Thawing Ava by Selena Illyria Read Free Book Online

into his soul.
    “They clean it and put it in storage unless someone moves in that needs furniture.” He knew he wouldn’t miss the stuff. Brice wasn’t a leather guy unless it involved leather pants, sex, or handcuffs.
    “Eco-friendly to say the least. If we do this, I need to know you’ll be willing to help me. This is your space. I’m just a guest. Besides, this keeps you away from the pubs and clubs, and yes, I rhymed that on purpose.” She picked up the pot and began to strain the contents into a large storage container he hadn’t realized he owned. “Um, you going to get dressed? Unless you want to cook in the nude. That could be dangerous for your equipment, and I’m not sure how I’d explain that kind of accident without my father sending me back to Florida.”
    “Why? Uncomfortable with the human body, sweetheart?” He was tempted to drop the towel but didn’t.
    Ava didn’t answer. She just shook her head and continued what she was doing.
    Brice loved that she wasn’t rising to the bait. “Fine. I’ll get dressed, but after this, you’ll have to get used to me shirtless and in sweatpants or nothing else.”
    He stalked off to get dressed. Brice dropped the towel before he turned into his bedroom. Let her get a glimpse of what she’s missing. Screw Perry. I’m going after what I want.

Chapter Four
    Ava tried to ignore Brice as he moved around the kitchen, completely shirtless and clearly not wearing underwear, but her inner sex-starved woman wanted him naked and moaning as she went down on him. The outline of his semihard penis showed at the front of his baggy sweatpants, making her even more aware of his current state. Arousal made her body tight and her skin itch. She’d heard him in the shower, calling out her name, and his grunts and moans. There had been a brief moment when she’d flicked open the button fly of her jeans but thought better of it. Getting off wouldn’t help her corral Brice, and clearly he didn’t care about the rules.
    At every turn he pressed and pushed and reminded her he was a man—a virile one at that—and he was very attracted to her. She couldn’t miss the glances he threw at her breasts, waist, and hips. It made her all the more aware that she still wore a damp sweater that reeked of chicken and garlic. Ava didn’t dare leave him and change; her clothing was still at her parents’ place. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him to stay put. It was that she didn’t want him to come with her and have her mother ask him questions and try to feed him. Josie had said he hadn’t been by the house in a while. Her mother wouldn’t miss a chance to grill him about his life, not what the gossip columns reported on or what her husband and son had told her. Josie would go into mother mode and wouldn’t let them leave until they were laden down with enough food to feed a hockey and football team.
    Nor did she want to be stuck in the small cabin of his truck smelling like this. Especially not with her arousal refusing to go away no matter how much she ignored it or tried to think of unsexy things. None of it worked, not with Brice moving around her looking like a tanned buffet of sinful flesh who didn’t care what anyone thought of him. His sexual confidence hammered at the wall of her resistance. She couldn’t ignore the way his muscles slid under his skin or how tempting it was to trace the tattoos decorating his arms, chest, and sides. Her gaze kept darting back for more, eating up every nuance of his unveiled body. It felt as if she’d never seen a naked man before.
    Ava wanted to hide somewhere. Drop her pants and get some relief, but she wouldn’t dare. Not with Brice lurking about and certainly not when he could walk in on her. She wasn’t sure if what she’d heard in the shower had been genuine, but that kiss was real enough.
    If he’d teased her mouth open and pulled her against him, she would have been gone. That much she knew. Bad enough he’d managed