Three Little Words. Susan Mallery

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СКАЧАТЬ started to speak, but that was all he got out before Ford hit him and he crashed to the ground.

      * * *

      KENT WALKED TOWARD the CDS building. It was a warehouse south of the convention center and east of downtown. He’d never been there before. Although he’d seen his brother Ford several times since Ford’s return, they’d always met at a restaurant, or their mom’s house.

      As he entered the large building, he wasn’t thinking about his reason for being there. Instead he was mulling over his work schedule for the day. Although he had several weeks until school started, he’d already begun working on his lesson plans. This year he was determined to take his math-letes all the way to nationals. The kids worked hard and they deserved the opportunity. He was also going to be teaching a new advanced calculus class, which would challenge both him and his students.

      “Kent, right?”

      “Huh?” He realized he was in a hallway, with a large man standing in front of him. His gaze flickered between the cold gray eyes and the scar on the guy’s neck.

      “Angel,” he said as the name came to him. “Kent Hendrix. Ford’s brother. We’ve met a couple of times.”

      “Sure.” Angel shook hands with him. “Ford’s not here. There was some kind of trouble and he’s at the hospital.”

      “He’s hurt?”

      Angel grinned. “No. It’s the other guy.”

      Which sounded like Ford, Kent thought, wishing he could be a little more like his brother. Not the fighting. He didn’t want to do whatever it was his brother had learned while in the military. But the ability to go for what he wanted, to not give a damn about convention or other people’s opinions. That would be nice.

      “I’m here to see Consuelo. About my son.”

      Angel’s grin turned knowing. “Right,” he said, drawing out the word. “That’s a new one.”

      “New one what?”

      “The kid. It’s a good story, though. Original. You might get points for that.”

      Kent shook his head. “What are you talking about?”

      “You seeing Consuelo.”

      Kent wondered if the other man had taken a few too many blows to the head. “My son is taking a martial arts class with her. He wants to take more and that means he doesn’t have time for soccer. He’s been with the team for a couple of years now, so I want to make sure he’s making the right decision.”

      The grin faded. “Oh. You’re really here about your kid.”

      “Why else would I come here?”

      Angel slapped him on the back. “You’ve never met Consuelo.”

      It wasn’t a question, but Kent answered it anyway. “No. I registered Reese by phone after checking it out with Ford.”

      Angel chuckled. “You need to brace yourself. She’s hot.”

      “Thanks for the warning.”

      He wanted to point out that he didn’t actually care about Consuelo except as her classes related to his son, but he doubted Angel would believe him.

      Dating seemed impossible, he thought grimly. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to; it was that he didn’t trust himself to get it right. His previous marriage had been the very definition of a disaster. He’d been completely stupid and then he’d perpetuated the mistake by thinking he was still in love with his ex years after she’d left. He hadn’t been. In truth he’d been unable to accept the end of his marriage until he’d accepted the truth about his ex-wife. But finally figuring out the problem didn’t make him any less of an idiot.

      “Just remember she could kill you where you stand and never blink.”

      Kent wasn’t sure what blinking had to do with anything. “Does she do that often?”

      Angel grinned. “Often enough.”

      Kent was fairly sure he was being played, so he didn’t react. Angel led the way into the main workout room and yelled, “Consuelo. Kent Hendrix to see you. He’s Ford’s brother, so you shouldn’t kill him.”

      A woman stepped out from a small office and shook her head. “What’s wrong with you? Stop saying crap like that or I swear I’ll turn you into a eunuch so fast you won’t have time to scream.”

      She continued speaking, at least Kent assumed so. Her lips were moving. But he couldn’t hear, couldn’t think, and he was pretty sure he’d stopped breathing.

      It wasn’t that she was beautiful. The word didn’t do her justice. Nor did hot or incredible. He was pretty sure there wasn’t a word significant enough to describe the petite, brunette goddess walking toward him.

      She wore cargo pants and a tank top. Neither left anything to the imagination. Her body was the perfect combination of curves and muscles, but it was her face that captured his attention. She had large eyes and a full mouth. Her long hair seemed to move with every step. She epitomized both sex and femininity.

      He felt as if he’d been kicked in the gut by a pack mule. There wasn’t a cell in his body that hadn’t noticed her, and for the first time since high school, he was terrified of getting an erection and embarrassing himself.

      Angel started laughing. “Told you,” he said, not bothering to keep his voice down. He walked toward the exit, then paused to yell back, “Be gentle. He’s a civilian.”

      Kent swore under his breath.

      Consuelo scowled. “He’s annoying and later I’ll punish him.” She shook her head, then looked at Kent. “Hi. I’m not sure we’ve actually met. I’m Consuelo Ly.”

      She held out her hand. Kent didn’t want to take it in his. Oh, he wanted to, but he was terrified about what would happen. He thought he could either grab her and try to kiss her or actually ejaculate in his pants. Neither scenario had a positive outcome.

      “Kent Hendrix,” he said, then braced himself for the onslaught and shook hands with her.

      The second their skin touched, he felt as if he’d been set on fire. The good news was the sudden shock of heat was so intense he wasn’t in danger of getting hard. The bad news was his brain went completely blank and he was relatively sure he’d lost the ability to speak.

      “I’ve known Ford for years,” she said, releasing his fingers. She smiled. “I won’t hold that against you.”

      He swore silently as the perfection of her smile cut him to the bone. The flash of teeth, the happy crinkle by her eyes, made her even more beautiful.

      “Ah, thanks,” he managed.

      “You’re Reese’s father, right? He’s a good kid. He has some talent. He and Carter are always trying to do more than they should. Typical for kids their age.” She flashed the smile again. “I would say for boys their age, but you might СКАЧАТЬ