Read Online Defying Desire by A. C. Arthur - Free Book Online

him. He kissed her again, saw the beginning haze of lust in her eyes and kissed her once more, this time letting his tongue touch hers. An innocent swipe, a pleasurable lick and then the kiss bloomed. It was soft, arousing, intimate, enticing. But the clincher was, it wasn’t filled with lust, but some simple thing akin to longing, to need.

    Her arms wrapped around his neck and he brought his around her waist. Her body was pressed against his and he kissed her. Simply kissed her. His mind filled neither with desire nor any sexual urgings. Sure, there was some rousing in his pants but it wasn’t the urgent emotion he normally felt when kissing a woman. This exchange was starkly different. Trent recognized it and released it just the same.
    She pulled away slowly, then took a step away from him. With their gazes locked she backed into the door leading to the locker rooms and whispered, “Soon.”
    She disappeared through the swinging door before he could utter another word. Which worked just fine for him because for the first time in his life Trent Donovan had been left speechless.
     
    Twenty-four hours. That’s how long he’d managed to avoid calling Tia. The last thing Trent wanted was to appear as if he needed her. Which, coincidentally he did.
    Getting through the rest of Sunday hadn’t been too bad since he’d already had an appointment to play golf with his brothers. Adam was the one trying to get the brothers and their father hooked on the game. Trent personally needed more of a contact sport like football or basketball, but he’d indulge his little brother for a while longer. Besides, it was time the Donovan men spent together.
    The evening was a little more difficult since memories of the previous night kept interrupting his thoughts. During those memories, Trent couldn’t help but think about the times that Tia had appeared haunted.
    Finding her in the dark room at Adam’s house had been the first shock. She should have been out mingling, enjoying the party that would undoubtedly lead to even more career prospects for her. Instead she was closed in aroom after apparently drinking too many glasses of champagne. And while she had purposely sought solitude, she hadn’t wanted to be alone.
    That’s why she’d invited him in and eventually to stay. Trent had been so focused on getting her into bed that he didn’t give himself a lot of time to consider the facts. Tia had been afraid of something that night. And whatever it was, it had scared her so much she’d resorted to being with him, a man she’d previously acted as if she detested.
    Trent had always been the inquisitive brother. His habit of investigating any and everything had caused more than one disagreement in his family. But that had never stopped him before.
    So first thing Monday morning he had run a complete background check on Tia Marisal St. Claire. The results hadn’t been what he’d expected. In fact, it had taken him hours to come to grips with it and the way it made him feel.
    He’d wanted to call her that night but couldn’t figure what to say to her, especially with his newfound information. However, he needed to talk to somebody to decide what his next move should be. Outside of his brothers and his father the only other person Trent would ever seek out for advice—advice he would actually listen to—would be his mother.
    Beverly Donovan was the glue holding the Donovan men together. She was their rock, their strength, the first woman any of them had ever loved. The only woman Trent loved. While to most men their mother was the light of their life, to Trent, Beverly was so much more.
    When he’d gone into the Navy he didn’t have any girlfriend left at home to write him sappy letters laced with perfume. His brothers were in college and had lives of their own. His father wasn’t all that pleased that his son haddecided to enter the military but had tried valiantly to respect Trent’s wishes. But it was Beverly who had written