Ravish Read Free Page A

you. Especially since we both know you wouldn’t have
returned if not for the threat of me spilling something about you
to the press. As before, your concern is all about you. You know
where the door is, use it.” She pivoted around and dumped the rest
of her coffee, no longer having the stomach for it.
    When she finished and turned, it wasn’t all that much
of a shock to see him waiting there. Same position and this look on
his face she’d wished had been there the years ago before he
bolted. Stubbornness.
    Perhaps, then, they would have been able to salvage
their engagement. Their future with one another. Instead, he’d
left. Ran. Vanished.
    He stopped her when she began to move by him. Every
cell in her body flared to life at the single touch, despite it
being through her blazer. Forcing all emotion from her face, she
angled it toward him and arched an eyebrow.
    “You’ve changed so much,” he said, near to a whisper.
His tone was seductive and held a hint a shock.
    Only with him do I cuss this much. Otherwise, I
don’t typically let those words pass by my mouth. “I’m sure. Do
you mind?”
    His gaze lingered on her lips. Would he? No. He
wouldn’t dare. Her heart kicked up in speed, and her breathing grew
shallower as it also increased. His thumb skimmed along her arm,
driving her to distraction.
    “No,” he murmured. “I most certainly do not mind at
all.” He dipped his head and slanted his lips over hers.
    Tentative at first, he moved lightly along her mouth.
Then, he grew bolder, and his tongue invaded her mouth, seeking out
hers. He tasted the same. Wholly addictive. She whimpered and
struggled not to lean into him. Memories she’d moved beyond opened
their doors and stepped into her thoughts. She couldn’t slam them
all and not nearly fast enough.
    Yanking away from him, she made a production of
wiping her mouth. “That will not be happening again. You
need to leave now.”
    The emotional turmoil she witnessed in his gaze
almost gave her pause. Almost. Instead, she infused steel in her
spine and didn’t move until he’d left and she heard the click of
the door behind him. Then, she stumbled to the table and sank on
the nearest chair. This wasn’t fair, at all.
    She didn’t move for a good five minutes, merely
trying to get her heartbeat to return to normal and her breathing
to calm down. Her hands continued to tremble as she picked up the
used coffee mugs and put them in the sink before shaking her head
and moving them to the dishwasher.
    This wasn’t right nor was it fair. She didn’t need
this, especially now. “I’m in a good place in my life, right now.
Good job. House. Friends. Why is this happening to me?”
    She slumped back in a chair at the table and dropped
her head to the surface with a muttered groan. “I cannot be kissing
him again. That’s not going to make this any easier for me if I
allow that type of behavior. In fact, I should just avoid him,
because when we’re in the vicinity of each other, my language goes
to shit.”
    Who knew if out-of-sight, out-of-mind would work now.
Brody Paget or Alton Rivers hadn’t ever been completely out of her
mind, despite being out of her sight.
    f
    He drove. Brody didn’t have an end destination in
mind; he just drove. When he reached Tourin Park, he got off the
road and entered. There were no vehicles there he could see, so he
took the spot he wanted and got out.
    Walking without direction, he ambled around the park.
The breeze blew over him, welcoming him home, and he closed his
eyes as he leaned against one of the large trees.
    What the hell was I doing, thinking it would be
smart to kiss her? He’d just acted. It had been the most
natural thing for him to do. Taking those full lips with his. All
he’d wanted to do was sweep her up in his arms and carry her back
to the bedroom to relearn her body. Wipe the memory of any other
man from her mind. Make her whimper and cry before screaming his
name to the heavens as she came around