Holiday Serenade, The by Ava Miles Read Free Book Online Page B

“I said I wouldn’t touch you until you asked me. I didn’t say I wouldn’t talk about it. Especially when it’s just us around.”
    She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m leaving if you do.”
    The corner of that gorgeous, sensual mouth tipped up. “I believe you just might, so I won’t call your bluff. Now, let’s go sit down in the den, and you can chew at me all you want.”
    Since she’d used her teeth on him in some rather wild moments in the past, she knew it was a double entendre. Her toes curled in her boots in a desperate attempt to stay grounded.
    He took her tea cup and his and left the kitchen. She trailed behind him, her eyes lowering to his ridiculously firm butt. God, how she’d loved having her hands on it.
    When he paused, she followed suit. “Why did you stop?” she asked.
    Looking over his shoulder, he said, “I know you’re looking at my ass. I wanted to make sure you had your fill.”
    Had she thought her tremors were like an earthquake earlier? Then surely this was the aftershock. She had to clear her throat before she could issue a comeback. “You’re full of it.”
    The murmur he gave was low and sexy. “I’d rather be full of you. Do you want a glance at the front too? I recall you saying both my front and back sides were exceptional.”
    She bit her lip at the heated flashes that ran through her mind, one of which involved her on her knees in front of him. “I told you I would leave if you kept talking like this.”
    “You looked.”
    How could she not?
    “Fine,” he said when she focused all her energy on giving him her Don’t mess with me look, the same one she gave Dustin.
    Rhett set their cups on an old Mission–style coffee table in dark mahogany.
    She wisely took the loveseat next to the couch, not trusting herself to sit next to him. “Rhett, you know there was no one else but you after…what happened to me with Dustin’s father, right?”
    Maybe it was because it had been on her mind earlier, but the words just popped out of her mouth. They’d never talked about her past relationships, largely because there hadn’t been any. Plus, she’d been embarrassed in light of his reputation with the ladies. Thankfully, it had never been an issue. They’d been so obsessed with each other that she hadn’t questioned his faithfulness for the six months they were together. He’d called or texted her every day, telling her he was thinking about her. Trusting him had been easy. Rhett didn’t say things he didn’t mean.
    He carefully lowered the tea cup he’d picked up, and she was shocked to see it tremble in his large hand.
    “I didn’t know that until now, although I suspected what we had wasn’t typical for you. I mean, I knew you had a son, but I’d never seen you with anyone. I’m honored, Abbie. I’m sorry I can’t say the same thing about me, but there’s no one else but you now.”
    God, why did he always have to say the sweetest things when she was trying… “I didn’t tell you to make you feel bad,” she said, not exactly sure now why she’d brought it up. Confusion had become her new normal. “I only wanted you to understand…”
    And in that minute, she didn’t know what she wanted him to understand. It was like the answer was stored in a lockbox, even from herself.
    “Yes?” he said, settling the cup of tea against his thigh, his face impassive.
    She shook her head and reached for her tea. The answer was out of reach. “Never mind.”
    His stillness reminded her of how he kept his body at the table at a tournament when the pressure was crushing.
    “You wanted me to understand it’s unusual for you to be with a man, and something you don’t take lightly. I know that. Always have. Now, if you’re telling me because you’re plagued with self–doubt and have forgotten how hot and sexy it was between us, then let me assure you. It was. I’d be happy to remind you, Abbie.”
    “No, I haven’t forgotten how it was.” And wasn’t