Bared by Him Read Free Page B

gracefully she’d
     succumbed with the satisfaction of having given life her everything.
    She thought of her friends at the Lincoln Heights Breast Cancer Foundation who had
     it. They all wanted to fight, but some had no means to, even if they had the will.
     Ivy wanted to help them. She had to help them. She’d promised herself that she would, and she’d made the promise to
     them, too, even when Cade West had refused to see her.
    Well, he’d seen her now.
    And tonight, he might see her in her underwear.
    Oh, God, how could she bear it? She’d seen his rage today. It had swirled in the depths
     of his eyes the instant he’d looked up at her. Along with an unexpected hunger …
    A rush of sensations slid under her skin as she remembered his smoldering gaze. He’d
     snared her, with those eyes, eyes so pale they were almost colorless. She truly had
     never seen eyes that color before. Or such a raw, unbridled expression as when he’d
     looked at her.
    Imagining those eyes seeing her in only her panties made her woman’s parts tickle
     so uncomfortably she wanted to scream.
    No! She wouldn’t dare let him see her “bare-butt naked,” as he’d said, and she was certainly
     not going to make it easy for him. Which was why she’d changed. Now she was dressed
     in so many layers of clothing, she felt roasted in her own skin by the time she arrived
     at his building.
    Her attire seemed to be the first thing he noticed when Mr. I-Crap-on-Cancer West
     opened the door to his top-floor apartment.
    “Did it freeze tonight?”
    Her smile felt tight on her face, but the sight of him so close provoked some odd
     sensations inside of her, and she had trouble speaking. Her physical reactions to
     him astounded her.
    Her insides had seized with his presence, and as they finally unwound, everything
     resumed at a frantic pace. Her heartbeat, her lung expansion, the blood shooting in
     torrents down her veins.
    He was big, at least six foot three, and he was dark as sin. Everything about him
     was dark as sin, except the lightness of those eyes, with those dark pupils, watching
     her with a burning thirst that opened up some unknown carnal impulses within her.
    “Or were you planning to move to Iceland?” He stepped aside with a cock of his dark
     head.
    She tried to enter rather breezily and with confidence, which was really hard with
     all the layers she was wearing. Especially considering she was going to spend the
     next hours with a very pissed off, possible donor, whom she could not flip off again if she wanted to help her foundation. “I’m very sensitive to air-conditioning,”
     she said lightly.
    “No shit you are, lady.”
    He closed the door behind her, and she was surprised to see that his apartment was
     rather cozy and not as intimidating as the man. It wasn’t over-the-top, one of the
     money traps she’d heard many millionaires tended to fall into once they had dollars
     coming out of their ears. No. Cade’s place was manly and tasteful, with incredible
     views of the city, and furniture that was strikingly simple but also … large and thick.
     Dark woods. Chunky sofas. All done in chocolate and navy, which blended beautifully
     with the maple wood floor.
    All of a sudden, she heard the click of nails on the hardwood floor, and a huge beastly
     dog appeared down a hall. It was as obsidian in color and frightening as its owner,
     and its ears and tail pricked in alarm when it spotted her.
    “Don’t even think about it,” Cade growled. “Sit!”
    The dog sat, but its ears were still up at attention. Ivy stared at it, strangely
     compelled by the creature. “What’s it called?”
    “His name is Genghis.”
    “Is he dangerous?”
    “Not if I’m here,” Cade grumbled, and when he patted the dog with his big hands, some
     jealous sensation gripped inside her stomach as she wondered what it felt like. “He’s
     a pound dog, but he used to be a fighting dog so he’s … a little rough around