7 Degrees of Alpha (a collection of seven new BWWM, Alpha Male Romances) by et al Phoenix Daniels Sara Allen Read Free Book Online

chicken?” Val asked. Her feet were up on the seat that she sat in, her posture relaxed. All the tension of the last few hours had fallen away from her, and she could finally breathe easier.
    “Then I wanna try your beef,” Jones told her, eying a piece he’d been looking at for some time. He speared it with his fork and then popped the morsel into his mouth quickly before she could change her mind.
    Val shook her head. “Childish… Tsk!”
    He’d spent one entire day with her, making him feel as though he’d known her his whole life. Jones wanted nothing more than to tease her and watch the smiles she’d been hiding all evening, play across her beautiful, sexy lips. He wanted to capture those very same lips with his own and explore how soft they were. He watched as she ate from his plate, her mindless chatter droning on in the background of his thoughts. He didn’t care if she ate the whole thing, so long as she kept smiling; her teeth a stark contrast against her darker skin, making the perfection a special delight.
    Jones reached over the table tentatively, his finger touching the side of her mouth to remove the small drip that hung suspended from the side of her lip. He cocked his head to the side as he felt her smooth skin. He couldn’t fathom what had made him do it, and he certainly wasn’t going to let on he had been moving with instinct.
    Jones shook his head, as though waking from a dream, watching the quirk of her lips as she looked at him.
    “What was that all about?” Val asked him.
    “You had something on the side of your mouth. Just being a gentleman and removing it for you. Problem?” he queried.
    “Not for me. But I think you might be having a few, by that look on your face.” Her chestnut colored eyes darkened with a sensual, amber glow.
    “And what would you know about me having problems? Unless you think that creating a few will achieve an outcome.” His steely blue-grey eyes grew intense as he looked at her across the narrow table.
    The atmosphere in the room became charged, with neither willing to be the first to lower their gaze. Neither was ready to admit that there were charged emotions that needed to be dealt with. A steady flame had ignited in the tense atmosphere, taking their budding friendship to a deeper level.
    “I think it’s time for me to go to bed… alone ,” Val said, as she removed her feet from under her and stood.
    “Look, Val. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable here. You can stay as long as you want, no strings attached.” Jones stood, pushing his long-fingered hands into his pockets. He wanted to do more with his hands than hide them away, but he also understood the situation he had just removed her from. The last thing he wanted was to be the rebound guy. Jones wanted all of her, not a small part that may still be reeling from emotional damage.
    “I have to go to work now, anyway, so I’ll see you in the morning.”
    “But you haven’t even slept today,” Val told him.
    Jones belatedly realized that he’d taken no more than an afternoon nap, when he’d called her because she was on his mind.
    He smiled at her and asked, “And how would you know that?”
    “Because… I don’t know. Maybe I'm assuming.” Her features smoothed, as she looked him up and down. “Anyway, you’re a big boy. I'm sure you can handle yourself; sleep or not.”
    Jones said nothing. He didn’t want to go down the road where that conversation could lead them on, or he would be forced to show her just how big a boy he really was. And there was no time for that.
    Val coughed. “Right. Let me let you go… Do whatever it is you have to do.” She waved her hand around in the air aimlessly.
    Jones’ grin grew wider.
    “Stop! God. Men… always able to change any innocent comment into something else.” She walked past him and out of the room, making her way to the guest room, mumbling to herself as she went.
    Jones couldn’t help himself. He liked to tease her, just