Read Online Heels and Heroes by Tiffany Allee - Free Book Online Page B

while he spoke. “Her power saved an innocent elderly couple whose only crime was minding their store.” He raised a hand from the table and pointed at Brenda. “Her power is the only chance we have of catching a dangerous super villain.” He tossed his napkin next to his plate. “I’d hardly call that useless, and you should have a little more respect.”
    Brenda gaped as he sat back down. Unable to take her eyes off him, she struggled to speak, to find something to say. But her mom was faster.
    “He’s right, Paul,” her mom said simply. “Who’s ready for cobbler?”

 
     
    Chapter Six
     
     
    Silence radiated from her during the drive home, and tension twined around her crossed arms, her clenched jaw, her fixed stare out the window. Whatever her problem was, it wasn’t his fault. He defended her from that tactless jerk of a brother. She could stew about it or yell at him, but that was her call. Not his problem, not his conversation to start. But when they entered the house, his determination cracked.
    “Okay, what’s your problem?” he asked when she plopped her purse on the coffee table just a little too loudly.
    She turned to face him, hands on her hips. “What’s my problem? What’s your problem? I mean, I invite you to dinner with my family and you start a fight?”
    “Your brother started it. I just finished it.” His voice rose, and he made his way across the room so he stood only a few feet in front of her. “How could you expect me to just sit there when he was talking about you like that?”
    Face flushed, she raised her chin and glared at him. “He wasn’t talking about me, just my power. Look, I know he can be a jerk, but he’s still my brother. And he’s right, my power isn’t exactly the most useful one around.”
    “Bullshit. Your power is as useful as you make it. You’ve proven that to the Superhero League this week, why can’t you believe it yourself?”
    She spluttered, “I, that’s not…this Howler thing is a unique situation.”
    “Well, regardless of how you view it, I’m not going to sit at a table—your parents’ or anyone else’s—and let someone degrade it—and by extension, you—without saying something.”
    Her bright eyes glinted with unshed tears, seeming even darker than normal, and her brows drew together in confusion. “Why do you care?”
    Simple words, but he struggled to answer her question. Why did he care so much? Why had he had to force himself not to jump across the table and knock that condescending grin off her brother’s face? He looked down at his fists clenched against his sides. Because he cared, that’s why. He gave a damn, even though it was stupid and dangerous and likely to get him hurt.
    A soft touch on his shoulder brought his gaze back to her. Eyes wide with confusion and wonder stared back at him. She looked so goddamn beautiful and vulnerable, he ached to pull her into his arms. But she gripped his shoulder to balance with one hand and caressed the side of his face with the other. Rising onto her tiptoes, she drew him closer so she could kiss him.
    Soft lips met his, and he wrapped his arm around her to settle his hand in the small of her back, the other he used to stroke her hip. The scent of his own shampoo surrounded him, blending with her lotion in a way that smelled better than anything. She smelled like his.
    One of her hands brushed the back of his neck, and the other gripped his shoulder, like she feared falling if she let go. He deepened the kiss, lightly grazing her tongue with his, and she writhed against him.
    He growled and pulled her closer, and the softness of her breasts pressed against his chest. God he wanted—needed—to see her, to touch that softness. To feel all of her under his hands, his body.
    He pulled back for a moment and the sight of her knocked the air from his lungs. Lips swollen, her chest heaved as though she had to fight for air. She wanted him too, and that knowledge made him harden