Collision by Cassandra Carr Read Free Book Online Page B

they began their descent into Pueblo,
she jumped when he remarked, “Not long now.”
    “No, not long now,” she whispered, still turned toward the
window. She refused to meet his gaze, even when she had to feel his eyes on
her. Her breathing had accelerated and he saw through her reflection in the
window that a fine sheen of sweat had appeared on her forehead.
    He grinned. He’d wondered if he was the only one being
affected by their closeness. Despite her attempts to convince him otherwise,
she wasn’t unaffected. Far from it. Now all he had to do was break through the
walls she was throwing up and he’d have her, and having her would be one of the
sweetest things he’d ever experience. He was sure of it.
    When they reached their hotel and got to their rooms, Leah
put the keycard into the lock and spoke to Brady without looking at him. “I’ll
call you tomorrow morning when I’m ready to leave. I have a few phone calls to
make first.” He crowded his body behind hers and fingered a trailing lock of
her hair, tucking it behind her ear.
    Leaning in to fan his breath over her neck, he said,
“Looking forward to it, darlin’. I can’t wait to get you outta these clothes.”
With a low sound of amusement, he moved on to his own door.

Chapter Four
     
    The next day, she put off calling Brady as long as she
could, but it was already ten thirty and she knew if she didn’t call him soon
he was going to bust down the door. Sighing, she dialed his room. He picked up
on the first ring and she couldn’t help but smile. “Hey, it’s Leah. I’m ready
whenever you are.”
    “Be right over.” He hung up the phone and Leah chuckled,
setting hers down in the cradle before going into the bathroom to make a final
check of her appearance. Not thirty seconds later a knock sounded. She opened
the door to reveal Brady clad in a deliciously tight pair of jeans, a
button-down shirt that stretched over his chest and biceps like a lover might
after really good sex, and a devilish smile. “Ready?”
    “In a sec.” She grabbed her room key and purse and they
headed out. Leah was surprised when Brady simply turned her to the left out of
the hotel.
    “The store is within walking distance,” he explained.
    Leah eyed her shoes and then him. “For you or for me?”
    Laughing, he answered, “If your ankle starts to hurt I’ll
carry you. How’s that for a deal?”
    “Great,” she mumbled. There was a reason she wasn’t a pairs
skater—having people all over her made her nervous, and even more so when it
was Brady. She vowed to make it to the store herself no matter how sore her ankle
got. Brady pointed out various landmarks as they walked, including the arena
where the event would take place over the next couple of days. As he told her
all about the Pueblo River Walk, which was still under construction, she raised
an eyebrow. “You know an awful lot about this area. Are you on the tourism
board or something?”
    Brady laughed. “We’re here twice a year and the NBT’s
corporate headquarters are here. All told, I’m probably here six or seven times
a year.” They walked a bit more until they came to a huge warehouse-type store.
“Come on, sweetheart, we’re here.” Brady ushered her inside, his eyes
twinkling. She didn’t trust that twinkle one bit, but trudged in after him. He
headed for the women’s section and turned to her, assessing her from head to
toe.
    She absolutely refused to squirm under his scrutiny, no
matter how uncomfortable and warm it was making certain parts of her body that
she’d rather remained dormant. “What?” she finally asked.
    “Well, I can’t ask you how much you weigh, so I was trying
to see if I could tell what size you were just by looking at you.”
    Leah tapped her foot. “And what conclusion did you draw?”
    He grinned. “That I’m not stupid enough to guess.” He
reached out and ran a fingertip down her cheek. “But from what I’ve seen and
felt you’ve got nothing to