Fire and Ice by Sara York Read Free Book Online Page B

taking off.
    “What are you doing up here?” she asked.
    “Running. It’s my day off and I wanted to get some exercise in.”
    “How many miles so far?”
    “Nine or so.” Lash cursed himself for getting into her truck. Her sweet scent made his brain fuzz. His tongue curled at the thought of tasting her again. But he couldn’t. They’d already had sex one too many times. Another mistake and God might just send Puriel to get him instead of Michael to warn him. Puriel wouldn’t play nice—no matter how much God had loved Lash before, he would bet the little dude would be allowed to inflict intense pain and suffering. No, this time Lash had to play nice, and be without blame in God’s eyes.
    “You driving all the way back into town?” he asked.
    “Yep, want me to drop you at the station?”
    “Sure, you could come in for some lunch.” Why the hell had he just said that? He didn’t want her anywhere near him. How the heck could he keep his hands off her if he did stupid stuff like invite her to spend time with him?
    “Yeah, I would love that.”
    The rain picked up, slowing their progress back into town. Lash thought about asking her to pull over and let him walk the rest of the way home, but he couldn’t form the words to get her to stop the truck.
    Just being near Alexandria made him want her. How had God thought Lash could ever help her to fall in love with another man? The desire to possess Alexandria as his own clawed its way up his belly, leaving him dissatisfied.
    “You’re rather silent today.”
    Lash laughed, not wanting to reveal his inner struggle to her. “Sorry, just a bit numb from running. I guess I’m not good company today. You may not want to spend too much time with me.”
    “Don’t be silly. I love spending time with you.”
    Heck, it was going to be almost impossible to turn her off him and on to another guy. It sucked that he had no clue who the guy was.
    Alexandria pulled her truck into the fire station parking lot. Both of them ran for the cover of the front porch, getting soaked on the way. Alexandria fell into his arms, laughing as another round of thunder shook the ground. She looked up, her gaze full of love and caring.
    Lash felt like crap. He would have to break her heart, but he doubted he had the strength to give her up.
    The door to the fire station opened and Scott stepped out. He stared at Alexandria, dripping wet and sexy in her almost transparent clothes, and a spark of desire fired in the other man’s eyes. Lash’s stomach dropped and his heart stalled. Everything slowed to a standstill. Scott was the man God had chosen for Alexandria.
    Lash expected to feel hatred towards the man, but he had none. Scott would make an excellent husband for Alexandria and a wonderful father, too. He actually liked Scott, and now he had to make his lover fall in love with the man. The irony of it sucked.
    “Hey, Lash, you with us?” Scott asked.
    “What? Oh, sorry. I wasn’t paying attention.”
    “You up for pizza?” Alexandria asked, and her eyebrows rose as she brushed a hand down his arm. “You still want to eat lunch together?”
    “Sure, as long as Scott joins us.” Damn, why had he asked Scott along with them? What had possessed him to include the guy? He shouldn’t want this interloper to spend time with Alexandria, but God’s command ruled his conscience. He had to obey the request to get Scott and the love of his heart to hook up and become a family.
    “Um, okay. Scott, you want some pizza?”
    “Sure, I would love that.” Scott’s face lit up as he grabbed on to Alexandria’s arm and escorted her into the fire station.
    Lash followed behind the couple, way too aware of the desire coming off Scott and Alexandria’s response. Just last night he’d been buried deep inside her, knowing that he would never love another, and she was already showing interest in Scott.
    Maybe he was over-exaggerating their connection. He should be pleased that they had some sort