Unbind My Heart by Maddie Taylor Read Free Book Online Page B

her nipples tightening.  Or maybe, it was because he was looking his fill.  When his eyes returned to her face, she raised an eyebrow, giving him that patented female look that questioned his intelligence and his inability to focus his eyes above her shoulders. 
    Seeing her irked expression, he chuckled.  “Sorry, it’s just that you talk with your hands, and I am definitely a breast man.  I can honestly say, sweetheart, in that category you earn high marks for artistry and execution.”
    She made a choking sign, half between a gasp of outrage and a burst of laughter.  “You did not just say that!”
    Winking, he arranged his face into one of mock contrition.  “I’m sorry, Lex.  I promise to be good if you continue your story.”
    With an amused look, she leaned forward and crossed her forearms on the table, removing her personal assets from his line of sight.  “Okay, where was I?”
    “You had just grown a pair.”  He winked again, the statement making her laugh outright.  
    “Is that your idea of being good?”
    “Sorry, must be the beer.”
    “Hmph, why don’t I believe that?”  A twitch of her lips told him she was enjoying their banter as much as he was.  “Anyway…  After I grew so fast, it changed things.  I had to adjust my technique and get used to a different center of gravity.”
    She threw Jonas a challenging glare.  He just laughed and raised his hands in surrender.  “Hey!  I didn’t say a word.”
    She smiled again before moving on.  “I didn’t even qualify for Nationals that year.  After that, she was done with me.  I wasn’t any use to her if I couldn’t compete at the elite level.  I still made a good showing at local and regional events, but she wanted an Olympian.  She traveled a lot and didn’t want the added expense of bringing me along, so she shipped me off to boarding school.” 
    Eyes suddenly bright with unshed tears, she blinked rapidly.  He was about to suggest a change in subject, when the waiter stopped by to check on them.  She asked for a second glass of wine.  Clearing her throat, she took a deep breath and continued.  “This is ancient history.  I’m being silly for getting so emotional after all these years.”
    “Pain from childhood often haunts us into adulthood, no matter how many years go by.  Makes for a thriving market for shrinks and therapists.”
    “Truer words…”
    “I’m surprised about boarding school. That’s not cheap; funny that your aunt sprang for it.”
    “She didn’t.  I did, or at least my trust fund did.   I was fortunate that my dad had the forethought to have it overseen by an attorney friend of his or Janice Berry would have run through every penny.”   She fiddled with her wine glass.  “Boarding school was awful, Jonas.  I hated it.  The girls there were rich, spoiled and downright mean.  They were worse than my cousins ever thought of being.  I was lucky enough to be rescued by Aunt Jo and Uncle Peter before high school.  They took me in and made sure I had a normal life.  In the end, they adopted me.”
    “A silver lining. I’m glad you had them.”
    “They were wonderful.”
    “Did you compete anymore after that?”
    “After ten years in the sport, I couldn’t just give it up.  Unfortunately, the local high school didn’t have a gymnastics team.  So, in my freshman year, I moved here with my newly adopted grandfather.  He was retiring from the Army and was moving back home to San Antonio.  I went to school here, made friends, made the cheerleading squad and joined the gymnastics team.  Grampa Stan was great.  He raised Aunt Joanna alone and said starting with a fifteen-year-old was ‘a piece of cake.’  Besides, I was a good girl by comparison.  My aunt was evidently a handful.”  She smiled softly at the memories.  “Anyway… my grades and gymnastic skills got me a free ride to Vanderbilt, believe it or not.  So off I went to Nashville, Tennessee, tumbling and