Game of Love by Melissa Foster Read Free Book Online Page B

“Dex?”
    He flipped onto his back and laid his arm over his eyes. “Hmm?”
    “Were you expecting someone?”
    “What?” He lowered his arm and pushed himself up on one elbow. Regina stood in her tank top and underwear. Without a bra, she had little breast buds, almost nonexistent, her hip bones jutted out above the slim lines of her silk panties, and her straight black hair was now tangled and mussed. Dex had become so used to seeing her in her various states of undress that he had no reaction, as if she were his sister.
    “There’s a knock at the door. I was gonna get it, but…”
    “What? Knock?” Shit. Now what? He pulled himself from the bed and lumbered down the hall with Regina on his heels. He ran through the possibilities. Mitch? Had a key. Siena? Had a key. Another of his siblings? They’d have called. He looked out the peephole and unlocked the door as quickly as he could.
    “Ellie?”
    She blushed. “I’m sorry.”
    He pulled her inside and shut the door. “What’s wrong?” He looked her up and down, as if the answer might be written in indelible ink for all to see. He knew better.
    She lifted her eyes to Regina and took a step back. “I’m sorry. I’ll go. I just—”
    Dex looked from Regina to Ellie, then back again. Shit . “It’s not what it looks like.” He glared at Regina as if she’d done something wrong.
    Regina folded her arms over her stomach.
    “Ellie, come in.” He set her suitcase by the door and guided her past Regina and into the living room. “Reg, can you make some coffee?”
    “On it,” she answered.
    Ellie was trembling. She had that faraway look in her eyes again.
    “Ellie, what happened? Did something happen with your friend?” The protective urges he’d carried with him whenever she was around came back in full force. Every muscle tensed.
    She licked her lips and fiddled with the edge of her T-shirt. Her eyes skirted over his chest, lingering at each of his tattoos. “Nothing happened with her.” She dropped her eyes and they locked on his boxers and held just long enough for his body to warm.
    Shit . No matter how much he tried, Dex couldn’t separate his feelings for Ellie from his need to remain numb and protect his heart, and if she continued to stare at his groin, it would take less than a minute before she’d see just how much he wanted her.
    She looked away, and Dex let out a relieved sigh. He watched her survey his belongings. The distressed leather sofa, marble fireplace, expansive hardwood floors, and balcony overlooking Central Park. He could almost see the doors to her emotions slamming and locking as she noted each item. Dex glanced behind him, seeing his apartment through Ellie’s eyes for the first time. Exclusive. Extravagant. Even if not furnished as such, with recycled furniture and eclectic pieces that looked distressed, more worn than new. He took her hand and pulled her down beside him on the sofa.
    Regina came out with two cups of coffee. “Everything okay?” she asked.
    “I’m so embarrassed. I’m sorry I woke you guys up.” She pushed to her feet, and Dex tugged her down again.
    “Sit.”
    “No, really—” She tried to rise to her feet again, but he held on tight, pinning her to the couch.
    “Ellie, tell me what happened.”
    She looked at Regina, then lowered her eyes again.
    “You know, I think I’ll go back to bed. Sorry for whatever happened, Ellie, but whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll be okay. Dex is good at fixing things.” She flashed a friendly smile and left the room.
    “Oh my God, Dex. You should have told me. I never would have showed up,” she whispered, whipping her head around toward the hall.
    “Would you stop? Regina and I aren’t…we don’t…she’s a friend, and not that kind of friend. We worked until four in the morning, so she crashed here.”
    Ellie pressed her lips together and raised her eyebrows in a gesture that Dex remembered to mean, You don’t think I believe that, do