Break On Through (32 page)
“Nothing.” She gathered up the detritus on the table and rose to throw it away.
Frowning, Bing watched her cross to the trash can beneath the sink. Would his brother really warn her against him?
But of course Brody would. The other man knew that long ago Bing had calculated his odds of managing the relationship thing, given the dysfunctional examples of their childhood and the clusterfuck that was their eighteenth birthday. Since it hadn’t looked good, he’d moved on with Plan B, which Brody described as “The Swift Bedding and the Even Swifter Goodbye.”
Still, Bing was always upfront and honest about his intentions, and Christ, didn’t that put him leagues above Alexa’s philandering ex-fiancé?
She was standing in the middle of the kitchen now, looking everywhere but at him. “Well, thanks for the, um, help. I do need to get back to work.”
“Will you be able to restrain yourself from strangling your cousin with a length of bridal veil?”
He was gratified by her small laugh. “Don’t think I won’t be tempted. But I’ll be busy meeting with an engaged couple who’ve hired me to build their website.”
She did that. From her family’s bridal business she’d carved her own niche. She created sites that friends and families of the potential brides and grooms could check out to inform themselves of the upcoming nuptials. Though Bing didn’t get the appeal, he gave her points for recognizing a need and stepping in to fill it. Word from his bro was she’d expanded into building sites around expectant babies, too, which fit in well with the handmade coming-home-from-the-hospital infant clothes and the heirloom-worthy christening gowns that were a new part of the Alessios’ business platform.
He stood, assessed her still-flushed face. “Let me get you a bottle of water for the road.” After snagging two from the refrigerator, he put one into her uninjured hand.
“Thanks,” she said.
“You’re welcome.” As if making a toast, he lifted his bottle, tapped it against hers. “To Alexa getting whatever she’s been longing for.”
More color crawled up her neck. “Oh, I don’t know…” She stared at the sweating plastic in her hand, then flicked her gaze at him. “How about you?”
This close, as close as maybe he’d ever been to her, he could smell her scent. Something the tiniest bit…fruity. Juicy. Sweet.
His gaze wandered to her mouth as the urge to have her under him surged again. His cock wanted in. “To Bing getting what he’s been aching for.”
Alexa twitched, then neither one of them moved as he watched her nipples tighten and peak beneath the sunny fabric of her dress.
Fuck
.
Something shifted in his chest and heaviness pooled in his groin while his cock rose behind the flimsy nylon of his running shorts.
Fuck!
He understood now. Finally. Why she avoided him. Why she always kept Brody between them. It was to hide how he aroused her.
It was her defense against the way he turned her on.
All the muscles in his body tightened.
“You should let me do it for you,” he said, not sure if he meant the wedding date shit or something else. Everything else.
“I really shouldn’t,” she whispered.
Moving slowly, he reached to pull the bottle from her clasp. He dropped both his and hers to the floor, where they landed with a liquidy squelch and then rolled around, glug-glug-glugging. His gaze found hers, and while he held it, he reached again, this time taking her hand. Her whole arm stiffened, then her fingers went limp in his clasp in a gesture that spoke of…God, how fucking good.
Submission. She was no longer fighting him, herself, this attraction, at least for the moment anyway.
The unspoken acquiescence fired his blood, further stiffened his cock, and put his instincts on high alert. His brain was demanding he be careful while his body was clamoring for more contact, deeper contact, plundering kisses and possessive thrusts into anywhere she’d let him take her. He was desperate to taste her on his tongue from mouth to toes and every delectable place in between.
His ingrained habit of calculating the odds kicked in.
Chances were, this was more trouble than he bargained for.
But damn, he didn’t think that would stop him.
Christie Ridgway’s Book List
Light My Fire
(Rock Royalty 1)
Love Her Madly
(Rock Royalty 2)
Break On Through
(Rock Royalty 3)
Must Love Mistletoe
(Holiday Duet Book 1)
Not Another New Year's
(Holiday Duet Book 2)
First Comes Love
(In Hot Water Book 1)
Then Comes Marriage
(In Hot Water Book 2)
Out on a Limb
(novella)
Take My Breath Away
(Cabin Fever Book 1)
Beach House No. 9
(Beach House No. 9 Book 1)
Bungalow Nights
(Beach House No. 9 Book 2)
The Love Shack
(Beach House No. 9 Book 3)
About the Author
Christie Ridgway is the author of over forty-five novels of contemporary romance. All her books are both sexy and emotional and tell about heroes and heroines who learn to believe in the power of love. A
USA Today
bestseller, Christie is a six-time RITA finalist and has won best contemporary romance of the year and career achievement awards from
Romantic Times Book Reviews
.
A native of California, Christie now resides in the southern part of the state with her family. Inspired by the beaches, mountains, and cities that surround her, she writes tales of sunny days and steamy nights. For a complete list of books, excerpts, and news on the latest going on with Christie: