Read Online Running Interference by Elley Arden - Free Book Online Page B

the hand and guided him around back to the fire escape instead of going through the restaurant foyer where they could be seen. The last thing she needed was Aunt Grace getting a load of this.
    She climbed the metal stairs first. Her clammy hands gripped the rails while his soft hands caressed her ass. Oddly erotic. She slowed down and let him skim between her legs. This was off the hinge. Completely crazy. And she was going for it. The faster she ate a half gallon of ice cream the more the brain freeze hurt, and that pain would keep her from wanting it long term.
    Ooh!
But there was no pain now. Just wave after wave of pleasure and so much heat. She could run the length of a football field without breaking a sweat, but these steps and that man made her breathless. So she climbed even slower, but it didn’t help. She was light-headed by the time they hit the landing.
    At the top, she faced him, pulled him close, and kissed him hard. Her jelly legs ached to be wrapped around him.
    She dragged her mouth from his and steadied herself with an inhale. “You sure you’re up for this?” After their lackluster encounter senior year, they had a lot to prove.
    “Trust me. I’m up. I’ve been up since the parking lot.”
    Screw the aftermath. She yanked him by the shirt into the hallway, where she broke free of him long enough to make it to her door and slip the key into the lock. But before she could open it, he slid his hands beneath her shirt, skimming her belly until he cupped her breasts.
    Lust lapped at every nerve ending. She dropped her forehead to the door and tried to slow her breathing, hoping to get enough air to her lungs. Her head was soupy, but she needed to think … at least a little bit. Did she even have condoms? Jillian would. Someplace.
    He leaned in, opened his mouth on her neck, and she pressed her backside against him. Just a little grind against the bulge in his pants. He rolled her nipples until they hardened, and she gasped.
Not here.
Sex in the hallway when she had family downstairs was an awful idea.
    But her body lagged behind the thought. Too saturated in desire for him. Her backside rolled and rubbed. Her breasts hung heavy. Her head twisted so her mouth could meet his.
    Somehow she managed to turn the knob and push the door. The second it opened, something felt off. And there went the yummy feelings Cam had delivered with the palm of his hands. She pushed his arms from under her shirt and shook her head.
    “Let me make sure Jillian didn’t somehow beat us back from the gym.”
    Something moved on the sofa.
    She stepped closer and looked over the back to find Jace sleeping under a quilt Grandma Martin had made.
Oh, crap.
    Cam saw the child, too. His eyes widened as he exhaled. Disappointment hung on his face.
Tell me about it, buddy.
But this was a big deal.
    She stared at her nephew for a few seconds while her breathing regulated, and then she looked at Cam. “I don’t know what’s going on. As far as I know, he’s not supposed to be here.”
    A quick search of her apartment proved Jillian was indeed still gone and no note or telephone message was left. Waking Jace up was the fastest way to get to the bottom of this.
    She sat on the edge of the couch in front of his legs and rubbed his shoulder. “Hey bud, wake up.”
    His eyelids fluttered.
    “There you go,” she said. “We need to talk.”
    Cam was standing at the end of the sofa, and Jace seemed to see him first—probably because the guy was so damn huge.
    The kid scrambled into a sitting position. “Hey! Cam Simmons! What are you doing here?”
    “My thoughts exactly,” Tanya said. “I didn’t know we had a sleepover planned.”
    Jace looked at her, but then he looked away. “We didn’t actually.”
    She nodded. “I didn’t think so. What’s going on?”
    “I wanted to talk.” He hung his head. “I know you keep a key on the ledge at the top of the door. You used it the last time I was here. When nobody answered, I let