End Zone: Texas Titans 2 by Cheryl Douglas Read Free Book Online Page A

Robin
was one chapter; she wasn’t the whole book.”
    “Then you have others? Tattoos, I mean?”
    He grinned. “Yeah, quite a few.”
    “Can I see them?” She knew that was a bold
question since she didn’t know where they were.
    “Sure.” He slowly unbuttoned his shirt,
watching her as though he was waiting for her to stop him.
    Kristen brought her wine glass to her lips
as she watched him strip his white dress shirt. Sure enough, several colorful,
well-placed tattoos marked his tanned skin. An eagle soared between his
shoulder blades. On the inside of his other forearm was another portrait. She
suspected the mature woman was his mother. The last tattoo was a large piece on
his chest. The scene was difficult to see in the dim light, but she knew it was
done by a true artist, as were all the others.
    “They’re beautiful,” she said. She
appreciated all types of art, even body art, though she’d never have the
courage to endure that kind of pain in the name of vanity. Her eyes drifted
back to the piece of Robin.
    “I wouldn’t erase it even if I could,” he
said, reaching for his shirt and slipping it back on.
    She was afraid she’d offended him. “Of course
not. Why would you?” She sipped her wine, hoping he’d let the subject go.
    “My buddies ask me all the time why I don’t
just get it lasered or covered up with another piece.”
    “But you don’t want to?” That shouldn’t
bother her, but she had trouble imagining making love to a man who wore another
woman’s face on his skin as a reminder of their time together.
    “No, I don’t.” He rested his arm on the
back of the couch. He let her long hair slide through his fingers as he fixated
on the silky strands instead of her face. “It reminds me of what I had and
lost. What I want to find again. Only next time, I want it to be real. What I
had with Robin was just an illusion.”
    Kristen swallowed, trying to come to terms
with the fact that he’d obviously loved his wife deeply. She’d never known love
like that. Robert had been a good match for her on paper. He had all of the
qualities she believed she was looking for, but as it turned out, none of
substance.
    “I want to find love again.” He looked in
her eyes. “The kind that makes me want to jump out of bed because I can’t wait
to see her. Lingering kisses that I never want to end. Long phone calls in the
middle of the night, talking about the future, kids, the life we dream of
building together.” He smiled. “Robin was on the road a lot. We didn’t spend
much time in the same city.”
    She got a burning sensation in her stomach
when she realized that the first man she’d been interested in a long, long time
still harbored feelings for his former wife. She leaned forward to set her wine
glass on the table. “It was nice to see you again. But I really should get
going.”
    Grabbing her wrist, he said, “You can’t
leave now, not like this.” His eyes landed on her lips, and he didn’t even try
to tear his gaze away. “You made me feel something a lifetime ago, Kristen. I
still feel that when we’re together.”
    Kristen held her breath, praying he
couldn’t tell she was hanging on his every word and praying he’d say something
to dispel her doubts about him. “I don’t know if you’re ready for a relationship.
I don’t even know if I am. It hasn’t been that long since my engagement ended
and—”
    “He didn’t deserve you.” Matt moved in
closer, wrapping his hand around the back of her neck. “I may not deserve you
either, but I’d spend every moment we’re together trying to be the man who can
give you what you need.”
    She planted her hands firmly on his
shoulders, trying to keep him at a safe distance. “This is happening too fast.
I’m not ready.” She would never be ready to give herself to a man whose heart
may belong to someone else. How long before Robin realized her mistake and
called, begging him to take her back? And where would that leave