Read Online Sweet Satisfaction by Becca Dale - Free Book Online Page A

she didn’t know if she should hug him or cry. “I have to go. I’ll see you around.”
    She spun on her heel and hurried toward the safety of her car. She almost made it, but long brown fingers circled her arm and stopped her.
    “Whoa. You don’t look like a woman pleased with her night.” Al studied her face, and she looked down to hide the hurt that had to linger there.
    Defense seemed the best chance of survival. “Let go of me or I’ll make you regret it.”
    “Uh-uh. You look upset.” Kurt took her other arm, and they boosted her to sit on the trunk of her car. “What did you do to Con?”
    “Me? He’s the one who stormed off in the night.”
    “So again. What did you do?”
    Neither man seemed to doubt she had caused the problem. They wouldn’t though. They’d have their family’s back…especially a man like Connor, who’d sell his soul if he thought someone he cared about needed it. The man would never intentionally hurt anyone he loved, would set up elaborate schemes or risk everything to prove that love.
    Her lungs squeezed against the cool morning air, and she fought to inhale. “Oh, God, I fucked up, didn’t I?”
    Al sat beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Come on, now. It can’t be that bad. My little cousin has the Wallace curse for you. He’ll forgive you anything short of murder.”
    “What?”
    Kurt scooted her closer to the other man and leaned against her car. “He has the family curse. Wallaces fall hard and fast for their one true love. It’s happened repeatedly through the years. The latest being Darcy and then Gavin.”
    “And now Connor?”
    He shook his head. “No, if my brother has it, which all the signs point to, he fell the day he met you.”
    Guilt swamped her. “But that was three years ago.”
    Al simply stared.
    Kurt nodded. “Now you got it. The curse doesn’t let up. Which means, he’ll never stop loving you. If he left last night, he felt it was what you wanted or needed.”
    Con had tried so hard in the beginning to get her to go out with him. But she’d pushed him away, sensing from the start he’d be her downfall. He was always too self-possessed, too controlled except when he smiled. Behind his ready grin, she caught glimpses of a different man, one who wouldn’t mind if she couldn’t give herself over to him completely all the time. One who might appreciate her independent streak. The kidnapping had confirmed his controlling side, but it also proved that he cared about what she needed. He could be her destroyer, but maybe he could be her savior, instead. “He said he didn’t want to see me again.”
    Alonso stood and glared at her.
    “Knock it off, Al.” Kurt took her hand and squeezed her fingers. “Whatever made him leave had to be pretty serious. Do you think you can undo it?”
    “I don’t know. I tried to call him this morning, but his phone must be dead.”
    “No, it isn’t.” Al pulled his cell from his pocket and checked his log. “I talked to him to see if he’d help clean up. He claimed he had things to do.”
    Kurt squeezed her hand again. “I called him earlier, too. He answered on the first ring.”
    “So he doesn’t want to talk to me, then. He said he wouldn’t, but he always answers my calls.”
    Al handed her his phone. “Try again with my number.”
    She reached for it then pulled back. “No, I can’t trick him.”
    A grin spread over Kurt’s handsome face. “Why not? He tricked you last night, and I assume it broke down some barriers. Why not try again? What’s a phone call…if you’re actually interested that is?”
    The night came back in a tantalizing rush. He had pushed her to accept her fantasies but nothing more. Connor would never hurt her, she’d known that from day one, but years of dodging the kind of relationships she’d witnessed growing up ensured she kept her walls in place. Just like Savannah’s new husband had until she’d said yes and married him. Gavin had feared her