Coral Hearts by Avery Gale Read Free Book Online

place. Without looking up she finally added, “Although, it is outrageously cold in the winter.” She laughed softly but even to her own ears the levity sounded forced. When she looked up, no one else was smiling. They are probably thinking it wouldn’t seem so damned cold if you’d spend the money to buy a good coat, Coral Anne. And I’ll bet they think boots would be a damned good idea, too. Her well-worn canvas shoes didn’t do much to keep her feet dry in the snow. More than one of the store’s customers had mentioned her lack of appropriate clothing. Hell, two of the men sitting across from her had reminded her to get a pair of boots before the first snowstorm of the season.
    “Sweetness, we’ll be having a long chat about your plans to leave and your deplorable lack of winter clothing—later—in private.” Holy crapamolie. Does he read minds or something? Because I’m pretty sure that would be damned unhandy at times.

Chapter Five
    C oral’s entire body was tingling and she knew it wasn’t from the hot water raining down on her. The water jets were pummeling her tired muscles from various places where they were mounted along the walls of the biggest shower she’d ever seen. God in heaven it felt good to take a hot shower. Coral hadn’t told Charlotte the hot water heater in her apartment wasn’t working properly because she’d worried her sweet boss would spend money she couldn’t afford to replace the antique fixture. Charlotte wasn’t even charging her rent for goodness sake, how could she expect the woman to spend money updating a place that wasn’t generating any income?
    No, it wasn’t the sinful shower making her body feel like it was buzzing in anticipation, what she was feeling now was pure anticipation. Sage hadn’t made any secret of the fact he wanted her…she’d heard it downstairs when she first walked into their kitchen and overheard his conversation with his brothers. All these months she’d been fantasizing about him and now it seemed he’d been interested in her as well. Damn, that had been a pleasant surprise—but it was also a major complication. She didn’t want to involve him or his family in her troubles—what if one of them was hurt because of her? They’d insist on protecting her and would become a target as well. Just thinking about that possibility made her almost physically ill.
    When she’d first stepped into the open doorway of their enormous eat-in kitchen and heard him talking about her, Coral noticed each of the brothers sitting around the table shift subtly in their seats. Their expressions softened, but something in their eyes held her in place until he’d finished. The fact he had listed physical appearance last warmed her heart, knowing he appreciated attributes that wouldn’t fade over time made her want him all the more. But Coral knew she needed to keep reminding herself, just because he wanted her now didn’t mean there would be anything for the two of them long-term. Guys like Sage Morgan don’t marry girls from the other side of the tracks…don’t forget that, Coral Anne.
    She gave herself a good talking to, listing off all the reasons a gorgeous, sexy, successful man would never be interested in keeping her. I really do have to cut back on the romance novels. The hot titles on her Kindle were her one indulgence and God only knew how many times she’d re-read her favorite series. “But men aren’t really like that. Real men don’t put a woman’s pleasure first. It doesn’t matter that Sage makes everything inside me desperate to feel him slide his cock so deep into my pussy he can feel my heart beat. I wonder if orgasms are real. And if they are, how do you know if you have one? Maybe it’s all hype. Well, no matter. I have to remember the happily ever after is for the women on my e-reader, not for me. Damn it all to hailstones now I’m talking to myself…if the Morgan brothers heard this they’d already be making calls and