Songbird by Syrie James Read Free Book Online Page B

rows of stucco housing tracts whiz by. What had prevented Kyle from becoming a pilot? she wondered. He’d been so free to tell her everything else about himself. Why did he suddenly become withdrawn when that subject was brought up?
    He pulled into her driveway, got out, and walked her to her front step.
    She considered asking him in, then thought better of it. She reached into her purse and rummaged for her key. “Well, good night, Kyle. Thank you for—”
    “ Wait.” He placed one hand lightly on her arm. “There’s something I want to say. Do you know why I came to the station tonight?”
    Her eyes lifted in surprise. “To pick up the free dinner pass.” As soon as she said it, she realized how ridiculous it sounded. What did a man like Kyle need with a free dinner pass?
    “ I came to meet you.”
    “ Oh,” she said, feeling flattered and flustered at the same time.
    “ When I heard you on the radio, I kept wondering what you looked like. I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I wanted to know if there was a living, breathing woman behind the sexy talk and the sexy voice.”
    His reference to her on-air role made her blush. “It’s not really me, you know. It’s just a part I play. I do it because my program director likes it. It keeps the ratings up.”
    “ No need to defend yourself. I think it’s great. I’ll bet every red-blooded male in Southern California is as curious as I was. You must get hundreds of calls every week—bags of mail.”
    “ I do get my share. All kinds of men write me letters and ask me out.”
    His voice lowered as he studied her. “Ever take anyone up on it?”
    “ Never.”
    He placed his hands on her waist. “Never?”
    She shook her head. He was standing so close. Her breasts began to tremble from the sudden erratic beating of her heart. The heat from his hands was a sizzling presence at her sides. She wanted to wind her hands around his neck and pull him against her, until she could feel the warmth of his body against hers. “Never,” she repeated.
    “ Well, I consider myself very lucky then,” he said softly.
    She swallowed hard. “I still can’t believe Barbara sent you back to my studio today when I was on the air. It is so not allowed.”
    “ I thought it was a bit unorthodox, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. ‘If Desiree finds out you’re here,’ she said, ‘she’ll refuse to see you and won’t leave until ten o’clock. So you’d better just barge in.’ I hope you didn’t mind.”
    “ I didn’t.”
    His hand slipped from her waist to the small of her back and drew her closer. A tremor ran through her as her softness molded against the hard contours of his thighs and chest. He lifted his other hand and gently grazed his fingertips up the soft whiteness of her neck to rest briefly on her earlobe. He held her gaze for a moment, his eyes smoldering in the reflected glow of a nearby street lamp.
    Her heart pounded in her ears. She knew he wanted to kiss her. And she knew now that she’d dreamed of his kiss, hungered for it, from the moment they first met. But she shouldn’t let it happen. The magnetic pull she felt toward him was overpowering. The very touch of his hand had caused fire to rush through her veins, threatening to consume her with need. Once she felt his mouth on hers, she knew she’d be lost.
    He was only here for a day or two. There was no telling if he’d ever be back. And she couldn’t get involved with Kyle, with any man, even if he lived next door. How long would she be at KICK? Another year if she was lucky? Then, as always, she’d have to move on. She could never stay in one city long enough to make any relationship last.
    Kyle Harrison already lived more than a thousand miles away. No matter how strong her attraction was to him, she knew that long-distance relationships didn’t work. She’d been down that road before with Steve, and her heart still hadn’t quite mended. It would be emotional suicide to try it