Read Online Snowball's Chance by Cherry Adair - Free Book Online

It was just that—”
    Kendall punched him in the arm. Hard. “You egotistical—jerk. If I wanted some guy to sleep with me, I wouldn’t have to p-pay him.”
    In a quick move he hauled her out from under the cavern of blankets and into his lap, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. “Pay someone to sleep with you?” He sounded genuinely taken aback by her tear-choked comment. Stroking her hair gently, he whispered against her ear in warm waves of hot, moist breath. “From my vantage point, I’d say you’ve got the opposite problem. I’m considering demanding a bonus for my self-restraint.”
    Kendall pressed her face to his shoulder, curling her arms around his neck. Which made her one sad, pathetic puppy. She’d give him another hour or two to comfort her, then she’d tell him to go straight to hell. She neither wanted nor needed pity.
    His arms tightened around her. “Shit, sweetheart, you’re shaking hard enough to break apart. I promised you I’d keep you safe, didn’t I?”
    â€œYour contract probably stipulates that you get paid, no matter what,” she said against his throat. The thought didn’t exactly fill her with confidence. But the strength of his arms around her did. Joe Zorn was big and solid and his large body seemed to surround her, making her feel very safe indeed.
    â€œWell, yeah. But that would look bad.” The smile in his husky voice shimmered through her body like an electrical current, closing the circuit they’d started in the kitchen. Her toes curled.
    â€œOn the other hand,” he said, pushing damp hair off her face, then raising her chin so they were eye to eye. His expression was dead serious, his steely blue eyes steady as he said, “Did I ever mention what an overachiever I am? Hell, hate to lose at anything. Particularly hate to lose when a pretty girl’s involved in the equation. And sweetheart, you are the prettiest girl I’ve seen in a lifetime.”
    His head lowered, and with a small sigh Kendall closed her eyes, parting her lips to welcome him.
    She wanted him with a strength and desperation that should have frightened her. Instead she relished the hungry exploration of his mouth on hers. He nibbled and teased, catching lightly at her lower lip with his teeth, then played over the little sting with a hot sweep of his tongue. Her breath hitched, but his lips drifted away to stroke a burning path across her cheek, pause over her closed lids, then return to her eagerly waiting mouth.
    She welcomed his tongue, silky-smooth and wet, against hers as he tasted her, the subtle strokes and forays made more thrilling by his control. He didn’t plunder. He didn’t grab. Instead he savored, which made Kendall feel cherished. It also made her temperature spike and her pulse race with anticipation. Nor was he immune himself; she felt the fine tremor riding through his body as Joe kissed her.
    He buried both hands in her long, wet hair, cupping the back of her head in one palm as he gently teased her mouth.
    She reciprocated by combing her fingers through the cool, silky strands of his dark hair. She scored her nails gently against his scalp, causing him to draw in an out-of-rhythm breath, but he didn’t stop what he was doing.
    Suddenly dizzy, she realized Joe had shifted them to a prone position, her head supported by his hand, his body sprawled half over hers. Even through two layers of clothing, his body burned with a furnace heat. His arms were like steel bands surrounding her. Not a cage, but a haven.
    â€œI want you more than my next breath.”
    And that breath, Kendall noticed, was gratifyingly ragged. A shudder ran through her body as his mouth crushed down on hers. She yanked and pulled at his sweater for what felt like an eternity until she was able to bunch it up, slip her hands underneath and strip it off of him.
    His chest was tanned, broad, and