Willow by Kathi S. Barton Read Free Book Online

be sleeping with his dad, but she’d sure fallen into his arms quick enough. Going back into the building, he laid the rest of the tile.
    He wasn’t sure when he noticed that the men were giving him a wide berth, but he was glad for it. At seven o’clock, he punched out at the time clock and went to his truck. He had two houses to look at this weekend and then on Monday morning he was firing Will James. She was not going to suck him in.

~Chapter 6~
     
    “ I don’t know why I did it, but Christ, it was hot.” The drive to their parents’ house was filled with short silences and a lot of changing the subjects.
    Alexander knew something was wrong with his sister and wondered if it had anything to do with the man that had been glaring at them when he’d picked her up. That was a man who was pissed and it didn’t take much to see why. He glanced over at Wills again and smiled at the dreamy look on her face and the bite mark on her throat that he knew hadn’t been there this morning when she left.
    They’d been talking about her recent trip to the Sahara Desert. She’d gone there with a group to see the vastness of it, she’d said, and to get some tile that she wanted for her house. The trip had been a success all the way around.
    The tile in the kitchen was perfect. The rich dark green matched the countertops perfectly and the white and green tile on the floor in alternating blocks made the kitchen seem warm and cozy. Alexander chuckled softly when he thought of the time she’d put into a room she never used. Willow couldn’t boil water without instructions and she would probably still screw it up.
    “ What’s so funny?”
    He looked over at his sister and smiled. “You are. Do you have any idea how beautiful you are? I’m betting you haven’t put on a dress since last fall when Sheila got married.”
    She snorted. “If you remember correctly, I was the best man and I wore a tux. Why do you think I’m funny? Most people don’t even like me.”
    He glanced over at her to see if she was kidding. It didn’t appear that she was. Alexander was surprised she thought that. His vibrant, loving, and kind sister couldn’t possibly be without friends. Taking a chance, he decided to go for broke. “What about that guy that was staring at us when we left? He looked like he wanted to murder me and then you.”
    She looked thoughtful. “Talbor? I don’t doubt he wants me to keel over, but I don’t think he gives two shits about you. I mean, do you know him?”
    “ Yes, I do. We went to school together. And it wasn’t him. Tall guy, light hair, intense, maybe a little pissed. The one who put the hickey on your neck.”
    Her hand went to her throat quickly. Then she pulled down the visor to have a look in the mirror. When she sat back and groaned, he knew he’d hit the mark. She looked out the window before she answered.
    “ He works for me. He…we kissed and it…we might have…I might have let it go too far. It can’t happen again.” She glanced at him when he did her and their eyes caught. “How did you know?”
    Alexander looked back at the road. His sister was very smart, brilliant as a matter of fact. But she was incredibly naive about the opposite sex. He glanced back at her and wondered, not for the first time, if she was still a virgin.
    She’d gone through high school and college when most kids her age were discovering themselves. Willow had been discovering everything—as long as it was in a book or a class. By the time he’d gotten his first job in the computer world, Willow was working full time as a gopher on a job site. When Alexander was dating and having sex with any woman that was willing, Willow was working her way through a business degree. He doubted she’d had that much fun as a teenager. And now at twenty-six, she was just as inexperienced as most kids half her age.
    “ He looked like he was ready to tear me apart for touching you, that’s how I know. How long has this been going