Read Online Loch and Key by Shelli Stevens - Free Book Online Page B

fucking hot. And you were just too sweet. Too vulnerable.” His voice roughened as he made the acknowledgment to himself and to her.
    He’d sensed that about her before knowing why. Though he knew better than to call her out on it.
    “Turn here, and it’ll be the last house on the right,” she instructed tersely. “And those aren’t words people usually associate with me. I’m not vulnerable.”
    The hell she wasn’t. Clearly she hated the idea of being vulnerable, but she was. Maybe she hid it well, but her guard had come down that night, and then a few minutes ago inside the restaurant when Charles had taunted her.
    He parked outside her house and sighed. “Regardless, Kenzie, I liked you a little too much. I couldn’t get involved with you and hurt you that way, because I don’t do permanent.”
    She tilted her head, giving him a blistering look. “And you made the bloody assumption that I was looking for a husband and passed me by because of it?”
    Maybe? Shit. He wasn’t even sure. When she climbed out of the car, he followed after her.
    “I don’t know what I assumed, I only knew that you deserved more than a one-night stand.”
    She turned around, nearly causing him to ram into her. “Maybe a one-night stand was what I was searching for.”
    Once he acclimated to the temptation of her being so close, he focused on her words. They were almost convincing, but he was skilled enough at reading people to see past her bluff. But he’d play along if that’s what she wanted.
    “Was it?”
    Her cockiness vanished and she bit her lip. “No, but I’m not looking for anything serious yet, either. I want something in between.”
    “And that’s why you went out with this clown tonight?”
    Her chin came up. “Carl is a nice guy. He simply made a few bad choices tonight.”
    “You think? I sure as shit wouldn’t tell you what to eat. Or bring you on what equates to a group date. Or—”
    “You sure as shit have no place to judge.” Her eyes flashed a warning.
    Carl had been kind of an asshole while serving in the Navy, and tonight Brett had realized he had only gotten worse. Yet here she was defending him.
    Irritation slid through his veins and he took a step forward, bringing them even closer together.
    “Maybe not, but I know you deserve better. I didn’t walk away so some other asshole could scoop you up.”
    “Scoop me up? FYI, I’m not an ice cream cone. Step one in the asshole rehabilitation process is admitting you’re one—so kudos to you.” Her green eyes were sparkling with anger now, and another emotion he knew she wouldn’t want him to see.
    There was a hint of awareness. Of heat that had nothing to do with anger. She was still attracted to him and probably hated herself for it.
    He was out of line; there was no doubt about it. Still, he placed his hands on the door on either side of her body, lightly trapping her. He waited for the slightest hint of fear or unease in her eyes. If he saw it, he’d step back. There was none, only the slight hitch of her breathing and the flare of anticipation in her gaze.
    “You’re right. I’m a complete asshole, because all I can think about right now is this.”
    He dipped his head, claiming her mouth in a kiss that he had no right to take. It was the only place their bodies touched, their lips fused together as he braced himself against the door.
    Needing more than that first, almost innocent kiss they’d shared, he teased the seam of her lips apart and slid his tongue inside to discover the taste of her.
    She was as sweet as he’d imagined, and not for the first time he kicked himself for walking away. He deepened the kiss, all the while keeping in mind that he had to give her space to say no. To push him off her.
    But right now she was making no move to do either. Instead she was kissing him back, almost tentatively. Her tongue meeting his in small, hesitant strokes.
    Need coursed through his body, heavy and demanding, and he couldn’t