Page 26 of Stripping Bare

Her pointer finger found a perfect spot in the center of his pectorals. Beneath her nail, his flesh and muscle gave until she could feel his breastbone. And she was shallow enough to be gratified when his nipples tightened under hisshirt.

“You think you know me,” she said softly. Deadly. “But you’re wrong. Tell the truth—when you look at me, you still see a victim. A girl who had no choice, no ability to fightback.”

His throat contracted as he swallowed. “I’m notsaying—”

“Well, guess what? That girl is still a part of me, but she’s the part that makes mestrong.”

“Tessa,I—”

“Did you know that I not only took self-defense in college, but that I taught classes in Seattle?” She could tell by his openmouthed expression that he hadn’t. “That’s right. I know how to drop a man with a hammer blow to the temple. I know all the vulnerable spots on the human body. I know how to take care of myself. But you see me as frozen in time. Regardless of my age, education, or work, you still picture me as I was thatnight.”

“It’s a pretty damn hard thing to forget, so don’t expect me to ever doit.”

Which meant coming to Jonah for help had been a mistake. She needed to finally admit the truth to herself. She saw Jonah as a man, but he saw her as a helplessgirl.

So she removed her finger from the center of his chest and gave him a pat—noting that his heart was flinging itself against his ribs. If only things could have been different betweenthem.

She rounded the kitchen island and picked up her bag. “Thanks for reminding me that I don’t need you to play hero for me. I’ll hire someone else to track down this hacker if I have to, because Iwillget to the bottom of this situation.” And with that, she and her pride walked out his frontdoor.

Stunned,he stood there staring at it. When his brain finally connected with his feet, he hurried to fling open the door, but Tessa was already drivingaway.

Dammit.What had just happenedhere?

Jonah’s conscience nagged at him to follow Tessa, to make thisright.

But his pride? Well, it didn’t give a flying fuck what his conscience was whining about. She’d madenotesabouthim.

If he were a lesser man, he’d sue her. Sue the pants rightoff…

The picture of cream-colored lace panties hugging her hips invaded his mind, filling every nook, everycranny.

Get your head on straight,Steele.

Years ago, he’d sworn to himself that he’d help Tessa in any way he could. And he’d done just that, behind the scenes. Yet now he’d let her walk out the door when she neededhim.

Needed skills he’d used in her defense before. Skills he’d used to create havoc in Shaw’s life and those of hisbuddies.

But where was Tessa’s hero this time? She’d pissed him off, so he’d abandonedher.

Just like he had thatnight.

From inside his pocket, his phone vibrated, but he ignored it and stalked to his fridge to yank out a six-pack. The first can gave a satisfyingpshhtwhen he popped the tab. He lifted the beer to his mouth, but the smell of it suddenly turned his stomach. He upended the can over the sink and watched the pale yellow liquid gurgle down thedrain.

Fuck itall.

One after the other, he opened the cans and dumped themout.

Tessa had treated him like he was just some head case off the street. Then again, she’d admitted that she had done the same for herself. Someone had pilfered through the most private details of herlife.

Someone had violated heragain.

When his phone buzzed again, he dug it out of his pocket and saw that it was a blocked number. It could be Dianne Baxter, the director of a women’s and children’s shelter in Asheville. He needed to get her a dedicated phone so he’d know when she was calling, but he took a chance and answered. “Steelehere.”

“Jonah, we have aproblem.”

He was relieved to find he’d guessed correctly. But he didn’t like the tone of Dianne’s voice. He’d never heard that combination of fear and anger from her. Adrenaline shot through his body. “What’s goingon?”

“We’ve got two kids missing, and the other children say a man took them from the playyard.”