Suddenly Sexy by Linda Francis Lee Read Free Book Online Page B

"What?"

"Another woman in my guest cottage."

His thoughts jarred to a halt before he laughed out loud. "Now, Katie,"
he cajoled, "don't look at me like that—so condemning. Would it matter
if I told you that I didn't have sex with Gwen?"

She blinked. "Sex?" she managed with a high-pitched, completely
unprofessional non-news anchor voice.

"Surely you've heard of it," he teased, running the back of his finger
along the line of her jaw. "Sexual intercourse. Having a little
feel-good fun. The facts of life. Surely by now someone has told you
about
the birds and bees."

Her mouth fell open as he pulled her up from the chair and everything
changed. The air around them crackled with anticipation, his muscles
tightened. They were inches apart, close enough that he could
lean down to kiss her. And he wanted to. He wanted to strip her naked
and teach her all the things he
had thought about when they were dancing Friday night. Which was crazy.

She might have grown up to be a woman who could easily turn a man's
head, but she'd also grown up
to be a woman with high standards and a strong moral compass, and that
made it easy to resist her—okay, easier to resist her.

Katie made him think about things that had nothing to do with his life.
Like that damned innocence she wore like a shield. He liked experienced
women. It didn't take a genius to know that Katie was not. He liked his
women bold, knowledgeable. The kind who expected nothing from him in
return.

But he couldn't help it when his gaze drifted to her lips. Every trace
of laughter and teasing fun evaporated. "You're messing with my mind,
sweet thing."

His fingertips trailed low along her jaw to the pulse in her neck. The
heat was instant, intense, rushing through him like a flash fire. He
stepped even closer, one boat shoe coming between those damned flowered
sneakers, his thigh brushing against hers. Awareness rode him hard and
fast.

He let his fingers drift even lower to her collarbone beneath her
shirt. He savored her pale silky skin.
Her eyes fluttered closed at the touch, one soft breath expelled. And
when he couldn't hold back any longer, he lowered his head, their lips
a hairbreadth apart, the sweet sound of her whimper making his blood
pump.

But all of a sudden she sucked in her breath and jerked away, backing
into the table edge as her hand came to her lips. "This can't happen,"
she whispered.

She was right. This was insane. But something pushed him on. He reached
out and took her hand. "You're right." He pulled her close regardless.

Her eyes flashed with an innocent desire that nearly undid him. With
their gazes locked, he ran his palms up her arms, need licking through
him, making him hard. Framing her face with his hands, he watched
her lips part. But before he could dip his head and taste her, she
asked, "Does this mean you're going to stay?"

His thoughts cemented, his body shuddering to a halt like he'd had a
bucket of cold water tossed in his face. "Stay?"

He felt the place inside him that he kept locked away close off
completely. His jaw tightened and he let
go of her.

"What am I saying?" she said, pink flaring in her cheeks. "Of course
you'll leave."

She stepped away from him, tripping. When he automatically reached out
to steady her, she slapped his hand away.

"I told you, I don't need your help. On top of that, I have no interest
in becoming another notch on your bedpost."

A nearly overwhelming urge hit him to explain it all to her—tell her
about the past weeks, how his life
felt like it was unraveling at the seams. He wanted to tell her about
the jarring dreams that woke him every night since he had saved that
woman. The memory of her lifeless body. Of his mouth over hers, pumping
breath into her. The eerily startled gasp she made when air rushed back
into her lungs. Then
the way her eyes had blinked open and she had stared at him.
Frightened. Confused.

But Jesse knew he wouldn't say a word. Sharing feelings and fears were
for weak