Stripped Bear Read Free Page A

of her vision. Even scowling, Cade was gorgeous. His russet hair brushed his brow and his jaw squared as he clenched it. A tic of the muscle there betrayed his agitation as did the way he pinched the bridge of his nose before his eyes focused on her once again.
    God, his eyes. She’d loved Cade’s eyes more than anything. His body might have changed, grown bigger and stronger since she’d seen him last. His hair might have been a little longer. But his eyes would never change. Like dark polished turquoise and fathomless. She’d lost count of how many times she’d lost herself in those eyes when she was a girl. Tonight was no different. When his heated gaze met hers, Leah melted . Her body hummed with awareness of him. Her pulse pounded in her ears and low in her abdomen. Heat swamped her until she thought she might perish in the flames of a building desire that she couldn’t tamp down no matter how hard she tried.
    What in the hell was wrong with her?
    Since the moment he’d taken her hand, Leah’s world had spiraled out of control. An undeniable spark had arced between them when they touched, and from the way that Cade jerked away, she knew he’d felt it too. This is crazy! Leah was getting married in a week. But she couldn’t deny that more often than not, Cade made unwelcome appearances in her dreams. Or that she woke from those dreams shaking, glazed with a sheen of sweat, and wanting. God, she wanted him now .
    “I’m glad you’re feeling better, Luanne, but I really need to get home.” Cade had said all of about ten words to her since she’d walked in the room. And by his persistent scowl and thinned lips, she knew that he’d been as rattled by her presence here as she’d been by his. She still didn’t know why Luanne had insisted she come over tonight, but at this point, Leah didn’t care. She needed to get the hell out of this house. Away from memories that threatened to suck her into their undertow. To get as far away from Caden Mitchell as was humanly possible. At this point, she didn’t trust herself not to do something she’d regret.
    “Stay the night, dear,” Luanne suggested. “It’s too late for you to drive all that way tonight.”
    All that way? Leah lived in town, not the next state. She had no idea what Luanne was up to, but she wasn’t falling for it. “Thank you for offering, Luanne, but I really need to get home. I have a showing at the gallery tomorrow night and I need to be at work early tomorrow to get ready.” She pushed herself up from the bed and stood. Luanne’s expression fell, but Leah wasn’t about to indulge her. “I’ll come back and visit with you in a couple of weeks,” she suggested. Luanne was probably lonely in this enormous house all by herself. No doubt she’d lured her here—and Cade as well—because she’d felt abandoned. “I’m glad you’re feeling better.”
    She leaned in and gave Luanne a peck on her soft, wrinkled cheek. As she pulled away, her gaze met Cade’s once again and a renewed sense of heat exploded within her, settling in a low thrum between her thighs. His expression smoldered, his eyes narrowed, and his jaw set. The chair creaked beneath his grip as his fingers dug into the armrests and the veins in his forearms stood out against his flesh, disappearing beneath the rolled-up sleeves of his shirt. What would it feel like to touch him? To know that strength firsthand as he gripped her thighs? Her ass? Leah found herself imagining every hard inch of him and her attention wandered between his thighs and the bulge in his slacks that he didn’t even have the decency to hide.
    Dear god . Leah’s breath raced in quick little pants that made her light-headed. She needed to get out of here. Now.
    “Goodbye, Luanne. Cade.”
    As though the very devil chased her out of there, Leah rushed from the bedroom. Heat rose to her cheeks and her heart hammered against her rib cage as though it wanted out. She flew down the stairs, tripping on