White Collared Part Four: Passion by Shelly Bell Read Free Book Online

breath.
    “Kate!” Jaxon ran up behind her, grabbed her by her arm, and spun her around. “Don’t go. You just caught me at a bad moment.” Distress in his eyes, he leaned forward to rest his forehead against hers. “Please stay.” His voice cracked, and so did her resistance.
    She’d missed him so much, she physically ached. She had to force herself not to tip up her head and crash her mouth to his. In lieu of doing what she craved, she simply nodded.
    He exhaled and dropped his shoulders as he took her hand and led her inside his house. His gaze bounced around as if he wasn’t sure where he wanted to take her. The living room? The bedroom? The playroom? Sensing his confusion, she tugged him toward the staircase. Letting go of his hand, she sat on the second step and patted the spot beside her. Since she didn’t know how long she’d be staying, she didn’t bother taking off her coat.
    As if he had a headache, he radiated tension, deep frown lines creasing his forehead and around his eyes. She was at a loss as to what to say or do for him. If he’d only allow her to unzip him and take his magnificent cock into her mouth, she would suck the stress right out of him. That not being an option, she went for the more classic route. Small talk.
    “So . . . how’ve you been?”
    It sounded as bad as it had in her head.
    His eyebrows rose and a bit of smile played on his face. “I’ve been better.”
    Right. He’d lost his wife and now, through no fault of his own, his career. “I heard the board is going to remove you. I’m sure Nick would represent you in a lawsuit against them.”
    His shoulder bumped into hers, the innocent touch sending a bolt of electricity down to her nipples.
    Oblivious to the small fire he’d just lit, he spread his legs and settled his elbows on his knees. “It stung, don’t get me wrong, but it was the right thing to do not only for the business but for me as well. I didn’t grow up thinking about becoming a venture capitalist.”
    “What did you want to be?”
    “Truthfully? An attorney.” He smirked and she laughed, thinking how quickly small talk had turned into a deeper conversation. “I’ve changed my mind. Now I want to do something to help people. Maybe go back to school and become a social worker. The whole world knowing my sexual preferences makes it a little difficult.”
    The intimacy between them was staggering. No longer capable of keeping her hands to herself, she settled her hand on his knee, feeling slightly giddy when she heard his slight gasp. “I think you can do whatever you want to do. Give it a little time. The world will forget and move on to the next scandal.”
    He turned his face toward hers, his lips so close she could practically taste them. “If you really believe that, why did you change your name and hide who you were?”
    She flinched, uncomfortable that she had become the topic of conversation. But she refused to run away this time. “It was different for me. No one forgets in a small town.”
    His eyes narrowed. “Bullshit. If that were the case, you wouldn’t have changed your name after you moved to Detroit. You wouldn’t need pills to deal with your anxiety over Rachel Dawson saying your real name. Why should my situation be any different?”
    The truth in his words flayed her. “Because you’re not like me. You don’t give a fuck what people think of you. You’re brave.”
    His nostrils flared like a bull’s before it charged. “And you’re not? How could you think that? You went undercover to help me prove my innocence and refused to back down when you started receiving threats. With no thought to your safety, you went alone to Joseph’s office to search for the evidence that would link him to Alyssa’s death.”
    “If I’m so brave, why did I freeze?” Flooded by shame, she dropped her gaze to her lap. “I had the gun in my hands. It was him or me, and in the end, I couldn’t kill him. If Nick hadn’t shown up when he