was smart. Argon liked that. Smart and sexy was an unbeatable combination.
Argon blew out a breath and tried to focus. He was there for a reason and that reason
was to get rid of the freaks. To do that he had to utilize Matilda Moor. He needed to get
back on track. Watching Augusta Lawrence was not going to help him with his plans.
Don t hover, her voice snapped out in irritation.
Argon smiled at her waspish tone. He liked cool, composed women who sounded
like they were in control yet underneath they rarely were. However, this woman was
not like any other and he knew whatever move he made with her would change his fate
forever and he wasn t about to do that. He liked his world as it was. It was functional
and he controlled it.
Goodbye, Augusta, he murmured lightly. Argon saw her stiffen.
Forever? The were a hint of relief and sadness in her voice.
Who can say?
Argon forced himself to pay attention to his other problem. He listened as Titch
explained what he wanted Matilda to do. It was exactly what Argon wanted him to do.
The woman answered back as he expected. Argon laughed softly. He had to give them
an A for effort but he did not believe a word of it. But then Titch often went out of his
way to do the opposite of what Argon wanted. If he did not like the blond man so much
he would have gotten rid of him long ago. Militant spellbinders were one thing he did
not need. It was true that Argon did have plans to release Titch but on his terms and
when he was ready. It had nothing to do with the Matilda. She was just a side issue.
Argon watched in his mind s eye as Oberon scuttled away. No doubt the freak had
heard all the plans that were discussed here. Excellent. It was better than he had hoped.
Now neither Oberon nor Titch and his woman knew the real plan.
Bloody hard to be in charge sometimes.
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Tantalizing Tilly
So what s the story with you and Argon? Tilly asked as she came to stand beside
Rowdy s desk. Unlike her own rat s nest of a desk with Shalimar and her bowl plonked
in the middle, everything was neat and in place in Rowdy s part of the office. In some
ways almost too neat. Tilly often wondered about people that controlled. But then
Rowdy had been that way as a kid. When Tilly had turned up at school in her scuffed
shoes, un-ironed uniform with mismatched socks falling around her ankles and books
in a mess, Rowdy had always been pristine and composed with not a hair out of place.
That was just the way of it but that did not mean Rowdy was any more in control than
Tilly. She just hid it better. In fact, Rowdy rarely got angry, preferring instead to walk
off and not get involved.
No story at all. Rowdy blindly tapped away at the keyboard before her.
Really? What a lie. Even Tilly who was the world s worst typist could see the
amount of typos littering the screen under Rowdy s touch. It looked like something
was going on to me. She saw Rowdy swallow several times and she knew her friend
was trying hard to contain the nervous hiccups she always got when she was scared or
worried.
I have been talking to Newton, Rowdy murmured as she tried to change the
subject.
So when did you two meet? Although it was absolutely none of her business she
was not about to give up on trying to find out more.
Rowdy looked up at her coolly.
I ve never met Newton.
Tilly smiled. Rowdy could be more mysterious than the sphinx if she wanted to be.
I m talking about Argon and you know it. Though it would also be interesting to
meet Newton. The only thing they knew about him was he was a helpful geek and he
lived in Wales. When did you meet the tall, dark pain in the ass? She hoped he was
listening.
Rowdy sighed as if she knew she had no choice but to answer.
I met him today.
Oh yeah? That was surprising. They had the look of a couple who had history.
There was a lot of electricity in the air for someone you just met.
It s complicated. Rowdy banged at the keys.
And you two never met until today? But then why question that? She and Titch
were on fire from the first moment they met.
Correct.
But you know about each other. Tilly looked at Rowdy s knuckles. They were
white with tension.
Yes.
There was something pretty intense going on and Tilly knew she had pushed far
enough.
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Amarinda Jones
Okay, if you need to talk you know you can talk to me.
I know and thank you but I d prefer to work. Rowdy swiveled in her chair and
pushed her fractured glasses up onto her nose. We have lots of jobs backing up. Mrs.
Abernathy believes her cat, Dudley, is possessed with the spirit of the milkman who
used to do the rounds in this neighborhood in 1954.
Of course she does. Fat, fluffy Dudley was an obvious candidate for possession
you could see it in his sleepy, squinty eyes.
And Mr. Wayne at number twenty-seven believes he can hear voices coming
through the television set.
Ah, easy fix. I ll wander over there later and get him to turn his volume down. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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