Second Chances (Athena Group Novel Book 1) Read Free Page A

what it tasted like. She could almost feel them on her lips when she closed her eyes. No, she had to get him out of her mind. A shower was in order to relieve some of the tension in her body and then maybe she could get some sleep. Oh it was going to be a long night.
     
    ###
     
    Max walked into his house and tried to figure out what had just happened. Sitting on the couch, he tried to catch his breath. He had never wanted a woman with the intensity he had for Shelby. He had felt her heat against his abdomen when she was straddling him and body had flushed with desire. Her hair falling down around her face had made his hands itch to wrap his hands in it and pull her in for a kiss. His pants were becoming more and more uncomfortable thinking about how she felt.  He had to find out what she was doing here.

    Chapter Three
     
    Liz looked across the desk at John and just smirked. “John, you know that I will not take on an assignment from the bureau without everyone’s input. What is it that you want me to do?”
    “I came here hoping that you would help us.”
    “Shelby is on vacation with her family. A long overdue one at that and I won’t interrupt it to ask her what her thoughts are on this assignment. When she gets back, we will discuss whether or not we will help.” She dismissed him with that.
    “Liz, why do you close out the world, especially me?”
    She wasn’t going to have this conversation. Liz cocked her eyebrow at him. “John, why would I open myself up to you or anyone in the bureau? You know how I feel about the entire system.”
    Before he could say anything, she raised her hand in a stop position. “You came to me because you have to follow the rules and play by the book and I don’t. Is that it? Don’t want to get your hands dirty?” She was mocking him.
    “I came to you because I thought; we were friends!” He demanded as his hands curled into a fist on his knee.
    She saw the frustration in his body. They had known each other for many years, but she knew that he thought her to be a cold woman and that people in the bureau called her the Ice Queen. She wasn't easily intimidated, and she was highly protective of her girls. She paid a high price to be who she was and she didn’t care what others said or thought about her.
    John got up and walked to the door and turned to Liz. She never took her eyes off of him as she sat there with her arms crossed looking superior to anyone else. He walked out of her office. He had no choice but to wait.
     
    ###
     
    Shelby awoke to the sounds of Amanda talking in her sleep. She watched as her daughter lay there sleeping so peacefully. It had not been too long ago that she was just a little girl. She was growing up so fast and becoming her own independently strong young lady. What was she going to do about Max? She had to keep them apart as it wouldn’t take long for him to figure out who her father was. She got up leaving her to sleep. Breathing in the morning breeze as she walked outside and looked at the house next door she was slightly disappointed when she didn’t see him. The remnants of the encounter from last night were still flowing through her.
    She took a quick shower; towel dried her hair as she got dressed. Trying to slip on her flip flops, she tripped over her feet. “Slow down Shelby”. She looked over at Amanda to make sure she was still asleep. She could smell coffee brewing in the kitchen mixed with smells of bacon and biscuits. Her stomach growled fussing at her for not eating the previous night. Putting her hair up as she walked down the stairs grabbing a biscuit and walked out onto the beach to see the sun rising over the ocean. As she finished her small breakfast, she looked out over the water.
    She kicked her flip flops off as she walked down to the water line of the shore watching the tide rolled out. Her toes began to sink into the wet sand as the waves slowly rolled across her feet. The soft sand worked as a natural pedicure on