Hot as Hell Read Free Page B

secret?”
    “You tell me.”
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    She scoffed. “Please. Give me a break. As if you just happened to guess his name.”
    He tapped on his temple. “Security expert, remember?”
    “Since you’re so brilliant, why not figure out who the guy is yourself? You shouldn’t need me.”
    “I’d rather hear from you. I’ll stand here and melt into a puddle while you explain it to me.”
    She tried to imagine how much time it would take to dissolve all 190 pounds off his six-foot-one frame. The result would be a water hole the size of Cleveland.
    “When you put it that way, I’m thinking a vow of silence might be in order,” she said.
    “Doubt you could stay quiet for five minutes.” He smiled. “But go ahead. This should be entertaining.”
    As the seconds ticked by, Noah said hello to their nosy audience. He engaged in a random bit of idle chitchat with a third woman who joined the group. All the while, sweat collected behind Lexy’s knees and dripped off her neck.
    Since he was wearing the same charcoal-gray dress pants and blue cotton shirt from earlier, she figured Noah had to be near the toasting point. The thought made her smile.
    It disappeared when he smiled and that familiar tingle started down deep in her belly. It had been this way from the beginning. He walked into her family’s business two years ago to interview for a job and knocked her over. Literally. He ran her right down in the hall with the force of a train. Came around the corner with his head down and slammed her into the wall.
    Bruised and counting the butterflies winging around her head, she looked up, saw him, and never saw another man the same way again. She remembered every minute. Every detail. Black suit with a crisp white shirt and bold red tie. Dark brown hair clipped short and sexy. Melting chocolate-brown eyes. Lean, buff, muscled.
    Any woman, concussion or not, would have fallen for him even if he were not the best damn kisser ever, which he was. She had not felt the same way about another man before or since. Even though she just turned thirty and had a lot of kissing in front of her, she doubted she ever would feel the same way about any other guy ever again.
    Seeing Noah now should have been a huge shock. It wasn’t. Despite all the anger and hurt, the pull between them tugged just as strong.
    Noah laughed at something one of the women said before they stepped back. Neither lady left or wandered very far. No, they hovered around the weights and mats just inside the door, about fifteen feet away. Lexy decided to ignore them both and deal with Noah.
    “Hot yet?” she asked hoping his internal temperature had spiked to crisis levels.
    Noah made a scene of glancing down at his watch. “Three minutes.”
    “What?”
    “That’s about as long as I thought you could go without talking.”
    “Really? I’m wondering how well you could breathe with a hand weight stuffed up your nose.”
    “I’ve dealt with worse.”
    “Is that another secret from your past you’ve decided not to share?”
    “I’m here now. Ready to talk. Shoot.”
    She considered doing just that. “I don’t have anything new to say. You know why I gave the ring back.”
    “Actually, I don’t.”
    Since they had an audience, she decided to play to it. “Let’s start with the global issues, shall we?”
    “I like international things. Go ahead.”
    From the way he stood up straighter and his gaze darkened, she knew his mind and body were on high alert. As usual.
    “You were not honest with me.” Quite an understatement, but she figured the comment would get the ball rolling in the right direction.
    “And?”
    “ And ?” Her squeal of outrage made the eavesdropping ladies give up their pretense and openly stare.
    “Uh, yeah.”
    “Dishonesty is a huge deal.”
    He frowned. “Is that really the only complaint you have about me?”
    She seriously considered practicing some of those fancy kickboxing moves