TheFugitivesSexyBrother by Annabeth Leong Read Free Book Online Page A

of his gang and background check
information. She shook some identification information free from the rest of
the file.
    “What’s your social security number?”
    Without hesitation, Javier rattled off a number that didn’t
match Fernando’s, but that wasn’t conclusive. She picked up the picture Neva
had provided and studied it.
    The features in the picture strongly resembled those of the
man before her. Solid, lean muscle. Loose dark curls and a mouth that could
take her straight to hell. But there was something about the eyes. When
Emily looked at Javier, she didn’t feel the warning sense that came over her so
strongly from the picture. It wasn’t innocence—Javier had clearly seen more
trouble than most. But the man in the picture seemed capable of anything. He
narrowed his rich, brown eyes into a cold squint. She couldn’t imagine that
expression on Javier. With his all-too-easy smile and a heated gaze that
lingered on every detail, he posed an entirely different sort of threat.
    Emily settled beside him with the picture, embarrassed at
the protesting squawk the ancient sofa gave as it accepted her weight. She
tipped toward him more than she would have liked, correcting herself with a
hand on his chest. He’d never buttoned his shirt and his bare, nearly hairless
skin burned beneath her palm. Her face flushed, Emily snatched her hand away.
    She ignored his knowing grin and touched the side of his
face, turning him toward her so she could study him in better light. The
beginnings of stubble teased her fingertips and his breath tickled the hairs on
her arm. Emily cleared her throat and bluffed. “You look just like this
picture. I don’t see who you think you’re going to fool, Fernando .”
    “You’re not that careless, are you?” Javier tipped
his chin up, revealing a sinister smile of a scar that crossed his neck and
curled up on either side of his jaw, creeping up toward his earlobes. “Do you
see any sign of that in the picture?”
    The man in the picture, for all the challenge in his eyes,
appeared unblemished. Emily touched the scar softly, noticing his breathing
change as she explored the damaged, vulnerable skin. She shuddered—she didn’t
want to know where he’d gotten it.
    “Do you want to take my prints too?”
    His words distracted her from the experience of touching
him. “As a matter of fact, yes.” Emily retrieved her kit from her desk and took
them. Still holding his wrist with one hand, she compared the ink marks to the
set of prints Neva had provided. The briefest glance told her this wasn’t
Fernando.
    Emily frowned and chewed on her lip. She ought to be
disappointed as hell—and worried about catching charges of her own. Felony
kidnapping was no joke, and an unfortunately common consequence for bounty
hunters who neglected their due diligence.
    But she wasn’t disappointed.
    “Javier.” The name escaped her lips without conscious
intention, full of a longing tone that heated her face with embarrassment.
    He smiled slowly. “That’s me.”
    Her fingers tightened on his wrist and he shifted in her
grip as if he wanted to take her hand.
    Without releasing him, Emily’s free hand returned to his
scar—she told herself she had to be sure. Javier groaned and tilted his head
back for her. She touched him again, just below the jawline, tracing slowly
along the scar’s entire length. He sucked his breath in between his teeth, and
Emily found herself leaning closer. The heat of his body caressed her even
through her clothes.
    Javier shifted suddenly, and Emily’s precarious position on
the sagging couch cushions dissolved. She fell to lie half-across him, and he
caught her lips with his. She scrambled to recover, finding plenty of his bare
skin as she groped for purchase. He smiled against her mouth, the tip of his
tongue teasing her, requesting entrance. Emily braced her hands against his
shoulders, but instead of pulling back as she intended, she parted her lips.
    Javier