Read Online A Just Deception by Adrienne Giordano - Free Book Online Page B

hell. He could relate. The knot in his chest eased. He separated his feelings every day when he thought about all the lives lost at his hands. His job meant eliminating people to make the world safer and, somehow, over the years he’d learned to justify it.
    Izzy could have casual sex, no problem. But she turned into Creepy Izzy to do it. If he wanted to, he could have her. Creepy Izzy was a major turnoff though. Talk about flipping a switch. Maybe he had his own switch, because Fun Izzy was the girl that got him firing.
    He tucked a finger under her chin and tilted her head up. “We’re moving at light speed here. We don’t have to. I’m crazy attracted to you, but Fun Izzy is the one I want.”
    Tears welled up in her eyes. Jesus. He was screwing this up.
    “But, Peter, you still don’t understand.”
    Yes. He did. At least he thought so. “What?”
    She locked those beautiful, watery eyes on him. “Fun Izzy has never experienced making love. Emotionally speaking, she’s a virgin. Creepy Izzy always takes over. I don’t know how to change that.”
    Okay. He could tackle this one. “Yeah, you do. You did it today when you kissed me. That was Fun Izzy. You didn’t think about it. You just plastered one on me and it rocked my world.”
    No kidding there. He got hard thinking about that kiss.
    “Really?” She smiled a little. “You’re sure it was Fun Izzy?”
    He laughed. What a freaking conversation. “I’m positive. You have this thing you do when Creepy Izzy takes over. You close your eyes and, a few seconds later your attitude changes. That didn’t happen today. You didn’t close your eyes before you kissed me and you definitely weren’t distant.”
    She jerked her head up and down, her eyes getting brighter. “You’re right. I didn’t think about it. I just did it. And I liked it.”
    “Yeah, because it was Fun Izzy.” He squeezed her hands. “We need more Fun Izzy.”
    “So, what do we do?”
    He shrugged. “Hell if I know, but I’m not having sex with Creepy Izzy. I’m waiting on Fun Izzy. That okay with you?”
    She snorted. “I guess. You may wind up taking a lot of cold showers though.”
    Ain’t it the truth? He sighed. “At the rate I’m going, I’ll turn into an ice pop.”
    Wouldn’t that be fun?
    The ocean breeze blew her hair across her face. She pulled her hands free from his, put them on his cheeks and ran her thumb over the faded scar near his mouth. “You could leave, you know? Just forget the whole thing. You didn’t sign on for this. We could just be friends and I won’t hold it against you. I don’t want to pull you into my mess.”
    “Babe, I’m already in your mess. And I don’t want to just be your friend. I’d screw it up by constantly hitting on you.”
    She cracked up. Did he say something funny?
    “Let’s slow down and see where we wind up. We have our first date on Saturday night. It’s a start.”
    A smooth smile slid across her face. “Sounds like a plan.”
    Unable to resist, he ran his index finger down her cheek and tucked her hair behind her ear. “Hell yeah, it does.”
    When her stomach growled she rubbed her hand over it. “I’m hungry. I could order pizza.”
    He rolled to a standing position, reached his hand to her and pulled her up. “I’ll buy. Let me get my clothes out of the truck and get cleaned up.”
    “There’s a shower around the side of the house.”
    “Got it.” He picked up the towel, flung it out to get rid of the sand, and suddenly she was in front of him, snagging the towel and wrapping her arms around him. Fun Izzy.
    Perfection. The way she fit in his arms. The way her head tucked in just below his chin. The way she made him feel like he never wanted to let go.
    But then she backed away. Too bad.
    “I’ll meet you inside,” she said. “By the way, did you happen to notice that car parked by the beach entrance?”
    Peter turned toward the street. “No. Why?”
    “I don’t know. It’s probably nothing, but