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dared to ask Kuron had known about those years in Frisco. She hadn t been able to lie
to him.
Tamia shook her head and smiled. Rick was different. It just felt so natural to trust
him, to include him in her life, as if he d always been a part of it. She remembered the
heat that had flared between them in the launch pad. She d never had that kind of easy
connection with another person before. Her eyes took on a dreamy, far-away glaze.
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Rick had a wonderful sense of humor, a dry wit, and an amazing depth of
understanding and compassion. She felt like she could tell him anything, and he would
never think bad of her for it. They came from opposite ends of both the world and the
country, and yet it appeared they had been living the same life all along.
Tamia came back to her surroundings with a blink, and sighed heavily. She, of all
people, ought to have recognized the warning signs by now. She had fallen for him, big
time. She was as besotted as a schoolgirl with her first crush. Only she wasn t a
schoolgirl, and this went way beyond a crush. She was head-over-heels in love. That the
fall has started even before she d come to the Commandos was a fact she only grudgingly
acknowledged. That she was on dangerously unstable ground was the far more pressing
concern, at the moment.
With another impatient sigh, Tamia began gathering up papers from the floor.
Whatever her infatuation with Rick, she would not, could not, act on it. It was as plain to
her as if he d said it to her face that Rick wanted nothing more from her than her
friendship, for all the passion in his kisses. Grimly, Tamia hardened her heart against any
expectations. She was going to see to it that she didn t cause either one of them any
shame or hurt, by keeping a lid on her untamed libido.
Five minutes later, Tamia was standing before the door the Rick s quarters,
reaching for the doorpad. Surprise, and concern, creased her brow when the door slid
open at her touch. Usually, it was locked, whether he was in or not, and triggered the
door signal.
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Rick? she called quietly as she stepped into the front room. She heard a jet of
water, then silence.
Be right there! Rick s voice startled her, almost causing her to drop her
armload. Her heart tripped over itself and her pulse skipped for a moment before she
slammed a lid shut on her emotions. His next words, however threw the lid clean off
them. Make yourself at home.
Tamia shook herself sternly, then grinned as she slipped her shoes off and made
her way to the sofa. Amusement wound through her as she shifted a neatly stacked pile of
discs from the sofa to the floor before she sat. Apparently, Rick had been working, too.
But, unlike her, he worked best in complete order. It struck her as funny when she looked
at all the carefully organized information. Where years of running with the gangs had
taught Tamia to work amidst chaos, Rick s lifetime in the system had taught him to abhor
chaos. That difference brought home, with startling swiftness, how unsuited they were.
Tamia stiffened her spine, and her resolve, and promised herself that she wouldn t let
Rick breach her defences again. If she did, she would only end up hurting them both.
Tamia jerked when she felt hands suddenly fall on her shoulders, and suppressed
a shiver as they slowly kneaded her tensed muscles.
God, woman, you re tense! Tell me the news isn t that bad! Rick s teasing
voice said quietly from behind her, the banter of his words tinged with concern.
Tamia quashed the jolt of awareness and pulled away, turning to look at him as
she shook her head. He was dressed, as usual, in jeans and a flannel shirt, the sleeves
rolled, casually, to his elbows and the top of a pack of cigarettes peeping from the breast
pocket. Belatedly, she realized that his hair was damp, and there was a towel draped over
one of his broad shoulders. Carefully measuring her response, she raised one eyebrow in
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question. Should I come back later?
He grinned, looking at her with a teasing challenge in his eyes as he massaged her
shoulders again. Afraid of me? Or just that I might do something to shock you?
She grinned wryly. You could strip down right here and do a rain dance and it
wouldn t shock me.
She felt his hands stop on her shoulders and, her heart lodging in her throat,
Tamia wished she could bite her words back. Dear God, what was she doing? She
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