Read Online Mina's Heart by Michele Zurlo - Free Book Online

to the point where she wasn’t sure if he had any muscle tone in his lips.
    Everett wasn’t anything like that. His kiss was firm and commanding, a sensual feast she couldn’t hope to resist. A powerful, hot liquidity washed through her system, sapping her muscles of necessary strength. He took what he wanted—her participation truly wasn’t required—and left her weakened, clinging to him for support.
    When he at last brought the kiss to its stunning conclusion, he wrapped his arms around her body and held her against him. She felt the rapid beat of his heart, and she knew he’d been affected just as deeply.
    After several moments spent luxuriating in his embrace, she drew a shaky breath. “You are one devious man.”
    “Yes.” He chuckled, rocking his chest against hers. “Wild got the scruples, and I got the cunning. Now that you know what you’re in for, do you want some cake?”
    Mina laughed at the proud way he embraced his fault. She wasn’t as sold on the cake as she was on the prospect of receiving a few more kisses like that. For the first time ever, she honestly considered going to second base on the first date.
    Things wouldn’t go further than that. She was very experienced in putting a stop to wandering hands. When she initially got to college, she had avoided dating because she didn’t know how to interact with men on anything but an academic level. The few who had managed to make her see them differently hadn’t made it past her defenses.
    From the time she was little, she’d listened to her mother lecture her not to have kids until she was forty. Jin Ae had been eighteen when she’d married her high school sweetheart and nineteen when Mina was born. From that moment forward, her mother had been locked into a role. While she’d never expressed regret that Mina was in her life, she often said she wished that she’d waited ten or twenty years so that she would have been better prepared.
    The unspoken part of her mother’s warnings was clear: don’t get trapped in an abusive relationship. Keep your legs closed and your options open.
    And so she’d never let a man do more than touch her breasts, and two of the three had been restricted to touching over the clothes. Somehow she knew Ever would find a way around any restrictions she set. While that scared her a lot, she had a built-in escape plan because she didn’t want to stay in Vermont for more than a few months.
    Just from the way he kissed, she knew she wanted to experience some heavy petting from Ever. With that in mind, she smiled and nodded. “Cake sounds yummy.”
    “Great.” He clicked the button to unlock her doors. “You can drive us this time.”
    Mina drew her brows together. “You’re going to leave your truck here?”
    “I didn’t bring it. Wild drove.” He opened the door and motioned for her to get inside.
    She was a little affronted that he’d just assumed she’d go home with him. “So you planned to ask me to your place the whole time?”
    He stared at her for a long moment, the reflected pinks of the sunset clashing hard with his unusual green eyes. She had the feeling of being dissected yet again. When he spoke, she knew that was exactly what he’d been doing. “Mina, if you don’t want to come to my place, we can go anywhere you want. If you have an issue with using your car or with riding together, I can get Wilder’s keys, and he can go home with Micah. You seem to want to ascribe a lot of motives to me that don’t exist. I was pretty clear in stating what I want from you.”
    He’d only said he wanted to spend more time with her. That kiss had shaken her more than she had realized. Recognizing that she hadn’t been nice, she lowered her gaze in an act of contrition. “I’m sorry, Everett. You were clear. You said cake and conversation.” She lifted her focus to find him staring at her with quiet expectation and no small amount of pride. It sent something strange and exciting aflutter in her