Riptide [Kismet Cove] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) by Susan Hayes Read Free Book Online

mean that the way it came out, right?”
    She managed to grin as she sat back down and moved into the middle of the bed. “I know.”
    As another bout of shivering hit her. Evan realized she was going to need more than blankets to get her body temperature back up. “Without sounding like I’m hitting on you yet again…” He stripped off his shirt and gave her a sheepish grin. “You need a heat source, and well, I’m it.”
    “Skin to skin cont-t-tact,” she agreed, and he was grateful she understood he wasn’t being a lecherous creep.
    “Exactly. So move over a bit, sweetheart.”
    Jess scooted further into the middle of the bed and Evan lay down beside her before piling every bit of spare bedding he could reach over the top of her shivering body. He moved closer and drew her into his arms, wincing as her icy skin made contact with his chest. Her ample curves pressed into him and that delicate, enticing scent was back in his nose as she cuddled up to him and wrapped her arm around his waist.
    “Better?” he asked.
    “Yes,” Jess gave a contented sigh that sent another surge of blood straight to his dick. Evan was stiffer than he’d ever been in his life, and he shifted his hips back and away from her before she inadvertently snuggled up to his hard-on.
    “Pervert.” Rory’s mocking voice filled his head, but Evan could sense there was tension behind the joke. Tension and…jealousy? What the hell? In all the years since Evan had been Rory’s friend and later his blood-brother, the two of them had never been jealous of each other. They shared everything, including the women in their lives, and until now there’d never been a problem.
    Evan glanced down at the woman that was more or less wrapped around him, and he gave in to the urge to stroke the silken strands of hair that fell over her face. It was so light it looked almost platinum blonde, and he grinned as he noticed the purple streaks in it for the first time. It seemed their little mermaid had a sense of whimsy. Without even thinking about it he stroked down her back until he found the bound end of her braided hair and undid the elastic. He started undoing the strands with his fingers, and was halfway up the length before he realized what he was doing. I’m just being practical. It’ll never dry in that braid. He tried to rationalize his actions and then snorted in derision at himself. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he’d never had the urge to play with a woman’s hair before. He was usually too busy trying to get them out of their clothes.
    The engine noise shifted to a low grumble and Evan realized they must be nearing the dock. He didn’t bother to get up and help. Both of them were able to run the boat single-handed when required, and right now Jess needed him more than Rory did.
    He felt the bump as they touched the dock, and the boat rocked as Rory shut off the engine and made the short jump to the wharf to tie them up.
    The movement was enough to make the woman in Evan’s arms stir and lift her head, her pale eyes blinking sleepily as she looked around. “What was that?”
    “Just Rory’s heavy-handed driving, sweetheart. Nothing to worry about.” Evan grinned up at her before drawing her back down into his arms. “He’s tying us up right now. You’re safe and sound.”
    “M-kay.” Jess’s eyes were already closing again as she settled back onto the bed. Unable to resist any longer, Evan cupped her cheek, his thumb tracing the plump pout of her lower lip. He’d never had a woman trust him so completely, and it worried him. Was she like this with everyone? If so, she was going to get hurt, or likely had been already. Just the thought of someone hurting Jess made him grit his teeth, and he held her tighter as the need to protect her coursed through him.
    Holy shit. Evan tensed as he finally figured out what was going on with him and Rory. He made a mental list and ticked off the symptoms one at a time. Protectiveness,