Blame It on the Bachelor Read Free Page B

stood staring down at her, his dark eyebrows raised quizzically.
    “Roar?” he asked.
    Really, why couldn’t the floor swallow her up?
    “I heard some sniffling,” he said, “but definitely no roaring.”
    “Figure of speech.” She tried to brush past him—but he didn’t move.
    Instead, he closed the door behind them, forcing her to step back. “What’s the matter, darlin’?”
    “Nothing. I—I need to go find my seat. They’ll start serving dinner any minute, now.”
    “Word of advice?”
    “What?” she asked gruffly.
    “Clean up your face a little better. It looks like a kid’s finger painting. Here, let me help.” He cupped her face in his hands and rubbed gently under her eyes with his thumbs. He brushed at her cheeks with his fingers. And then he dabbed at her mouth with a piece of the bathroom tissue.
    Mortifying though the situation was, the warmth—and was it tenderness?—of his hands sent shivers of renegade pleasure down her spine and brought heat to the surface of her face and neck.
    “That’s better,” Devon said. “Not that you weren’t the most gorgeous human finger painting alive.”
    She managed a self-deprecating snuffle.
    “Now, do you want to tell ol’ Dev why you’re crying in this closet?”
    “Not crying,” she muttered.
    “ Riiiight. So, do you want to tell me why you’re squeezing joy and happiness out of your eyes in secret, then?”
    She shook her head.
    “I see. Well, I just want to make sure that all this, um, euphoria isn’t because of something that a nasty pecker-head said to you a few minutes ago in defense of his own ego.”
    “Of course not,” she said emphatically.
    “I’m so relieved. I mean, this really sets my mind at ease,” said Devon, frowning at her.
    “Good.”
    He looked around the closet. “It’s clear to me, in that case, that you came in here to have fun with your broomstick, as the nasty pecker-head suggested.”
    Kylie’s lips quivered in spite of her mood.
    “But it’s gone,” he pointed out. “So…”
    She met his eyes, which were twinkling ruefully. “The carpet steamer was more than adequate.”
    “Ah. Need a cigarette now, do you?”
    She nodded.
    He patted his pockets.
    “Actually, I don’t smoke.”
    They stood looking at each other for a long moment, and she had to admit that if any guy could carry off leather pants, it most certainly was Devon McKee.
    “I’m sorry,” she said.
    “I’m sorry,” he said simultaneously.
    They both laughed.
    “I’m not normally a slut or a tease,” Kylie added.
    “That’s a real shame. What was it about me that brought out those admirable, delightful qualities?”
    Her face flash-fried. She didn’t answer.
    “I don’t normally play hard to get,” Dev said. “But I’m usually in the driver’s seat, so to speak. This was a whole new ball game.”
    “Yeah…listen, we really should get back out there.” Once again, Kylie tried to maneuver her way out of the closet.
    Once again, Dev blocked her way, this time, by simply stretching his arms across the narrow breadth of the closet and putting his palms flat on each wall.
    Kylie eyed him nervously.
    “Not that it wasn’t refreshing, but I prefer to do the seducing,” he said with a predatory grin.
    My, but he had a lot of very white teeth. Rather wolfish ones, truth to tell.
    She swallowed nervously, all of her former bravado having deserted her. She was locked in a closet with a guy she didn’t really know, and she’d teased him shamelessly.
    Dev’s arm shot out and he caught her around the back of her neck, under her hair. Her stomach flipped as he drew her inexorably toward him. She was barely aware of her feet moving, or of her knees shaking as he bent his head to hers.
    His lips sent liquid fire shooting through her veins, and they parted hers easily. He delved into her mouth, his other hand slipping down her back, over the thin silk of her dress. He pulled her against him, hard, and his hand drifted lower,