Heat It Up by Elle Kennedy Read Free Book Online Page B

life. Well, insinuated was probably the wrong word. That implied she’d been the one to seek out a bigger role in his life, when it was him who’d told her to move her stuff in his cottage, him who’d convinced her to stay for breakfast every morning instead of heading back to her room to write. Since he was still on leave thanks to the bullet wound, he had absolutely nothing to do, other than look for a place to live, yet instead of meeting with the realtor, he’d been spending all his time with Jane.
    For a man who didn’t want a relationship, his actions of the last few days troubled the hell out of him.
    Those same actions evidently confused Jane, because as they pulled out of the hotel parking lot on Thursday afternoon, she turned to him and said, “I don’t get it. Are we dating?” Her no-nonsense tone made him smile. He’d never met anyone like Jane Harrison. Sex-goddess looks aside, she was smart as hell, unfailingly honest, and way too perceptive for his peace of mind.
    “We’re flinging, remember?” he said, heading toward the bridge that separated Coronado from San Diego, where they were heading.
    “People who fling do not go to play mini-golf.” Jane shot him a sideways glance, looking flabbergasted. “Why are we going to play mini-golf?”
    “You mentioned you liked to play, so I figured it was a nice way to spend the afternoon,” he pointed out.
    “It is, but I still don’t get why you suggested it.” She shook her head, which caused strands of wavy red hair to fall into her eyes. She blew them away in frustration. “You told me you didn’t want a relationship. The stuff we’ve been doing, well…that’s relationship stuff, Becker. Dinner on the boardwalk, watching 24 reruns, mini-golf —that is not a fling.” He sighed. “I know.”
    “So what is this?”

    Discomfort crept up his chest and settled into a lump in the back of his throat. That was precisely what he’d been asking himself for the last couple of days. Since when had this turned into more than just sex? It was Jane’s fault, for being so damn likable. He had never really connected with many people. In high school, even though he’d been on the football team and part of the in crowd, he hadn’t had many close friends. During SEAL training, where most of the men bonded, he’d kept to himself. Even now, he was part of a close-knit team with five other guys and he never saw them off the base.
    But Jane…he connected with her. She made him laugh. And she turned him on like no other woman ever had, not even his ex-wife.
    He thought of what she’d just asked him. What was this? Fucked if he knew.
    “I don’t know,” he admitted, keeping his gaze glued to the road.
    “Okay.” She paused. “This conversation is pointless, anyway. I leave in a few days, so even if we are dating, we won’t be for much longer.”
    The pain gnawing at his insides was disconcerting. He’d forgotten she would be leaving on Sunday, and he wasn’t sure why the thought of her walking out of his life made his chest feel so tight.
    He didn’t reply, and neither of them said much as he drove to the mini-golf course Jane had found the address for on Google maps. They’d been lying in bed, recovering from their respective orgasms when he’d brought up the idea, though he still wasn’t quite sure why he’d suggested they spend the afternoon playing mini-golf. Jane was right—this was relationship stuff. He’d agreed to a casual fling, some fun in bed, so why did he suddenly feel so eager to have fun with Jane out of bed?
    He pulled into the gravel parking lot and shut the engine of his rented SUV. He and Jane got out, and she immediately plopped a pair of sunglasses on the bridge of her freckled nose. The sun shone overhead in a cloudless sky, and a warm breeze brushed across Becker’s bare arms. He slipped on his own sunglasses, aviator-style ones that Jane had teased him about, declaring they belonged in a cheesy action movie. But he