Night After Night.... Kathy Lyons

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ for a long while. She found she liked that about him. That he didn’t blurt out the first thing that came to his mind like she often did. No, he was a thoughtful man. And then, he smiled at her. A slow smile that had her thoughts heading somewhere very different indeed.

      “I’m going with your mom,” he said. “Definitely psychic.”

      “Don’t I wish. It would make tutoring a zillion times easier. Or maybe not. I’m pretty sure I don’t want to know what my fifteen-year-old boys are thinking.”

      Jason chuckled. “I’m pretty sure you already do know what they’re thinking. Especially if you were wearing that dress. And I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t be in words. More like graphic—”

      “Stop!” she said, laughing. “I really don’t want to think about my students in those terms.”

      “Fair enough!” he said as he abruptly surged to his feet. “Come on. I feel like a bike ride. Wanna join me?”

      She smiled up at him. He was holding out his hand, offering to help her up. She took it, almost shyly, not because she was embarrassed about touching him. On the contrary, with the things she was thinking, hands were the smallest of touches she wanted to share with him. It was more about his unexpected offer. A bike ride. When was the last time someone had asked her to go riding?

      “I …” she began.

      “Do you have another tutoring appointment?”

      “No. No, I’m done for the day. But …” But what? She rapidly thought of an excuse. “I don’t have a bike.”

      “That’s okay. They rent them along the beach. Come on. It’ll be my treat.”

      She shook her head. “There’s no way I can keep up with you. You’ll spend the whole time irritated because I’m huffing and puffing behind you.”

      He frowned. “What am I? Eight? I’m not talking about training.”

      “Good, because you already did that in the pool.”

      He shrugged. “I’m talking about a leisurely bike ride. I’ll show you the base and stuff.”

      She hesitated, but only for a moment. After all, wasn’t this why she was in Hawaii in the first place? To do things that no one ever asked her to do? To push her limits without someone coddling her? An afternoon bike ride was exactly what she needed to do. She’d be fine if they went slow.

      “Okay,” she said. “Lead on. I’ll follow.” Or die trying.

      4

      WELL, SHE CERTAINLY WASN’T an athlete. Jason smiled as Christy huffed out another breath. They had finally biked their way to the rise on a very small hill. Her cheeks were flushed, her breasts bounced distractingly as she moved, and she was so cute that he was rock hard just from seeing her pant.

      “Look at that view,” she breathed as she gestured out at the rolling waves of the Pacific.

      He was looking at the view he wanted to see, but he forced himself to look away. Especially since he was not in a place right now to start a relationship. Even a temporary one. And definitely not one with a settle-down-and-marry girl like Christy. Still, it was awful hard to bring himself to look at the waves.

      “Ooh! I think those are dolphins!” She hopped off her bike. He saw her grimace as she stepped down and wondered if she’d twisted her ankle, but she was walking just fine as she stepped to the edge of the path. The view wasn’t all that great. She had to peak through a small break between two buildings and below the waving fronds of some big tree. That, naturally, had him stepping right up behind her to see where she was pointing.

      His hands actually itched with the desire to wrap around her waist and pull her against him. She was wearing shorts and a loose tee that could be lifted up with the slightest effort. Her scent spiced the air and just the tiniest tilt of his head would have him nuzzling her neck. But he held himself back.

      “Nice,” he said, not meaning the dolphins.

      She twisted to look back over her shoulder at him. Her eyes were sparkling. “You’re not even looking.”

      “Yes, I am,” he answered absolutely deadpan.

      She tried to shove him backward. He didn’t move. He liked being close to her, even though he’d just told himself to leave her alone. Truthfully, he liked everything he’d discovered about her. Easy on the eyes was only one of her attributes. She laughed a lot. She spoke her mind. And she even had a kid’s enjoyment of biking even though she was obviously not used to it. It was as if this whole bike ride was a special treat for her. One that he got to share.

      That was sexy as hell, and he had to remind himself to remain a gentleman. Meanwhile, she rolled her eyes.

      “You guys are all the same. Never notice the tropical scenery. Just the girl in the bikini.”

      “Wait,” he said with a mock frown. “There’s a tropical scene somewhere?”

      “The bikini girls are over there,” she said, gesturing down at the beach.

      His gaze didn’t even flicker. “You don’t need a bikini to make guys look at you.”

      He spoke the absolute truth, but she turned away as if embarrassed. It wasn’t false modesty, he realized. She really was uncomfortable with her body’s appearance.

      “Hey,” he said, touching her shoulder. “I was trying to give you a compliment.”

      She twisted to face him, bit her lip, then said, “You know how you always want what you don’t have? Well, I’ve always wanted to be fit and toned like them.” She gestured toward the girls playing beach volleyball. “Instead, I’m soft, round and have a full rack.”

      He arched his brows at her semicrude term, but it didn’t throw him. He liked that she was speaking honestly to him, so he answered in kind. “Guys like full racks.”

      “That’s all guys see. Clothes never fit right, guys assume I’m easy, and people think I’m lazy because of the weight.”

      He didn’t know how to answer that. She was right in part. Her breasts were the first thing people noticed about her. But in a good way, not bad. At least as far as he was concerned. She crossed her arms, distracting him again, which probably made her point.

      “You’re not fat,” he said emphatically.

      “Thank you, and I know I work hard to keep it that way. I just wish … I just wish I had a different body, that’s all.”

      He frowned, a little disappointed in her. She seemed like such a confident woman, it surprised him that she had issues with her appearance. He’d known scores of women who obsessed endlessly about ridiculous “flaws” in their appearance. Your body was your body. There were lots of ways to get it healthier, but wishing to be taller, chestier or whatever was a waste of time.

      She was moving back to her bike, slipping around him as best as she could. Moving completely on impulse, he held out his arm to block her path.

      “I could help you СКАЧАТЬ