Read Online Suspicions (The Battling McGuire Boys Book 3) by Cynthia Eden - Free Book Online Page B

enough guilt on her soul to last several lifetimes already.
    “So would I,” Davis said softly. Then he turned and walked away.
    That was the problem—they were all willing to risk too much for her. Didn’t they get it? She was determined to protect them, too, at all costs. They all mattered to her. Her family. Mark. She’d protect them with her life. Because she would never run while someone she loved died. Never again.
    She and Mark stood in silence for a few moments. Ava was waiting for the others to clear out before she spoke. There were some things she just didn’t want her brothers to hear.
    Like...
    “How many secrets do you have?” Ava asked Mark, her voice quiet. The others were far enough away now that she didn’t think they would overhear her. “I used to think that, with you, what I saw—”
    “Surfaces lie. People lie.” His words sounded gruff. “You should be careful who you trust in this world.”
    “I trust you.”
With no hesitation.
    His hand lifted. His knuckles slid over her cheek. “I know.”
    “Are you trying to tell me that this is wrong? That I shouldn’t?” Ava shook her head. “Because if that’s the case, you should save your breath.”
    Then she turned and headed back to the guest house. He didn’t follow her. Sighing, she stopped near the door. “Are you coming inside, Mark? Or did you drive all the way over here just so you could hang out in the dark?”
    He gave a short bark of laughter, one that surprised her. She didn’t think that she’d heard Mark laugh much over the years. And actually, Ava wasn’t even sure she could remember the last time she’d laughed herself.
    But I want to laugh again. I want to laugh and be happy and fall in love. I want to be just like everyone else.
She was tired of feeling like a ghost, just drifting through the days. She wanted more from life.
    I want to live and not just go through the motions
.
    “As tempting as the dark is—” his footsteps padded closer “—I came to see you.”
    Now that was what she’d hoped to hear. Ava opened the door and slipped through. Mark followed her. And as soon as he stepped inside, the guest house seemed even smaller.
    No, she was just far more aware of him. Because they were alone now. No prying eyes. No overprotective brothers.
    Time to find out just how much Mark would truly reveal to her.
    Ava shut the door behind him. Then she braced her back against the wood and stared up at him. “I don’t know how to play games.”
    He raised a brow as he gazed at her.
    “My last boyfriend...that was Alan Channing. You know how that ended.”
    “Your last—” he began, voice incredulous.
    “I’ve tried dating a few times,” she said, cutting through his words. “But nothing clicked for me.” Because by then...she’d already been comparing every man she met to Mark. “So I’m not used to all the sweet little lies that lovers are supposed to tell one another. And...I don’t want to lie to you, Mark.”
    His expression hardened.
    “So I’m just going to say this...I want you.” She could feel her cheeks heat with her confession. “I know things are crazy now.” When had they not been for her? “But when I kiss you, I’m not playing some kind of game. I’m kissing you because I need to do it. I ache when you’re near.”
    His eyes squeezed closed. “Ava...”
    “Why do you kiss me, Mark? Do you want me, too?”
    His eyes opened. Desire was there, burning bright and igniting the blue of his stare. “More than you can even imagine.”
    Ava wasn’t so sure about that. She could imagine a whole lot.
    He moved toward her. The hardwood creaked beneath his feet. She tensed as he approached. It was a helpless, instinctive reaction. His hands came up and flattened behind her, effectively caging her between his body and the door.
    “I kiss you,” he told her, voice rough and rumbling—and making her toes curl a bit, “because I love the way you taste. I love it when you moan for me. When