Bad Girl Bill (Atlantic Divide) Read Free Page A

place. She felt as though she was intruding, but was too uncomfortable to walk past and disturb them.
    She watched Michael, his head leaning against Kate’s. His smile was wide and unselfconscious, and his eyes glowed. The way he handled the kid, he probably had a few of his own. Shame.
    He was the most beautiful man she had ever seen, and as he cradled his niece, she felt a sharp tug deep inside for something she’d never expected to want, a yearning so primal it stopped her breath and made her look away.
    As she cast her eyes up, she caught sight of her brother Mac at the front door, all long-limbed and lithe, his six-foot-five-inch frame leaning against the door post, his arms crossed over his enormous chest, his black eyes narrowed as he studied her.
    Mac had always been able to read her thoughts. He’d been mother, father, and brother to her, but she hoped to God he couldn’t read them now. They were too confused for her to pin down; she needed a little time to think. Trouble with Mac, he was a very good observer of people. It was his business to be, and he would know right away there was something going on here. She didn’t know what it was herself at the moment, but she sure as hell could feel her body vibrate in reaction to Michael’s presence.
    *
    Michael noticed the mountain of a man whose hawk-like eyes watched close, flicked to Bill and back again. His expression never changed, nor his stance, but Michael knew a testosterone challenge when he saw one. He’d worked long enough in the company of men in the toughest of situations to know when there was a top dog around.
    Disappointment formed a hard knot in his stomach as he watched this man with the face of a fallen angel wait for the very woman he himself had lusted after for the past couple of hours. The fact he was disappointed disturbed him, but Bill turned out to be an enigma he’d been looking forward to unraveling.
    Unfortunately for him, it appeared she was already taken. As she caught the giant’s eye, she didn’t hesitate. With a laugh of delight, she threw herself in his arms and clapped him on his back as though he was choking, a little more direction it could have resulted in the Heimlich maneuver. In turn, he gave her a bear hug and scrubbed the top of her head with his knuckles.
    “I think you’ve grown again, kid,” the mountain grumbled.
    “Ha, it’s only been six months since I last saw you, and I stopped growing at the age of sixteen. How long are you here for this time?”
    “Only two weeks, and then I’m back on location.”
    The mountain put her down. Michael felt the guy’s hard, black eyes pierce his soul as he stretched out a hand the size of a ham.
    “And you must be Michael. Good to meet you.”
    “My brother, Mac…” Bill stopped midsentence as the two men moved.
    He reached his hand to meet Mac halfway and almost lost it as it was engulfed in Mac’s huge, firm grip.
    Michael assessed brother and sister, his eyes flicked quick and efficient across their faces. The hard knot in his stomach unclenched, slid back to a more comfortable zone, his mouth tipped up at one side as he took the time to note the stark similarity between them. How had he missed that? They could have been twins. Apart from the size difference, where Bill was tall and willowy, Mac looked like a Native American warrior of old, with a body most men dreamed of and most women would crawl over hot coals to get to.
    Their hair was the exact same dense, midnight shade, both had eyes black as the Devil with thick, sooty-black eyelashes and long, straight noses.
    “I can see that. You come from a handsome family there, Bill. Real handsome.” He repeated her choice of words from earlier, smiled to himself as he did. Michael turned his attention to Mac, flexed his hand a little from the hard handshake. Testosterone was overrated when there were far better things to talk about than comparing muscle tone. He nodded toward the Ferrari.
    “Yours?” With the