Read Online Up in Flames (Crash and Burn, Book Two) (A Military Romance) by Eva Grayson - Free Book Online

bolstered on the zipline, I’m still afraid. I know I don’t want to just be friends with him. I’m attracted to him. And I’m feeling something else too, that I can’t quite define yet. This…sweet, painful punch in my heart that makes me unable to stop thinking about Cole.
    Since he’s moved back, I’ve seen him in a whole new light. And I’m developing feelings for him. And I’m scared to death that all he wants is sex, and I’ll look like a total idiot asking him to explore dating.
    Maybe I need to go back on the zipline and ask after rushing along one of the ropes, right when I’m feeling my most courageous.
    “I can see you thinking hard,” he murmurs, the corner of his mouth crooking into a curl.
    “I’m just remembering about how much fun I had,” I say, a partial lie, partial truth.
    We eat our burgers and fries mostly in silence, a companionable space that comes from knowing someone over half your life. The questions won’t stop battering my brain, though.
    What would it be like to date Cole? Would he be open to the idea, or does he just want a friends-with-benefits situation? How does he feel about me? When will I find my nerve to ask him?
    I peek up at him through my lashes, watch the way his finger strokes the lip of his glass. How his gaze darts around the room, always aware, alert for danger. He’s definitely changed from the quiet, shy boy he used to be.
    This Cole is all sexy predator. A hunter.
    And damn if I don’t want him to hunt me.
    Steel resolve fills me. I can be brave; I need to be, if I’m going to get what I want. I’m going to ask him what he wants, tomorrow, right after I sort this shit out with my sister. Before I start anything with him, I need to fix things with her first, so he and I can have a fresh start without that weighing on me.
    I’ll tell Christina that my feelings for Cole are real, though fledgling and new, that I don’t know what’s going on with him yet but I need to be open with her. Emme’s earlier advice to me helps the nervous edges of my heart feel a bit soothed. Christina loves me. She forgave me, after all, for hurting her so very badly before. I owe her the respect of being honest.
    I sip my Coke and sigh, pat my belly. “This was a perfect day,” I tell him.
    His eyes warm as he looks at me, and my heart flips. The look on his face isn’t lust or desire. There’s something deeper there. Our old, true friendship, yes. But also a resonance that makes my lungs tighten and my hands shake a little.
    Wow, I think he might have romantic feelings for me too. And I think he’s letting me see it.
    “I’m so glad we got to spend today together,” Cole replies. The gravelly rumble of his voice washes over me, makes my lower pelvis ache. The mental images start fast and hard, him on top of me, thrusting into me. My breathing gets faster.
    His gaze narrows as he studies me, and his pupils get bigger. The left side of his jaw ticks. He knows I’m thinking about him sexually. And God help me, I want him to know, even though I just told myself I wasn’t going to start anything more with him until after I resolved the situation with my sister.
    You’re going to be talking to her tomorrow, I will myself to remember, to repeat. I can wait another day to be with Cole.
    The waiter comes over and gives us our bill, then he darts off to take another table’s order. I dig in my purse to get out my card.
    “No way,” Cole says. “Put that back. Dinner’s on me.”
    “You paid for ziplining,” I protest. “Dinner’s on me .” I reach out to grab the paper, and he yanks it away from me, grinning.
    Our server returns, and I thrust my card at the man before Cole can say anything, sticking out my tongue.
    “Shoulda been faster,” I say with a laugh.
    He rolls his eyes. “You’re a stubborn snot, kitten. I gotta keep my eye on you.”
    We leave the burger joint and head back to my place. His hand reaches over and his fingers intertwine with mine. It’s