Dance Away, Danger by Alexa Bourne Read Free Book Online Page B

she should’ve extended her wariness to friendships as well.
    Matt flipped on the heat. “Was the sergeant calling?”
    “Yeah.” She stared out the window. “Whit was on my phone, which means Gerry and Pete are involved in whatever happened to my brother. If so, it’s a pretty sure bet Dave Walgren is, too, and everything I’ve ever known about the police department is a lie.” She waited for Matt to contradict her, but he said nothing.
    His silence was both unnerving and refreshing. Her last few boyfriends had a tendency to tell her what they thought she wanted to hear. No matter what he had had to say, Matt had shared only the truth so far. Granted, his candor was absolutely necessary, but she was pretty sure even in calmer times he wouldn’t slip into the same mold as the other men.
    Cold air seeped through the window. Tessa shivered despite her best efforts not to. “Jason’s life holds the risk, not mine.” She rubbed her bruised wrists. She should’ve expected the arrival of some police, planned for it as a logical step in the investigation, instead of wasting precious time swapping stories with Matt. She couldn’t afford to care about. “I wish I could curl up in my warm, comfortable bed and wake up to my normal life.”
    Matt picked up his jacket and held it out to her. “Here. Put this on.”
    “I’m okay.” She folded her arms and harnessed what heat she could. The man had fought for her. Other than Jason, no man in her life had ever done that. She wasn’t confiscating his coat.
    “Tess, I can hear your teeth chattering.” He dropped it in her lap.
    Instantly warmth licked her thighs. A shudder coasted up her spine. She tunneled her hands between the material and her jeans and at once her body demanded to be wrapped up in the smell of fresh-cut lumber and Matt’s masculine scent. But.... “Then what are you going to wear?”
     
     
    ****
     
     
    Matt slid a cautious peek across the truck. After all they’d been through, she was worried about...“Me?”
    “Yes, you. I don’t want you freezing because of me.”
    For a few seconds, he kept silent, stunned by her concern. Nobody ever worried about him.
    “Good grief, Matt.” She rolled those beautiful emerald eyes. “You’re not going to argue and go all macho on me, are you? Because if you do, I’ll have to smack you upside the head. I’ve had a really rough night, so I just might do it.”
    He chuckled. “Your brother never warned me about your dark side.”
    “Yeah, well there’s a lot to me even he doesn’t know. You’d be surprised.”
    Yes, he was beginning to think he would be.
    Her concern for him touched off a whole new desire, one with nothing to do with sex and everything to do with secret wishes and Sunday picnics by the shore. “All right, check the back seat. There might be a sweatshirt or something in that mess.”
    Tessa twisted around. As she fished through various items behind his seat, her bra skimmed his shoulder. Yes, her bra because Pete had torn her sweater when he’d tried to hurt her. The man had come so close to doing serious damage. Next time those guys came for her, he would be ready.
    “Got it.” She shoved the coat toward him, and slid one of his old sweatshirts over her head. “Much better.”
    He stole another glance at her. She faced the side window with enough calm to defy explanation. Part of him wanted to praise her for the courage she showed. The sensible part of him wasn’t sure what to do.
    “You keep looking at me. Why?”
    Because he wanted to park the vehicle, haul her into his arms, and hold her until his insides stopped shaking. She wasn’t the only one freaked out. For years he’d been responsible for one person only, himself, and he’d made a point of staying out of dangerous situations. He was way out of practice protecting people, and the worry he wouldn’t be good enough to get the job done weighed on him every second.
    “Matt, you with me?”
    He shook his head free of