Here All Along by Crista McHugh Read Free Book Online

shavasana , the last traces of his hangover fell away, and he sat up with a clear head.
    Sarah wasted no time rolling up her mat.
    “What’s wrong, Red?”
    “What makes you think anything’s wrong?” she asked without looking at him.
    “You only eat yellow M&Ms when you’re upset.”
    She snapped her head up and stared at him. “You were out late last night.”
    “I was dancing.” He rose from the mat and rolled it up. “I’m allowed to have fun, aren’t I? Or is that not on my schedule?”
    The slight flare of her nostrils let him know he’d pushed her buttons, but she didn’t say anything.
    “Don’t worry, Red, I’m still a mass of sexual frustration.”
    That earned him the stink-eye. She tucked her mat under her arm and went back into the villa.
    And he was stupid to follow her, even after she’d made it clear she was pissed at him. “Red?”
    She spun around so quickly, he collided with her. His arms reflexively reached to steady her, and before he could stop himself, he’d pulled her against him.
    The next few seconds pulsated with a mix of fear, attraction, and frustration. Her eyes widened, and her hands pressed against his chest. But she didn’t push him away. At least, not at first. Her bottom lip trembled, and her gaze wavered between his eyes and his mouth. Then, as though she’d managed to put her shields back into place, she closed her eyes and wiggled free from him.
    Damn it! One day, she’d give into temptation. One day, she’d give him permission to prove how good they’d be together. One day, he’d be free to tell her the contents of his heart.
    But until then, he had to be patient and wait for the sign that she’d be open to it all.
    “Did you tell Gabe who I was?”
    “What do you mean?”
    She rubbed her arm and kicked at the stairs leading back into the villa. “He called me Sage last night.”
    That motherfucking—
    Gideon dug his hands into his palms to keep from blurting out the vicious words streaming through his mind. Practical jokes, he could handle. One-upmanship was part of the acting game. But he refused to stand back while Gabe harassed Sarah. “I’ll have a talk with him when I arrive on the set.”
    “No, please, don’t make a big deal about it.”
    “But it obviously upset you.” He tilted her chin up until she was looking at him. “Or was there another reason why all the yellow M&Ms were missing?”
    “Just be discreet. I like my life the way it is now.”
    “So I’m not in danger of losing my favorite assistant?”
    She covered his hand with her own and pulled it away from her chin. “Not unless I discover Mackinzie Donavan in your bed.”
    The acid in her voice told him she knew about his escapades last night. “We just went dancing. Scout’s honor.”
    “Then you don’t want to see what ended up on the Internet last night.” She turned and strolled back into the villa with a gentle reminder. “You’re the one who doesn’t want to give Donna Carlson anything to use against you.”
    Shit!
    He raked his fingers through his hair and gathered up his yoga mat. By the time he went inside, she’d already disappeared into her room, so he sidetracked to the computer station Jason and Raul had set up. “What’s this about pictures of me from last night being on the web?”
    Jason typed in a few words and flipped the screen around to show him.
    He stared at the picture of Mackinzie straddling his lap and kissing him. The drunken nausea from last night made an encore appearance.
    Jesus, I’m in hot water .
    “I’m trying to see if I can shut it down before it gets too far, boss.” Jason placed a pencil between his teeth and typed at a speed that would put most transcriptionists to shame. The bodyguard looked like a corn-fed farm boy from Nebraska, but underneath all the muscles lurked the mind of a master hacker. “I’ve thrown a net up to limit the spread, but you know what they say about the web.”
    “Yeah—nothing ever dies there.”