A Maverick for Christmas. Leanne Banks

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ and his lips meshed with hers. He rubbed his mouth against hers and she suddenly felt his hand at her back, drawing her breasts against his chest.

      His response sent a flash of electricity throughout her and she opened her lips to deepen the kiss. He took advantage, sliding his tongue inside her. Craving more, she gave what she knew he was asking. Despite the cold temperature, she felt herself grow warmer with every passing second of his caress. Warm enough to strip off her coat and…

      Cade suddenly pulled his mouth from hers and stared at her in shock. “What the—” He shook his head and swore, taking a giant step away from her. “I’m sorry.” He swore again. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

      “But you didn’t start it,” she said, her heart sinking at his response.

      He held up his hands. “No, really. I shouldn’t—” He cleared his throat. “You go on home, now. I’ll watch from here.”

      “But, Cade—”

      “Go inside, Abby,” he said in a voice that brooked no argument.

      Still tempted to argue, Abby had pushed her courage as far as it would go tonight. She swung away from him, hopped out of the car and slammed the door behind her. Striding home, she was caught between euphoria and despair. He had kissed her back and he sure seemed to like it. For those few seconds, he had treated her like a woman he desired. This time she hadn’t imagined the way he tasted, the way his lips felt against hers, his hand at her back, urging her closer. This time, it had been real.

      But then the man had apologized for kissing her. The knowledge made her want to scream in frustration. Was she back where she’d started? Was she back to being Laila’s little sister?

      Chapter Two

      Cade would have mainlined his third cup of coffee after lunch if it had been possible. He hadn’t slept well last night and had felt off all day. He stripped another screw for the designer desk he was making for an entertainment hotshot in L.A., and swore under his breath.

      His father and partner, Hank, was talking, but Cade was trying to focus on the desk instead of the way Laila’s sister had kissed him last night. And worse yet, he thought, closing his eyes in deep regret, the way he’d kissed her back.

      Cade tried to shake off the thoughts and images that had been tormenting him since he’d apologized and burned rubber back to his house. Thoughts about her had haunted him. Her wide brown eyes, her silky, long brown hair and her ruby lips swollen from the friction of his mouth against hers. His own lips burned with the memory, and he rubbed the back of his hand against them, trying to rub away the visual and the guilt. What the hell had he been thinking?

      Impatience rushed through him and he grabbed a file. His mind torn in different directions, he stabbed his other hand. Pain seared through him, blood gushed from his hand. Cade swore loudly and stood.

      “What are you doing, son?” his father demanded, striding toward him to take a look at Cade’s hand.

      “It’s fine,” Cade said. “I’ll bandage it and it will be fine.”

      “You better be up-to-date with your tetanus shot,” Hank said.

      “I am,” Cade said. “I’m not that stupid.”

      “Based on your performance this morning…” his father began.

      “Lay off, Dad,” Cade said, looking down at the man who had taught him so much about carpentry and life, the man who’d never recovered from the death of his wife several years ago. None of them had really recovered from the death of Cade’s mother. She’d balanced her husband’s stern taskmaster nature with softness and smiles.

      “Son, I don’t want to have to say this, but you need to snap out of your funk. Laila is getting married to someone else, and you’re just going to have to get used to it,” Hank said bluntly.

      Shock slapped through Cade as he stared at his father. He opened his mouth to say he hadn’t been thinking about Laila then closed it. He sure as hell didn’t want to tell his father he’d been thinking about Laila’s little sister Abby.

      “You bandage up that hand and go check in on the community center. They’ve requested a few things for their Thanksgiving program.”

      Cade shook his head. “We don’t have time for me to go to the community center now. We have too much work.”

      Hank shook his head. “Get some air, do something different. You’ll come back better than ever.”

      “You know that since we’re equal partners, you can’t be giving orders,” Cade said.

      Hank sighed and rolled his eyes. “Okay, consider it a request from your elderly father.”

      Cade felt a twitch of amusement. His father was still a hard driver, especially in the shop. “Elderly my—”

      “Get on out of here,” Hank said.

      Cade pulled on his jacket and walked out the door, feeling his father’s gaze on him as he left. He didn’t want his father worrying about him. With a few exceptions during his teen years, Cade had made a point of not causing his parents much grief. Once his mother had gotten sick, his younger brothers had acted up, and Cade knew his father had needed to be able to rely on him. Work had gotten them through the rough times, and for Cade, the loss hadn’t stopped with his mother. There’s been Dominique and he’d felt the promise of happiness with her before she’d been taken from him.

      Stepping outside the shop, he walked toward the community center a few blocks away. He shook his head, willing the cold air to clear it. He shouldn’t be thinking about Abby. It was wrong in so many ways. Putting his mind on the community center’s Thanksgiving needs should point him in a different direction. He welcomed the change.

      Cade walked inside the glass door of the community center and headed toward the gym at the back of the building. He pushed open the door and his breath hitched at the sight before him. The object of his distraction handed a baby to the community center’s children’s director, Mrs. Wrenn, and began to climb a ladder holding a humongous horn of plenty.

      “What the hell?” he muttered, walking toward the front of the room.

      Abby continued to climb the ladder while she lugged the horn of plenty upward. Cade couldn’t permit her to continue. “Stop,” he said, his voice vibrating against the walls.

      Abby toppled at the sound of his voice and whipped her head in his direction. “Cade?”

      “Stay right there,” he said, closing the space between him and the ladder. He grabbed each side of the metal ladder. “Okay, you can come down now.”

      Abby’s hair swinging over her shoulders, she frowned at him. “Why? I’ve just got a little farther to go.”

      “Not while I’m here,” he said, his voice sounding rough to his own ears.

      Abby shook her head. “But it won’t take another minute for me to finish—”

      “Come down,” he said. “It’s not safe. I’ll handle it.”

      She paused long enough to СКАЧАТЬ