Betting the Farm Read Free Page B

busy snatching the pins
from her hair and carelessly tossing them onto the floorboard.
    When he twisted the cap off the bottle of water and handed
it to her, she sighed. “Thanks.”
    “You’re welcome.”
    Fritz watched her throat work as she swallowed. Her bottom
lip glistened with wetness and again, he fought the urge to lean over and suck
it clean.
    Dammit, she was so beautiful it hurt to look at her
sometimes. More so now than when she’d left town. Left him. Her body had
filled out into soft, womanly curves and taut lines. His eyes kept zeroing in
on her nipples puckered beneath her dress and the juncture of her thighs that
she was inadvertently giving him quick peeks at when she swung her knees back
and forth. Real gentlemanly there, asshole. His perverted cock throbbed
with every heavy beat of his heart. At this rate, his balls would be sore for a
week. It looked like a cold shower was in order when he got home tonight.
    “What happened to you and that Penelope chick?” she asked.
    Her question caught him off guard. “You knew about that?”
    She ripped at the plastic label on the bottle of water.
“Josh told me he heard you might get married.” Her voice dropped a little but
Fritz picked up on it. Was it sadness behind her words or was that wishful
thinking on his part?
    Fritz shrugged. “They were just rumors. I wasn’t in love
with her.”
    And she wasn’t you. None of them were you.
    Damn if he hadn’t tried his best to find her replacement,
though. Being near her again like this, close enough to smell, touch, taste,
just hammered home the fact that he’d never really gotten over her. There was
no replacement for Kai.
    Fuck, why’d he have to go and play the part of white knight
again?
    “Oh.” She yawned and her eyelids drooped a bit.
    “Want me to take you home?”
    Her gaze met his and she gave him a small, sleepy smile.
“No, but I don’t have any other place to go, so I guess I have no choice.”
    The vulnerability in her voice nearly broke him in half
while he wondered why exactly she didn’t want to go home. Even big, fancy
mansions could be lonely and empty, he guessed. She had a choice but in her
current inebriated state, she didn’t have the faculties to make that decision
and he couldn’t do it for her.
    Fritz couldn’t resist touching her then. He trailed his
fingertips across her smooth, flushed cheek. Kai closed her eyes and turned her
head into his palm, seeking his caress.
    “Fritz.” His name was one long, sexy sigh. “I’ve missed
you.”
    He frowned at the way his heart thumped over those
unexpected words, and then whispered, “I’ve missed you too.”
    Her shoulders relaxed and she slumped against his arm.
    She’d passed out cold.
    Well hell, what was he going to do now?
    * * * * *
    The angel in his bed was stirring. Fritz propped his
shoulder against the jamb of his bedroom door, lifting his coffee cup to his
lips to take a sip.
    Kai was sprawled across the mattress on her stomach, the
white sheet twisted around her waist, his pillows shoved either out of the way
or off the bed. One long, tanned leg stuck out from under the covers and her
foot hung off the edge. Her arms were stretched above her head, giving him a
tantalizing glimpse at the side of one creamy, plumped breast. A thin white
line crossed the sun-kissed skin of her back, reminding him of days long past.
    He couldn’t count the number of times he’d kissed that skin,
how many scorching summer evenings they’d spent skinny-dipping in Turner Creek.
His mouth curved into a smile at the memory, despite the melancholy ache in his
chest that nipped at its heels. They’d sure made their fair share of them in
just two short years.
    Rays of sunshine streamed in through the window,
highlighting the different shades of gold in her hair. It was a bit darker now,
more like the color of dry wheat. Back then, it had been nearly as pale as corn
silk. She’d wear it in long braids once in a while, and the tips