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nervous and—”
    “Yes, I got that part,” she interrupted to say. “But what makes you think any man would stalk me?”
    Had she looked in the mirror lately? If she’d asked him
why
he thought she was being stalked, then he could have told her that his SEAL training had taught him how to zero in on certain things. But her question had been what made him think
any man
would want to stalk
her
. That was a different question altogether. He could see a man becoming obsessed with her. Hadn’t Bane?
    “You’re a very beautiful woman. You’ve always been beautiful, Crystal. You’re even more so now.”
    She shook her head. “Beautiful? You’re laying it on thick, aren’t you, Bane?”
    “No, I don’t think so. Level with me. Is there some man stalking you? Is that why you had the gun? And what’s with the luggage? You’re going someplace?”
    She broke eye contact with him to shrug. “The gun is to protect myself.”
    Bane had a feeling that wasn’t all there was to it. When he’d first walked into her house he’d seen the luggage, but his mind had been solely on her, entranced with her beauty. This older version of Crystal sent his heart pounding into overdrive. It had been a long time. Too long.
    He turned his concentration back to what she’d just told him. “You have the gun to protect yourself... I can buy that, although this seems to be a pretty safe neighborhood,” he said. “But that doesn’t explain why you were ready to shoot. Has your home been broken into before?”
    “No.”
    “Then what’s going on?”
    Even after all this time he still could read her like a book. She had a tendency to lick her lips when she was nervous, and unconsciously shift her body from side to side while standing on the balls of her feet. He could tell she was trying to decide how to answer his question. That didn’t sit well with him. In the past, he and Crystal never kept secrets from each other. So why was she doing so now?
    “After all this time, you don’t have the right to ask me anything, Bane.”
    You’re wrong about that, sweetheart.
    Without thinking about what he was doing, he closed the distance separating them to stand directly in front of her. “I believe I do have that right. As long as we’re still legally married, Crystal, I have every right.”
    She lifted her chin and pinched her lips together. “Fine. Then, we can get a divorce.”
    “Not happening.” He rubbed his hand down his face. What the hell was going on here? Not only was this reunion not going the way he’d wanted, it had just taken a bad turn.
    He looked at her, somewhat bewildered by her refusal to answer his question. “I’m asking again, Crystal. What’s going on with you? Why the gun and the packed luggage?”
    When she didn’t answer, standing there with a mutinous expression on her face, he then asked the one question he hadn’t wanted to ask, but needed to know. And he hoped like hell he was wrong.
    “Are you involved with someone who’s causing you problems?”
     

Three
    T hat question set Crystal off. She took the final step to completely close the distance between them. “Involved with someone? Are you accusing me of being unfaithful?”
    “Not accusing you of anything,” he said in a tone that let her know her outrage had fueled his. “But I find it odd you won’t answer my question. Why are you acting so secretive? You’ve never acted that way with me before.”
    No, she hadn’t. But then the Bane she used to know, the one she’d loved more than life itself, would not have forgotten her for five years. He would have moved heaven, hell and any place in between to have her with him so the two of them could be together.
    “You’re not the only one who’s changed. Just like you’re not the same, I’m not the same.”
    They faced off. She didn’t see him move, but suddenly his body brushed against hers and she drew in a sharp breath. The touch had been electric, sending a sizzle through her.