CRAVED (By the Alpha Billionaire #1) Read Free Page A

him as he rolled his window down.
    “Do I thank you for that?” I scoffed, though secretly it felt nice that he defended me like that.
    He shrugged and adjusted his dark glasses, and I wished more than anything I could sneak a peek of those killer, hooded eyes again. Suddenly I wondered if his little favor was more of a dig at me, hinting at what could’ve been if only I’d knocked on his door.
    “You leaving town? Your plane all fixed?” I asked.
    “Hopefully by this afternoon I’ll be midflight to JFK,” he said, running his hands along the wooden steering wheel of his rental car. He leaned forward and started it up.
    “What are you going to do until then?”
    He pursed his lips. “I don’t know, Mouthy. Was going to drive around town and see the sights.”
    “The sights?” I laughed. “You realize this town has a population of thirty-two hundred. We might have a shoe store and a McDonald’s, but that’s about it as far as sights go.”
    “I can’t stay another minute in that hotel,” he said. “It reeks of musty carpet and chlorine.”
    “Sorry it’s not up to Sawyer Thomas’ impeccable standards,” I said. “You might want to leave a review on Yelp when you get a chance.”
    “Ah,” he turned to me. “You remembered my name.”
    “Don’t read into it,” I said. “I’m a school teacher. Names are sort of my thing.”
    I taught fifth grade at Garden Springs Elementary, and we just so happened to be on spring break that week. Too bad for Luke, he completely forgot I didn’t have to work, which was how I walked in on him and Sara doing the nasty.
    “School teacher?” he said, the words slowly falling off his tongue. “You don’t look like a school teacher.”
    “What do school teachers look like?” My hands flew to my hips, and I threw him my best teacher stare.
    “Themed sweater vests. High water pants. Glasses,” he said.
    I reached into the bottom of my purse and pulled out a pair of thick-rimmed glasses, slipping them over my nose. “There. Now do I look like a teacher?”
    “More like a naughty secretary.” He squinted behind his glasses. “Or a hipster. I can’t decide.”
    “Has anyone ever told you how completely offensive and chauvinistic you are?”
    “Has anyone ever told you how overly sensitive you are?”
    My hands gripped fistfuls of air as I groaned. He was so fucking hot and so fucking annoying and he got under my skin like no one ever had. And I didn’t even know him!
    I placed a hand on his car door and leaned into his window. “Sawyer, it’s been great getting to know you. A real pleasure. Truly.” I placed my hand over my heart. “I sincerely hope you enjoyed your stay here in our little town. Maybe next time you fly over Missouri you’ll think of me and the way I looked when I walked away, never having given you a taste…”
    I backed up and watched as his lips twisted into agitated amusement. “Get in the car, Mouthy.”
    “Excuse me?”
    “Get in.”
    “Why would I do that?!”
    Sawyer wasted no time climbing out of the car and heading toward me until he completely invaded my space and his rich cologne filled my nostrils. I could swim in that stuff it was so divine.
    “Because I said so,” he said as his hands gripped the sides of my face as he lowered his lips onto mine. We stood, lip locked, in the middle of a Best Western parking lot in the middle of an ordinary Tuesday morning. He kissed me. And I liked it.
    Oh, god, did I like it.
    Sparks flittered through my entire body from my fingertips to my toes and then settling back up into the pit of my stomach, making me feel like I’d just gone upside down on a rollercoaster. He tore himself away from me, leaving us both breathless and my lips stinging hot.
    In silence, we climbed into his rental car and he pulled out of the parking lot.
    “Where are you taking me?” I asked as we drove toward the west side of town.
    His right hand reached across and landed very intentionally on my leg,