Hot Seduction by LISA CHILDS Read Free Book Online

“Cody...”
    He groaned again and touched his fingers to the bump on his head. He was hurting. Really hurting.
    And she was thinking only of how amazing his body felt against hers. His cock pushed against her hip, pulsing like her heartbeat. She wanted to touch it, taste it...
    But she couldn’t act on her desire—for so many reasons. She reached for the tub instead of him, trying to use the porcelain for leverage. But her hand slipped. The surface wasn’t just slick from the water. There was something on it—something oily.
    She understood now why Cody had fallen. He could have been killed.

5
    H IS BODY ACHED with desire. Cody had never wanted anyone more than he wanted Serena Beaumont. His head ached, too. Actually it pounded. He grimaced at the pain and tried to pry open his eyes. The light was so bright, though, that he groaned. Then a dark shadow, leaning over him, mercifully blocked the light.
    â€œSerena,” he murmured.
    The shadow chuckled—a deep, masculine-sounding chuckle. It definitely wasn’t Serena leaning over his naked body.
    Cody shifted against the bathroom floor. His butt slid over the wet porcelain tiles, producing a squeaking noise.
    The chuckle turned into a loud, echoing laugh. “Jeez, Cody...”
    He recognized that voice, and heat rushed to his face.
    â€œOwen, what the hell are you doing here?” he asked. The last thing he remembered was stepping into the shower. How had he wound up on the floor? The only images that flashed through his mind were of Serena, in a thin robe.
    Her nipples had pushed against the silky fabric, and then the robe had parted, revealing honey-toned curves...
    Was that just a dream, like all the others he’d had about her since they’d first met months ago? But her skin and lips had felt so real.
    It was almost as if he could taste her still, the sweetness of her mouth.
    A light flashed in his eyes—just a small beam, but it felt like it was shining through his pupil and piercing his brain. “Damn it! Damn it!” He batted at the flashlight. “Shut it off!”
    â€œI am trying to check you out,” Owen said.
    Since Cody was sprawled naked across the bathroom floor, it shouldn’t have been too difficult. At least he wasn’t hard anymore—not now that he’d realized it was Owen leaning over him and not Serena.
    Where was Serena? He peered around the white-and-blue bathroom, but he and Owen were alone. Had she ever been in there?
    â€œWho called you?”
    Had Stanley found him? That poor kid.
    â€œYour landlady,” Owen said. “You kept murmuring her name.”
    â€œSerena found me?” he asked. So he hadn’t imagined it. She had been there while he was naked. “And she called you ?” She knew Wyatt because she was friends with Fiona. But Owen?
    â€œShe called 911,” Owen replied. “Remember, I’m a paramedic, too?”
    â€œYeah, yeah, I know that,” Cody said. Fortunately Dawson wasn’t working with him tonight; the assistant superintendent was too busy helping Zimmer try to catch the arsonist to go out on medical calls.
    Hell, maybe Dawson was in the room too, for all Cody knew. His eyesight was fuzzy, making it hard for him to focus visually and mentally. Owen was still leaning over him with that damn light. The guy was so big—broad-shouldered and tall—he could have been blocking Dawson from Cody’s blurry vision.
    â€œWhat the hell happened?” he asked.
    â€œDon’t you remember?” Owen asked, and there was concern in his deep voice and blue eyes. He was older than Cody—not just in years but experience. Cody couldn’t imagine what Owen had seen overseas, but the guy had come back with scars—one was visible, running down the left side of his face. He suspected there were more.
    Cody shook his head and flinched as pain reverberated throughout his skull. His head was pounding so badly