A Man of Honor Read Free Page A

beautiful, innocent angel, and for a moment, he longed for her to save him, as if that were even possible. That thought brought darker ones, and he silently prayed for focus, to not let his brain mess up the only moment of pure joy he’d felt for a year.
    The light from the reading lamp next to his chair played over the carved lines of her cheekbones, highlighting her creamy skin. Skin that begged to be touched. He cradled her cheeks, and that’s when he felt it.
    Water. Dampness. Tears.
    Shit. He tore his lips away and jerked his head back.
    His disorientation was complicated by the sudden smack of the door closing, followed by someone’s harsh gasp. Preston looked up to find his best friend standing in the foyer with arms crossed, shock evident in the concrete lines of his face. “What the hell are you doing with my sister?”

Chapter Two
    Cat bolted upright, still shaking from Preston’s kisses that seared clear through to her soul. She was reeling from the way he’d held and caressed her like she was precious to him. Or maybe it was sheer animal pleasure, and she was mistaken, her internal man compass haywire from too much yearning. She struggled to get up, but his grip tightened instinctively, his big body engulfing hers protectively.
    As if that would be enough to protect her from her two-hundred-thirty-pound Army captain brother.
    She pulled together the sides of her shirt, fumbling to do up the buttons. How had he gotten them undone so fast? How had he gotten her so undone, so much that she’d lost all sense?
    “What’s going on here?” Derrick addressed his question to Cat.
    Cat tried to speak, but lies failed her. The truth was too terrible to admit, which was that she’d fallen completely under his spell, that she’d lost track of time and space, and her body had betrayed her as it always did within ten feet of Preston Guthrie. She sat there, speechless. This was definitely not good.
    Preston looked Derrick in the eye. “It’s not what you think.” Even in the poor light, Preston’s tanned face was flushed. She’d never seen him be anything other than calm, even under pressure, and his blatant blush threw her.
    Her brother grunted. “It had damn well better not be.”
    To his credit, Preston didn’t try to push her off of him or make rambling excuses. He simply sat with her on his lap, his breathing as calm as if they’d been watching a movie and her brother had just walked in. The dragon tattoo imprinted across his naked chest curled its tail around his left bicep, looking badass and dangerous. The only sign of tension was the tic of a tiny muscle in his jaw.
    Coming to her senses, Cat bolted up, folded her arms across her lopsidedly buttoned blouse. “It’s all right, Derrick. We were just messing around.” She winced. Heat raced into her own face. That was not what she meant. What did she mean?
    “I take full responsibility,” Preston said gallantly.
    Cat rolled her eyes. “Pu-lease. I’m a big girl. I’m responsible for my own actions.”
    “What she means is”—Preston never skipped one beat—“we’re dating.” Pure shock riveted her to the rustic reclaimed hardwood floor and made her mouth drop open. Once upon a time, she would have begged to hear those words, but now they sounded ridiculous to her own ears.
    “What?” Derrick, as predicted, was furious.
    Preston turned to her with a wide smile and an adoring look that would have melted her panties on the spot if it weren’t for the calculated hardness in his eyes.
    “Isn’t that right, sweetheart? Truth is, Derrick, I fell hard for her before I left last year and finally realized what a fool I was to have let her go.”
    Derrick’s brows knit into a suspicious vee. “Cat? Is this some kind of joke?”
    Cat cleared her throat. She could think of no reason to play along unless Preston was at risk of bodily harm. Which he was, but really, he totally deserved it. “We were just—”
    Preston interrupted. “—waiting