Deeper (The Real Fling) by Lyla Bellatas Read Free Book Online Page A

in question.
    “That body was made for dance.”
    “Maybe, but not on stage.” Hunger glazed his eyes as he knelt in front of her. “Let me see what is going on.” Locking eyes with her, he cautioned, “Remember, breathe.”
    She steeled herself for his touch.
    “It will hurt more when you hold your breath like that.” He paused as if to say, Don’t even bother questioning how I know.
    She took in tiny, shallow morsels of air and let out even shorter puffs.
    “Deeper breaths.” Slowly, he threaded her left arm out of her sweater, then her head, and shed it off her right arm.
    Any movement of her shoulder painfully cut into her. She wanted to scream, but instead bit her lip so excessively she was surprised she didn’t draw blood. Tears snaked down her face.
    He tugged on her thermal. “Want me to turn around?”
    Shaking her head, she willed the pain away. “Got. Bra.”
    He swept her undershirt up and over the left side and slowly eased it off her right arm. His expression turned somber as he examined her shoulder.
    “That bad?”
    He cradled her face in his hands, wiped her cheeks with his thumbs, and kissed her. First between her brows, then the tip of her nose, and finally her mouth. “We will get through this. I promise.” His voice was soft and low. “It is exactly what I thought. Badly bruised. It will be sore for a while. But you will heal quickly.”
    “How do you know?” She hiccupped.
    “Your personality.”
    “What?” She inched her cheek up and stared at him.
    “You are feisty.”
    “I’m from New York, we’re all feisty, and that’s the nice way of saying it.”
    Amusement lit his eyes. “But you are strong, yes. You have a quick metabolism which means you will heal rapidly.”
    “How do you know I have a quick metabolism?” She sat up straighter.
    He inspected her body, lingering on her ass. “You are muscular. Solid.”
    Adriana cringed. Was he saying she was a big?
    “What? Look at your legs. They are gorgeous, and your muscles are well-defined. You clearly workout, right?”
    “I do.”
    “And you can eat anything you want, yes?”
    She bobbed her head.
    “You will be better tomorrow. If not, we will go to the medical center. It’s the best.” With a furrowed brow, he looked away from her.
    They must’ve taken care of him. Had they done his surgeries? Did he have a skiing accident?
    “But right now the hot tub will do us both good.” His brow cleared instantly. “With bra or without?”
    “Huh?”
    “With the tee and a bra or just the shirt?”
    “Oh. Better keep the bra dry.” Shit , did that mean he was taking it off now? Adriana turned her back to him.
    “Okay.” He looped the tee through her right arm, placed it over her head and weaved her left arm through without causing pain. Once she was covered, he unclasped her bra and removed it through the armhole of her shirt.
    Yeah, he had sisters. Only a man with sisters would know that trick. “Thanks.”
    They went downstairs. Adriana’s phone was ringing and buzzing simultaneously.
    Uh-oh. Her stomach bottomed out. As conflicted as she was about hanging with him, she didn’t want to leave just yet. She retrieved her phone from her jacket.
    “Is it her?”
    Shaking her head, she answered the phone. “Hi, Mom.”
    “Adriana.” Her mother exhaled. “Oh my God. Are you all right? I was so scared.”
    “I’m okay.”
    “Where’ve you been? Jackie’s going crazy.”
    “She called you?” Adriana clutched her phone so tightly her fingers went numb. “What the fu—? Oh gosh. Sorry, Mom.”
    “She was worried.”
    Adriana paced in front of the fire, trying to burn off her anger. “She wasn’t worried. That’s bull.”
    “Where are you?”
    “I’m with friends. I’m so pissed at her.” Adriana stomped her bare foot on the thick carpet. Definitely not as satisfying as she hoped it would be.
    “Adriana, slow down. What friends? I thought you and Jackie went alone? What happened?”
    “I ran into a