Read Online She's No Angel by Kira Sinclair - Free Book Online Page A

want.”
    He considered her for several moments. How could his cool blue scrutiny make her insides melt to mush? “Fair enough. If your chocolates work as described then I’ll stop harassing your friends.”
    Lexi’s eyes narrowed. She was suspicious. He’d given in a little too quickly, which made her question whether he had any intention of following through on the promise.
    “Why would you agree to that?” she wondered aloud.
    A wicked gleam crystallized deep in his eyes. “Because I think it’s a bunch of bullshit. I don’t see how a ball of chocolate can increase sexual desire. It’s all up here.” He tapped the side of his head.
    “What do you get if you’re right?”
    “A night with you,” he said baldly. “I want to kiss you again. It’s all I’ve thought about since you walked away last night.”
    “Why don’t you just ask me to dinner?”
    “Would you say yes?”
    Slowly, she shook her head. “No,” she whispered, not sure if her answer was to his question or his challenge. Or both.
    Leaning across the counter, Brett invaded her personal space. He didn’t touch her. He didn’t have to.
    “Coward,” he breathed through parted lips. She couldn’t pull her gaze away. She wanted to close the space between them and taste him again.
    “Are you afraid of me, Lexi? Or of yourself?”
    “I’m not afraid of anything.”
    “Prove it.” His words were punctuated with the sensual taunt that dared her to test him—and herself. Did she have the fortitude to tell him no?
    Apparently not. “Yes.”
    Finally, he touched her, running the pad of a single finger across her aching lips.
    “You may have the rest of this town snowed with your quiet, efficient businesswoman facade, but you don’t fool me.”
    Lexi pulled back and swallowed, pushing down the lump of nerves that had lodged in her throat the moment she agreed to this madness.
    “I’ve seen the other side of you. Passionate. Fiery. You’re strong and determined. Beneath the gingham aprons and cookie dough lurks the heart of a siren. I know. I’ve seen her.”
    “You don’t know me at all.”
    “Maybe not, but I want to.”
    * * *
    H E ’ D MANIPULATED HER with that to-die-for smile and his intensely cool eyes. That was all there was to it. If she’d been in her right mind she never would’ve agreed to have dinner with him.
    And to make it worse, she had an entire day to get through before she could get it over with.
    After dipping about fifty apples and creating raspberry, lemon chiffon and coconut truffles, she’d jumped on the treadmill and pounded out about six miles. The exertion should have taken the edge off—it usually did. Instead, she was still cranky and now sweaty and in desperate need of a shower.
    Luckily, she had a three-piece bath built into the back. The shower wasn’t huge, but it did the job. Although, as she was pulling on her jeans and a pale blue sweater set, Lexi frowned at her reflection in the mirror.
    Her face was free of makeup. She hardly ever bothered with it at work. Between the heat of the ovens and her daily exercise routine, it never stayed on long, anyway. Her clean face had never bothered her before. She’d never been one of those women who got excited about experimenting with color on her face.
    But today, it bothered her.
    She had some time before the store opened. Without second-guessing herself, Lexi headed into the alley that ran behind the row of stores.
    Willow and Macey’s boutique was four down. She didn’t bother knocking, but walked right into the storage room with rolls of fabric, perfectly organized beads and embellishments, and various boxes stacked to the ceiling. On the other side was a tiny office and break room. The largest space was the display area up front and Willow’s design studio down the hall.
    Neither of her friends or their employees were in the back, which was unusual. Especially since they wouldn’t technically open for another forty-five minutes, although, they