Fiona Brand Cullen's Br

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tight. Rachel stiffened and forced her expression to blankness. She wasn't accustomed to throwing herself
in any man's arms, and yet the impulse to do so now was almost too strong to deny. Not that it mattered
one way or the other. Cullen had drawn the boundaries of their relationship he'd made it clear he didn't
want intimacy and she'd already run into his granite wall one too many times.
Cullen released her and began drinking his coffee, half-turned away so that all she could see was the
hard, remote cut of his profile, the sheen of light sliding off one bronzed shoulder. "Did he say anything to
you?"
"He wasn't big on conversation. I don't think verbal communication is very high on Frank Trask's list of
priorities."
"You shouldn't have come here," he said abruptly.
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Hurt washed through Rachel, followed by an incredible dragging weariness. She didn't know why, but
after what had just happened, she'd expected Cullen to be different with her. Softer. Her chin came up. "I
wanted to talk to you about Dane's mother. I saw her outside the supermarket. She was so bruised& I
thought Dane should know "
"Dane helped her shift out this afternoon," Cullen interrupted. "Using my truck. The family's moved into
the Women's Refuge in Fairley. Dane's staying with a friend who lives nearby until Emily can arrange
permanent accommodation. He won't be back until everything's sorted. Trask was probably looking for
Dane when you showed up instead. He can't afford to go near his wife. She's taken out a restraining
order against him. Hopefully this time she'll go the whole way and start divorce proceedings. It sure as
hell can't be any picnic living with an animal like Frank Trask."
Cullen's jaw tightened at Rachel's instant recoil at the mention of Trask. He could never allow himself to
forget that if he'd stayed in Riverbend after his old man had died, he would probablybe like Trask. The
army had given him control, discipline, an outward respectability that Trask didn't possess but it had
also harnessed the very violence that was at the core of his soul, honing it to a degree that even a man
like Trask couldn't imagine. As bad as Trask was, he didn't even rate the reserves bench in Cullen's
game.
Cullen gulped down the rest of his coffee, willing some of the knotted tension in his gut to dissolve. But
not too much. He couldn't afford to relax, because if he did, he would touch Rachel, and in his present
mood he wouldn't let her go. He would take the sweetness she was offering and damn the consequences.
Fury still vibrated through him that Trask had laid his dirty paw on her, that he'd intended to hurt her.
Along with the rage came a savage regret. Cullen wished that Rachel hadn't had to see him dealing with
Trask on his own level. He'd tried not to let her opinion her expectations become important to him,
but they had. He found he wanted to be her white knight after all. Only trouble was, he came from
darkness and shadows, and they were all he knew.
He stared into the empty mug before placing it on the verandah railing, steeling himself to meet Rachel's
gaze. "Are you okay to drive?"
"Of course."
Her eyes were wide, dark, and her skin was far too pale. It was all he could do to stop himself from
reaching for her. "You're shaking."
"It's just reaction. It'll go away. I'm quite capable of driving."
"I don't want to let you drive," he growled. "If Dane was here, he could follow in my truck and I could
take you in. But as it is, the best I can offer is to follow you."
"You don't have to do that. You're tired, probably hungry "
"I'm not leaving you to get home alone this time."
Her eyes flashed at the reference to all the other times he'd walked away. "I can manage. Despite what
you probably think, I didn't come out here chasing you. You've already made it clear you're not
interested."
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