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Jake asked, his voice whipcord sharp.
    “He’s still in charge, isn’t he?”
    Leave, leave, leave, she willed him. Just leave me alone once and for all.
    This was torture to be so close, to have shared hot kisses, and still hear him say they had no future together. What did he want from her?
    Jake rose, towering over her. “Yes, he’s the one in charge.” Slowly he leaned over, his finger rubbing gently against her swollen lips. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
    She shook her head. Not the way you mean.
    With an exasperated sigh, he straightened and turned to the door. “I can see myself out.”
    Brianna remained perfectly still. Her eyes watched him walk away. Her ears heard the door open, close. Her body felt the silence and stillness of her empty house. She was alone—again.
    But Jake’s scent still surrounded her. The heat he engendered still warmed her body. The tiny pulses of electricity his very touch brought still hovered against her skin. Closing her eyes, she imagined he was still there with her. She sighed. It was going to be a long night.
     
     
    And so it proved. It was after midnight and still she couldn’t fall asleep. Groaning in frustration she rolled onto her side. The scene between them earlier that evening replayed over and over in her mind.
    She couldn’t forget how wonderful it had been to be in Jake’s arms again. The pleasure she’d received in his kisses, the touch of his hands against her face, his fingers threaded in her hair burned in her memory. She yearned for more.
    Bother! At the rate she was going, she’d still be tossing and turning at dawn. She needed to get some sleep! She had a math section at eight in the morning, and those students were sharp. She needed to be on her toes to challenge them.
    Flinging off her covers, she quickly rose. Maybe some cocoa or a brandy or something would relax her enough to fall asleep. What she really needed was to get her mind off Jake. But that didn’t look likely in the next few centuries.
    She padded silently down the short hall and reached the door to the kitchen at the same instant the window glass broke. Startled at the sound, she snapped on the switch by the door, flooding in the scene with revealing fluorescent light.
    She caught a glimpse of a hand and arm, quickly yanked out of the window and then gone. Shock held her immobile for a long moment, then she flew to the phone to call the police.
    As calmly as she could, she explained the situation to the dispatcher. He promised immediate help. Even as she hung up, she could hear the distant wail of a siren. Apprehensively she stayed by the phone, watching the kitchen door to see if anyone came through. She heard nothing but the blood pounding through her veins. She thought she’d scared the intruder away, but she wasn’t sure. She yanked on her coat and stood by the front door, tense and alert. If anyone came in through the kitchen, she’d flee out the front.
    Seconds later, heavy pounding shook the door. Brianna whipped it open and almost flung herself into the policeman’s arms.
    In less than half an hour, things were back to normal. The officer had temporarily patched the window, scoured the grounds for an intruder, written down her statement and posted a patrol to survey the neighborhood until morning.
    The disturbance had awakened the Bensons, and when they heard what had happened, they insisted Brianna spend the rest of the night with them.
    Gratefully she accepted. For one brief moment, she was tempted to call Jake. Gathering up her things, she locked the door behind her, wondering if she should consider moving. If these break-ins threatened to become a habit, she'd have to. She couldn’t continue to live like this.
    Snuggled down in the guest room of the Bensons’ a few minutes later, Brianna seriously wondered what anyone could want badly enough to break into her house twice. She had no classified secrets, no final exams, no jewelry. It was most puzzling. Reading