Fool Me Once (Codie Snow #1): A Romantic Suspense Series by Jade C. Jamison Read Free Book Online Page B

ex-boyfriend.  Pete was definitely making her question why she’d spent so much time trying to work things out with Slade when it probably should have been evident to her that the guy didn’t want a relationship.  After all, that was part of why they didn’t live together anymore.  Slade hadn’t wanted to commit.  He’d given her a million reasons why, but she knew he wasn’t ready, and she’d accepted it years ago.
    But maybe they weren’t right for each other.  She was definitely questioning their relationship now that she was in Pete’s orbit and believing that breaking up had been the right thing to do.
    She got in the shower, deciding to rinse out her hair too.  Even though the woman hadn’t doused her head, one side of her hair had gotten wet too, and she thought it might be better to wash it all off.  Just in case.  She rolled the bar of yellow soap in her hands, realizing that this very bar had touched Pete’s skin recently…and then Codie, a girl not at all innocent or shy, felt her cheeks grow warm nonetheless.  Pete was the guy she’d lost her virginity to and they’d stayed together through high school.  Hell, Codie couldn’t even remember why their relationship had ended all those years ago now.  But maybe—
    She nearly jumped when she heard Pete’s voice nearby, pulling her out of her musings.  “I’m setting some clothes on the counter here—a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt.  I hope they work.”
    Yeah, no underwear.  That would be fun.  “Thanks, Pete,” she said over the patter of water drops against the tub, wondering if she should invite him in…and then thinking better of it.  A couple of kisses didn’t mean he would be ready to get wet and naked with her.
    “Sure you don’t want something to eat?”
    “I’m good.  Thanks.”
    When she finally turned off the water a minute later, she peeked out of the shower first, pulling the curtain back.  Even though she’d been thinking about Pete in less-than-innocent ways, she didn’t know that she was ready to appear naked in front of him.  But he’d left the room, so she dried off fast and hung up the towel before putting on the clothes he’d offered her.
    The shirt, while big, fit fine, but the sweatpants wouldn’t stay put.  They were too big.  As silly as it sounded, maybe she could ask Pete if he had a belt she could wear.  She piled her clothes and shoes together next to the wall and out of the way, deciding to ask Pete for a plastic bag to carry them in until she got home.  Then she stepped out of the bathroom and into Pete’s quiet, dark house.  He hadn’t turned on a lamp in the living room but light spilled out of the kitchen, leading her to him.  He was standing across the room, leaning against the counter, sipping at a glass of water.  “Feel better?”
    “Lots,” she said, but she showed him that she was holding up the sweatpants with one hand.  “Except these are too big.  Do you have a belt or something?”
    That look—what did it mean?
    The way he crossed the room, getting close to her, gave her the answer.  “I actually have a better idea.”  And as he consumed her in a toe-curling kiss, she wondered if her fingernails digging into his neck were too aggressive or if that was exactly what he’d had in mind.
     

 
     
     
    Chapter Seven
     
     
    CODIE ALLOWED HERSELF to enjoy Pete’s sensual kiss with everything in her.  She hadn’t realized till just that moment that she’d been tense.  Maybe the evening’s events had stressed her out more than she realized.
    Maybe she should give up the fool notion of being in law enforcement.
    For now, though, that thought floated away as Pete’s tongue lightly brushed her bottom lip, teasing her senses.  Part of her thought she should pull away, because this activity was blurring the professional barrier, but the selfish part of her—the part of her that had been increasingly turned on by this old flame throughout the