1941002110 (R) by Lynn Raye Harris Read Free Book Online

things growing up, so it wasn’t impossible to believe.”
    “You still believe him?”
    Her eyes blurred a little but she swiped the moisture away. She was ashamed of herself for what she’d thought about the poor maid. For what she’d believed. “No, I don’t.”
    Their gazes met, tangled. It was a long moment before she managed to rip hers away. She reached for the MRE for something to do.
    “Careful,” he said. “It’ll be hot.”
    It was indeed. She tore the packet open as directed and let some steam escape before she dipped the plastic spoon into it. It didn’t smell too bad, so she touched her tongue to the sauce.
    It wasn’t gourmet, but it was pretty good when you were hungry. She spooned the bite into her mouth and swallowed. When she looked up, Chase was still watching her. His brows lowered, making his handsome face into a thundercloud.
    “What?”
    He dropped his gaze and ripped into his own MRE. “Nothing. Eat the food.”
    “I was eating it. You’re the one who looked irritated about it.”
    “I’m not irritated.”
    “Sure you aren’t. You’re just Mr. Happy Sunshine all the time. I love that about you.”
    He shot her a look, the spoon halfway to his mouth. Sophie laughed at the confusion on his face, though it was nervous laughter. There was something going on here, and she didn’t know what.
    “Anybody ever tell you that you talk too much?”
    “It’s been mentioned a time or two.”
    “And you didn’t learn a damn thing, I bet.”
    “What’s there to learn? That I need to be quiet just because people like you don’t like it? No thanks.”
    He frowned even harder. His voice, when he spoke, was tight with anger. “How about that you need to be quiet so your Russian pals don’t follow the sound of your voice straight to this stand?”

7
    H er eyes went wide, and Chase felt like a dick. Well, fuck, she did need to be quiet, but not because they were in danger right now. He’d checked the perimeter thoroughly, and he’d set up a couple of alarms that would trigger an alert to the monitoring system in the tree stand. Thank God for paranoid guys like Don who outfitted their land with state-of-the-art equipment just in case anarchy or the zombie apocalypse set in.
    If Androv’s men got within a two-mile radius, Chase would know about it. Which meant she could talk all she wanted, even if it did drive him insane.
    “I’m sorry,” she said softly.
    Ah, Christ . “It’s fine,” he said, guilt pricking him. “Just keep it down a bit.”
    She nodded and went back to eating. But her eyes remained downcast and the fiery attitude she’d had a moment ago banked. It shouldn’t bother him, but it did.
    It wasn’t that he’d wanted her to be quiet so much as he’d been stunned at his reaction when she’d stuck her tongue out to lick the spoon. The sight of her pink tongue, the way it stretched toward the sauce, the dainty swipe she’d taken—and then the way she’d attacked the food once she determined it was good—that combination had been lethal to him, assaulting him on a primal level that made his dick start to tingle in reaction. Not good.
    He wasn’t supposed to get a hard-on over Sophie. He just wasn’t.
    Chase finished his MRE and cleared the trash. When Sophie finished with hers, he collected her trash as well. He suddenly wanted to say something, wanted to take them back to those moments when she’d been asking him what he liked to read. He wanted to go back and not be a jerk this time, but that was impossible.
    “I like thrillers,” he said, and she looked confused. “Novels. James Patterson, Stephen Hunter, Lee Child, Clancy—stuff like that.”
    “Oh. That’s cool.”
    He shrugged. “Yeah, I guess so.”
    She cleared her throat and their eyes met for a long moment before she dropped her gaze. “You play guitar too.”
    His gut twisted with familiar anger. “Yeah. I fiddle with it here and there.” He snorted softly. “Guess it’s in the DNA,