Tex Appeal by Alison Kent Kimberly Raye Read Free Book Online Page B

as he ate at her, nibbling at her bottom lip, urging her to open up.
    Pull away.
    She wanted to, but then he sucked her bottom lip into his mouth, drawing so hard that she felt the tug between her legs and suddenly she was eighteen all over again, and the only thing she could think of was getting closer.
    Her lips parted and his tongue plunged deep to tangle with hers. Where her hands had meant to hold him back, they suddenly changed course, sliding up over the rippled expanse of his chest, his broad shoulders, to curl around the strong column of his neck. Her fingers dove into the silky hair at his nape and held on as heat sizzled through her. His body pressed into hers and he rocked his crotch against her. She felt him, huge and straining beneath his jeans. He rubbed against her and desire knifed through her.
    Suddenly a kiss didn’t seem like nearly enough. She needed to get closer. To feel his bare skin against her own.
    As if he sensed the need that gripped her, he dropped one hand to her waist. His fingertips played over her rib cage and circled the underside of her breast before flicking her nipple through the fabric of her blouse.
    She ached to feel his hands on her bare skin, the rough texture feathering over her flesh, stirring her senses. She wanted his hands on her body, his erection filling her and drenching her senses.
    He slid one button free. Then another. And another. Until her blouse fell open. Her heart pounded faster and her ears started to ring as his fingertips went to the clasp of her bra.
    “Shit,” he murmured against her lips and she realized that it wasn’t her fierce reaction making her ears ring. It was his cell phone.
    “I have to get that. I’m on call with this project—”
    “Of course,” she blurted. Because he was Dayne Branson. Conscientious. Responsible. Safe. “I—I really need to get back to the Inn.”
    “Wait—” he started, but she’d already ducked past him.
    She clutched the edges of her shirt together, and then walked away as fast as her aching feet could carry her.
     
    F ORGET UNLEASHING her wild side. She’d gone off the deep end. A straight plunge into full-fledged crazy.
    That’s what Dayne told himself as he climbed into his pickup and headed back to the office.
    Sure, it sounded nice in theory. But the whole concept was for shit. They could never be just friends. The kiss had proven as much.
    He quickly covered the short distance to the two-story building that housed Branson Construction. Margene had packed up hours ago and so the place sat dark and quiet. Dayne unlocked the front door and walked inside, flipping lights as he went. He plopped down behind his desk and booted up his computer. He needed to go over the work orders to make sure he had everything for tomorrow. Cabinets. Bathroom fixtures. Flooring.
    The screen came up and Dayne tried to focus on the spreadsheet in front of him. He succeeded, too. For about five seconds.
    Christ, he hadn’t meant to kiss her. Hell, he hadn’t anticipated seeing her at all. He’d been working to finish up today’s list and prepare for tomorrow’s workload. He’d been busy, focused, driving himself physically so that he didn’t have to think about the emotional crap going on his life.
    The woman he’d loved, the one he’d planned to eventually marry, had chucked him like a pile of cow manure.
    But then that very same woman had walked in and interrupted his work, and just like that, his focus had gone out the window. He’d meant to keep his mouth shut and hang back until she left, but then when she’d looked ready to cry at the sight of her roof—or lack of—he’d had the crazy urge to wrap his arms around her and tell her everything would be okay.
    That they would be okay.
    Desperation had rushed hot and potent through him, and he’d had to step up. To do something. To kiss her and prove to himself that it wasn’t the sex.
    That they still had the chemistry. That he still had it.
    He’d tasted her