Playing the Playboy by Noelle Adams Read Free Book Online Page B

a workable solution to their dispute.
    She intrigued him—like a puzzle he couldn’t solve.
    And she was so incredibly gorgeous.
    Andrew had been trying to turn over a new leaf, committing to his work and responsibilities, but that didn’t mean he had to live like a monk.
    Both he and Laurel were adults. He knew they’d be good together. Sex wouldn’t have to get in the way of a satisfying settlement, now that he had a plan for one.
    They could have a few really good nights together. It would be a shame to not take advantage of it.
    ***
    Laurel wasn’t sure why she’d agreed for Andrew to join her now, since her walks were usually her favorite alone times.
    He’d looked so handsome—windblown and just a little sweaty—as he’d stood above her on the stairs, and there was something about his expression that spoke to her.
    He’d looked pleased with himself, but with an almost unrecognizable hint of wistfulness.
    So she’d said yes.
    He wasn’t even bad company.
    Last week, she would have assumed that Andrew Damon was one of those men who always had to be talking, the center of attention, charming anyone in his vicinity. He didn’t talk all the time, make jokes, or try to flirt today, though. With the exception of a few questions that almost caught her in her earlier lies, his company on the walk was almost…nice.
    They reached the beach, and the dogs broke out into ecstatic sprints, rushing headlong across the red pebbles of the beach and into the deep blue water.
    Andrew laughed uninhibitedly as he watched them. Laurel took off her sunglasses and saw that his green eyes were warm and sincere, focused in appreciation on the dogs.
    She was very good at telling whether people genuinely liked her dogs, and Andrew did.
    He was unnervingly attractive, standing on the beach beside her with laughter lingering in his expression. “I didn’t know German Shepherds were water dogs.”
    Laurel shrugged and couldn’t help but smile back. “All three of them always were, ever since they were puppies. They love to swim.” She turned back to watch them in the water.
    “I see what you mean about the beach access,” Andrew said, looking around at the picturesque but very rocky beach. “Not ideal for sunbathing.”
    “Some people do, but not many. It’s actually a popular beach for nudists, since it’s not as crowded as the beaches on the west coast.”
    Andrew pushed up the sleeves to his dress shirt. His face was damp with perspiration, and his shirt was getting rather wrinkled. There was something masculine, virile, and almost free about him now—as if he weren’t bound by the pragmatic needs and inhibitions that always restrained her.
    Instinctively, she wanted that. She wanted what she saw in him—the ability to just let everything go and enjoy the moment. She’d never experienced it. Not once in all her life. For some reason, she suddenly wanted it viscerally.
    She remembered how he’d looked sitting in the pool last night, drinking beer and staring at the sunset. His bare chest and strong, sexy body. He’d been attracted to her—that much she’d realized—but what had surprised her was how much she’d been attracted to him too.
    She felt that same attraction now, buzzing in her mind and pulsing through her body. It was irrational, impractical, utterly stupid. She never let her body’s impulses control her behavior. She’d always been too controlled and efficient.
    When Andrew turned back to her, he seemed to notice something in her expression. He grew still, his smile fading into a very different expression. Hungry. Almost feral.
    Her breath hitched, and her lips parted with a wave of heat and feeling.
    “Laurel,” he said thickly, taking her face in his hands and then leaning into a kiss.
    She shouldn’t respond. It was counter-productive and potentially dangerous, but she couldn’t resist. Excitement coursed through her as his lips moved against hers, and she made a silly moan in her throat when