Renegade Alpha (ALPHA 5) by Carole Mortimer Read Free Book Online Page B

her nipples tightening into hard buds as she looked up at him. His hair was still damp from the shower and brushed ruthlessly back from his face. A clean-shaven face. Without that dark stubble, Lijah’s features were just as aristocratic as she had thought they might be. Wide, intelligent brow, those shrewd indigo eyes, the sharp slash of his high cheekbones, straight nose, sculptured lips, and he had a cleft in the center of his chin above that strong jaw.
    A black T-shirt now stretched across his wide shoulders and muscled chest and arms, black denims wrapped around that taut ass, and he was once again wearing the ubiquitous cowboy boots.
    He looked as if he had just stepped out of one of those advertisements for a male cologne every woman would want to buy in the hope it would give her man the same appeal as the male model.
    Except Callie was beginning to think there couldn’t possibly be another man quite like Lijah.
    Was she getting a crush on this man?
    A crush? Oh come on, Callie , you aren’t sixteen anymore. Be honest with yourself and call it exactly what it is . Lust.
    Lijah Smith pushed every one of her lust buttons without even trying.
    Buttons she hadn’t even known she had until meeting him.
    She had dated a lot during her university years, and she had been seeing Michael for two months before— Before. But she had never experienced this totally physical response—lust—with any of those other men.
    Michael always wore suits, was sophisticated, courteous, well-read, enjoyed the theatre and the ballet, and was articulate on all those subjects. The two of them shared passionate kisses good night at the end of an evening out together, but he had never tried to take their relationship to the next level. He was, in fact, the perfect gentleman, and exactly the sort of man any parent would be pleased to see their daughter dating.
    Lijah Smith was the direct opposite of Michael in every way, and yet…
    And yet he made her pulse race, her palms go damp, and her nipples hard. Her thoughts also turned to hot, entwined, and naked, sweaty bodies every time she looked at him and imagined those naked bodies as being her own and Lijah’s.  
    “Lasagna,” she answered him abruptly. “And garlic bread.” The fridge had been empty—as evidence that Lijah had been away for at least several days?—but she had found lots of ready-made meals in the freezer, and as they didn’t have a lot of time, she had decided to opt for one of them.
    “Do you need any help?”
    Callie shook her head. “I’m good.” A blush instantly colored her cheeks as she inwardly acknowledged Lijah made her want to behave very, very badly.
    He gave her a frowning, slightly questioning glance before nodding as he pulled out one of the chairs at the table and sat, legs sprawled.
    Revealing a very large—and telling—bulge at the front of his jeans.
    Lijah gave a self-conscious grimace as Callie raised her startled gaze to his. “What can I say, that part of a man’s anatomy functions completely without reference or permission from his brain. I’m convinced that sudden rush of blood to one spot is why men can’t think and fuck at the same time.”
    The blush deepened in Callie’s cheeks as she placed their food on the table before sitting opposite him. “Strange reaction to lasagna.” She attempted to laugh off the moment before changing the subject completely. “What time are we leaving for the airport?”
    Lijah gave a humorless grin at her response—or dismissal—of his comment. “The plane is being readied for takeoff right now, so we’ll drive out to the private airfield as soon as we’re finished here.”
    Her brows rose. “I thought we were flying commercial?”
    “I decided against it. Time is a factor here, which means I don’t want to have to change planes several times in order to cover our tracks. I would also prefer that our names don’t show up on any list of passengers flying directly to Washington.” His