Body Contact (Hands On #2) Read Free Page A

it, but honestly, it’s not my scene.”
    “How did you hear about this place?”
    “My brother Luke first introduced me.”
    “You have two brothers, don’t you?”
    “Yeah, Luke and Sam. And my best friend Jamie is like a third brother. They all come here.” He shook his head, remembering that he’d yet to beat the shit out of Sam for ratting him out to his mother. He did a slow sweep of the room, looking for him. “If Sam’s here tonight, and comes over, I want you to ignore him.”
    “What? Why?”
    “He wants to meet you, but I told him to stay the fuck away.”
    “You told him about me?”
    Her brow furrowed and he knew what she was thinking. “Yeah, but don’t worry. I didn’t tell him what this is really about. But tonight over dinner, Sam blabbed that I was seeing someone, and now Mom wants me to invite you over for our next Sunday dinner.” But that was a bad idea. He didn’t bring girls home and wasn’t about to start with Danielle, who only wanted him for what he could teach her. Even if he was enjoying the lessons more than he’d ever admit to.
    A look of longing backlit her eyes. “She does?”
    “Yeah, but my two brothers are obnoxious assholes who like to razz the shit out of me, so I’m sure you’d hate it. Those fuckers need a beatdown.”
    Her hand closed over his, her smile reaching her eyes. “You really love them.”
    It was a statement, not a question, but he answered anyway. “Of course I do. They’re my brothers. But Christ, they’d really tease the living hell out of me if you were there.” He did an eye roll. “They’re unruly and disgusting and exaggerate everything. I can’t imagine the stories they’d tell.” He shook his head and laughed. “I don’t know how Mom ever made it through our teen years.” He looked at her to find her smile widening, as if she was imagining the chaos.
    “Actually, I think I’d kind of like to go.”
    “You can’t be serious.”
    She toyed with the stem of her wineglass. “You have the kind of family I always wanted.” She shrugged as if it were nothing, but he guessed it was everything. “I was a child of the system. Tossed around a lot. I would have killed for what you have, but no family kept me around for very long. I guess I could never live up to their expectations, so I knew better than to get too attached to anyone or anything. I still don’t allow myself to get close.”
    “What about the family you grew up with here?”
    “I really care about them. June and Frank were kind and tried hard to be close to me. They even set up a trust fund for me, just in case I ever need it.”
    “Really? You could use it to put a down payment on the house.”
    She gave a slow shake of her head. “No, I don’t feel right about taking anything from them. They did enough for me.”
    “But Danielle, they wouldn’t have done it if they didn’t want you to have it.”
    She shrugged. “I guess I’ve always been a little scared to really open up to them. I just…I’ve been hurt, you know? Violet is the only one I’ve ever let in.” She took a long sip of wine, then set the glass down and stared into the contents. A strangled sound escaped her and she pressed her palms to her eyes. “I don’t know why I just told you that.”
    His heart squeezed for the young girl who’d seen so much rejection, for the woman who’d emotionally closed herself off. Fuck that. He’d see to it that she never felt that way again. Maybe he’d even figure out a way to get her to open up to her foster family, to help her see that it was okay to let those who cared about her in. She looked up at him, a forced smile on her face, obviously trying to lighten the mood. No fucking way did she have to pretend anything around him. He needed to show her just how desirable, how wanted , she truly was.
    He took a mouthful of beer and set it on the counter. “Come on.”
    Without question, she put her hand in his. Leading her through the crowd and down the