Taking Passion by Storm by Ravenna Tate Read Free Book Online Page A

anymore.”
    And there goes your last defense.
Karma, baby. Serves you right.
    “ I know that’s hard to believe. I’ve played around for
far too long, but no more. It’s not what I want.”
    She
hadn’t been expecting him to say that, but hearing it sent a thrill through
her. “What do you want?” she whispered.
    He
gave her such a look of longing that she nearly cried. This was so normal. It
was what she’d hoped for and had never been able to let happen. Even so, the
images that popped into her head suddenly weren’t of Addison. They were of that man .
    Would
he understand the way she’d kept him at a distance when she told him? Maybe he
knew someone who could finally help her deal with this in a real way? In a way
that would allow her natural instincts to take over, instead of this hesitation
and uncertainty.
    She
watched his full lips that begged to be kissed, and then her gaze drifted over
to that damn sexy stubble on his chin. He was probably an amazing kisser. He’d
certainly had enough practice. Would that mouth on hers make her forget, or
would it only make things worse?
    He
moved one hand off her face to brush his index finger along her lips, as if
reading her mind. His lips curled up at the corners. “What do I want? I want
you, Nadine. Only you.”
    Nadine’s
pulse raced as he bent his head to kiss her. She held her breath, determined to
let this happen so she could find out whether it was possible to react to a
kiss from a seductive man in a normal way.
    Just
before his mouth touched hers, the door burst open and Lee stood there with a
knowing grin on his face. Shit. God
only knew what they’d all been saying about her and Addison. “Hey … um … lunch
is ready.”
    Addison
gave her a quick look of regret, and then he took her hand. She rose with him,
waited until Lee turned around, and then squeezed his hand. He glanced down at
her and opened his mouth as if to say something, but she beat him to it,
whispering so Lee didn’t hear her.
    “ There’s something I have to tell you as soon as
possible. It’s very important.”
    He
frowned. “All right. Do you want to tell me now?”
    “ No. I don’t want any speculation among your friends.”
    A
shadow of pain crossed his face. “Are you seeing someone? Oh, God. I’m such an
ass. It never occurred to me. I assumed—”
    “ No.” She cut him off. “I’m not seeing anyone. It’s
nothing like that.”
    The
look of relief on his face almost forced up a smile.
    “ Okay. We’ll talk after we eat then. Agreed?”
    She
sighed. “Yes. Thank you.” It would be okay. She’d tell him, and everything
would work out.
    ****
    Addison
wasn’t hungry now, but he ate anyway. It wouldn’t do him any good not to keep
up his strength. He and Merrill were the oldest ones on this team, aside from
George who was older than any of them. Addison suspected George could run
circles around all of them combined.
    As
he ate, he watched Nadine carefully. Lee kept glancing toward her with the same
stupid grin on his face. Addison would need to do something about that. Nadine
felt awkward enough, that much was obvious. She didn’t need to be teased for
speculation on top of it.He was the one who had
nearly kissed her, not the other way around. This was his fault. He’d have to
be careful. The walls were thick in the bunker, but if anything happened
between him and Nadine, everyone would know about it regardless.
    There
were no secrets on these missions. They lived in quarters that were too close
for that, when they had quarters at all. More often than not, they were in
sleeping bags on the floor of a cave or in one of the shelters. When they
slept, that was.
    He
was out of his fucking mind to be contemplating something like this, but the
words had come tumbling out before his filters kicked in. This woman had an
effect on him that was unlike anything he’d experienced before. He was
incapable of rational thought when he was this close to her.
    So stay away from