A Place to Call Home by Christina James Read Free Book Online Page A

she had the common sense to get back in that damn bed and not tempt him to throw her back into it. Although, he would’ve enjoyed seeing her bounce on the mattress after he’d tossed her down. His cock grew harder as he imagined all that red hair, flying wild through the air.
     
    God, how his hands had itched to grab her. Picking her up would have been easy enough. Hell, that toned body of hers hardly weighed anything at all. He also would’ve taken great pleasure in watching her tits jiggle without any under things to hold them firm. Christ, it was driving him nuts thinking about Hannah lying in his bed with no bra and panties and only borrowed shorts and shirt.
     
    Damn it! He was trying his best not to touch her. He rubbed his eyes and sighed again. Touching her would be a mistake he didn’t need right now. She had already proved herself to be a handful, something he didn’t need in his busy life. But whenever he thought of her, he got this persistent hard-on, and it was annoying the hell out of him. It also happened to be the reason he hadn’t fallen asleep yet.
     
    He squeezed his eyes closed and willed himself to fall asleep. But the image of those voluptuous breasts floated into his mind again. Two luscious mounds. Soft creamy skin. Tight pink nipples, straining toward his lips.
     
    He growled low and turned onto his side, still not finding any comfort on the plush couch. He punched his pillow half a dozen times, the effort not relieving any of the tension building in him. Plain and simple, he wanted Hannah. In his arms. In his bed. Now. But that wasn’t going to happen tonight, so he squeezed his eyes harder.
     
    Hadn’t he taken good care of her? He’d rescued her, taken her to the doctor, welcomed her into his home, let her shower, fed her, loaned her clothes, and had given her his damn bed. And what had the woman ended up doing? Argued with him, that’s what. Argued until he’d forced her go to bed like the little brat she was.
     
    Jesus! He didn’t need this drama in his life. His kids gave him enough drama. He certainly didn’t need, or want, anymore.
     
    He dared to glance at the clock again and groaned. Three in the morning. Didn’t look like sleep would come to him tonight. He would just have to—
     
    A woman’s screams interrupted his thoughts.
     
    Instantly, he jumped to his feet, taking the stairs three at a time until he burst through his bedroom door to witness Hannah in the middle of his bed, weeping into her hands.
     
    “Jesus! What is it?” he asked quickly. His heart pounded and adrenaline pumped through his veins.
     
    She looked up, and in that one moment, she appeared so helpless, so young, so vulnerable, his heart broke. Before he could do much to help her, three bodies slammed him from behind, effectively shoving him farther into the room. He turned to face them, the hall light illuminating them.
     
    “What’s wrong?” Aidan asked while Ryan blurted out, “Is she okay?”
     
    “Daddy? Was it a ghost?” Luke asked.
     
    The last question caught Mac’s attention. He bent down to eye level with Luke. “What? No. No ghost. Why would you think it was a ghost?”
     
    But before his youngest son could speak Mac had answered his own stupid question himself. Knowing his oldest son’s bad habit of tormenting his younger brother with scary stories, Mac shot Aidan an angry warning that had the boy shrinking back. The kid knew he’d been busted.
     
    “Everything is all right. Now all of you go back to bed.”
     
    “Can we watch some TV?” Ryan asked.
     
    “What? No. It’s three in the morning. Get back to bed.”
     
    “But I just figured since we’re up we could watch movies.” Ryan persisted. “They’re on twenty-four hours a day, you know.”
     
    “I don’t want to watch Scooby-Doo anymore since there are always ghosts,” Luke said sleepily, slipping his small hand into Mac’s massive one.
     
    Mac looked down at his frightened son and made a mental