Read Online Crave (The MacKenzie Family #11) by Liliana Hart - Free Book Online Page B

so he was prepared to see her again in the flesh. Thought he was prepared to see her again. She sure as hell wasn’t a girl of twenty anymore. The baggy clothes she wore couldn’t hide the curves beneath. Hell, he didn’t know why she bothered at all. He knew enough about women to recognize someone who was in good shape and took care of their body. Nothing could hide that kind of work ethic.
    “Seriously? You’re asking if I still hate you after the little stunt you just pulled? You must be out of your damned mind.”
    He winked at her and went to close the sliding glass door, testing the locking mechanism just to be safe. And then he pulled the curtains.
    All the entry and exit points in the house made him want to pack her up and get her on the next plane to Surrender and the MacKenzie Compound, but Victor Taber would find them no matter where they were, and there was no reason to endanger anyone else. It was better to do things under his own terms.
    The beach house was a security nightmare from his standpoint. The front of the house was gated by a ten-foot fence that matched the pink stucco. But the back of the house was completely open so the view of the ocean wasn’t obstructed. It was a private beach. But that wouldn’t matter if someone wanted to get to Evangeline bad enough. They might as well have been advertising for the bad guys to come get them.
    “Sugar, I’ve never been more clear in my thinking. You placed the bet. I’m calling your bluff.”
    He closed the blinds on all the other windows and then brushed against her as he passed by. She didn’t step out of his way, and he swore he could hear her heart pounding from where he stood. Her eyes dilated, so only a thin ring of purple showed and her breath was shallow. He knew what desire looked like. Electricity sizzled between, and he had to fight the urge to move in closer. To feel her flush against him.
    “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Cal.” Her voice was barely a whisper.
    He continued into the kitchen and she followed behind him. “You know exactly what I’m talking about, Evie. Neither of us are young and naïve. It’s been ten years. That’s long enough. We’re too old to play games anymore and it’s time to move forward.”
    “What if I don’t want to move forward, Cal? You can tell yourself whatever you want to feel better, but the fact of the matter is that you purposely set out to take everything from me. You blackmailed me. Forced me to give up the only thing I’ve ever really loved. And why? Because I was getting too good? Closing in on your heels? I guess it wouldn’t look good in the underground community for the legendary Cypher to get overtaken by a twenty year old girl.”
    He was silent while he checked the kitchen. It was surprisingly large and comfortable—white granite countertops and cabinets that the housekeepers probably hated, accented by splashes of bright colors and natural light.
    An entire wall was windows and another set of French doors that looked out onto the front gardens. There were no blinds to cover the windows, so he made a mental note to put a couple of extra weapons in the kitchen, just in case. The good news about the windows was that the ten foot privacy fence and the location of the kitchen as opposed to the rest of the house made it a secluded area. They wouldn’t have to worry about Taber getting off a long shot from the grounds. There wasn’t a place to hide. He’d have to move in up close and personal.
    “I didn’t take anything from you,” he finally said. “I gave you a chance to grow up without disgracing yourself and your family. And the fact that you can’t see that makes you narrow-minded and ungrateful in my opinion.”
    “I don’t remember asking for your opinion. And I’m more than happy to admit that I wasn’t in the right. I know I wasn’t. It was stupid and done more for kicks than anything. To prove that Robert Lockwood’s daughter could do something like