Chapter 8

8

KANE

L ight streamed through the window next to my bed. I blinked myself awake, then took in my surroundings.

I was alone in bed.

Had last night been a dream? After we'd made love on the rock, we'd taken the pictures she needed for her friends. Then we'd come back here and had dinner before making love two more times and falling asleep, exhausted.

Gillian seemed just as into me as I was into her. But now she was gone.

Maybe it wasn't a dream. Maybe it had all happened, and now that she had her picture, she was gone.

I shook my head at my own ridiculousness. She could very well just be in the bathroom, or maybe she was in the kitchen, sipping coffee and wearing that T-shirt of mine that I'd left on the floor last night before we got into bed.

Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I stumbled out of the bedroom and into the main part of the cabin, scanning the living room and kitchen for her. I knew even before I found nothing that the cabin was empty. It just felt lonely all of a sudden. Lonely and sad.

Damn it. This was exactly why I avoided getting close to anyone. The second I put myself out there, I had my heart stomped on, just as I'd feared my entire life.

"You're jumping to conclusions, man," I said to myself as I headed into the kitchen to start up the coffeemaker. A little caffeine would make all of this make sense.

But three cups later, I still felt confused. It wasn't just that I didn't understand what had happened. I didn't understand my reaction to it.

I was a tough guy. I'd been through some hardcore stuff in my time in the military. So why did it feel like such a punch in the gut?

Because I was in love. I'd let myself fall for this woman, and obviously the feeling wasn't mutual. It happened. I'd certainly broken more than a few hearts in my time.

But I'd always been upfront and honest. This woman was not upfront and honest. She'd deceived me, and I should be furious about it. But I still longed for her.

Yes, I had it bad. And I had no idea what I was going to do about it.

All I could do for now was get dressed, hop on my motorcycle, and go looking for her. If she was anywhere in this town, I'd find her and get answers. Whether they were the answers I wanted or not.