Johnny (Connelly Cousins #2) by Abbie Zanders Read Free Book Online

full, rumbling sound that made her smile, too. Some of her initial anxiety began to fade. For as easy as he was on the eyes, he was pretty easy to be around, too. She might as well make the best of it. She wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon and he didn’t seem to be in a hurry to leave.
    “So you work construction, huh? What’s that like?”
    “It’s good, honest work.” One of those lovely bronzed shoulders lifted slightly, bringing her attention to the tattoos extending halfway down his upper arms. He sported them on both sides. Stacey silently appreciated the symmetry and balance of the Celtic symbols.
    “Lina says you own the company but you’re out there every day, busting your ass. Why?”
    A boyish grin. “I like working with my hands.”
    She’d bet he was damn good with them, too. She went to take another drink of her beer, frowning when she discovered it was empty. Johnny reached across the water, took the bottle, and replaced it with a fresh one.
    “You’re not trying to get me drunk, are you?” she teased.
    “That depends.”
    “On what?”
    “Your level of inhibitions.”
    She laughed, and it felt wonderful. There was a time when she’d been more interested in having a good time and less worried about things like consequences and repercussions, but she’d been a different woman then.
    Stacey kept the smile on her face, but inside, her good spirits plummeted. Little did he know that this trip had been the most impulsive, risky thing she’d done in years, or that her sex life was non-existent except for the solos made possible by battery-operated technology. Most men took one look at her these days and left skid marks in their haste to flee.
    So why was he still here?
    The truth dawned. Because he didn’t know . Lina probably hadn’t told him she was disabled, and from where he was sitting, her chair wouldn’t be easily visible. As far as he was concerned, she was no different from any other woman he might have come across soaking naked in his hot tub. .
    Should she tell him? And if so, what would she say? “Hey, Johnny, before you invest too much time and effort trying to get me into your bed, you should know that I’m confined to a wheelchair and have only sporadic, unpredictable control of my legs.”
    That would definitely kill the mood.
    She could picture it so easily. His eyes would widen slightly, and the desire she saw there would quickly cool. His features would slip into a neutral mask and he’d shift uncomfortably. Maybe he’d try to continue the conversation for a while longer, but it would become strained and awkward. Eventually, he’d figure he’d put in enough effort to be polite, he’d say goodnight, and that would be the end of it.
    Perhaps it was unfair to predict his reaction, but her experiences over the last five years provided overwhelming support in favor of that particular outcome.
    “Hey, where’d you go?” he asked, breaking into her musings. He was looking at her, his laughing eyes more serious than they had been only moments earlier.
    “Nowhere,” she said. “Just thinking.”
    “About me, I hope?”
    “Yes,” she answered honestly.
    His eyes twinkled devilishly, those lips curved into a smug grin. It was hard not to respond to that level of confidence. The sexy bastard knew exactly how appealing he was.
    How long had it been since a man looked at her like that, with lust and hunger in his eyes? And, more importantly, when was the last time her core ached so sweetly? Maybe it was wrong of her, false pretenses and all that, but she wasn’t ready for it to end. Not yet.
    “I’m wondering how it is you’re not floating in this water with that overinflated ego you seem to have.”
    Far from offending him, her quip only made him grin wider. “That’s not ego, baby. That’s confidence.”
    “Sure of yourself, are you?”
    “Very. Especially when it comes to pleasing a beautiful woman.”
    She snorted.
    “Ah, a doubter. My favorite kind of