Our secrets define us.
She’s infuriating. Cocky, smart-mouthed, and dazzlingly beautiful, Zoe Sanders has consumed my thoughts since the night we met. I want her. Not just her body, but her mind. I want to know all the thoughts spinning behind those bright, guarded eyes. Her secrets are many and her trust is scarce. But I’ll do everything I can to tumble her walls because I don’t just want her lust. I want her love. I’m playing for keeps, and she’ll soon learn that I never lose.
I’ve run far to escape my past. Eight years and almost two thousand miles lie between me and the horror that consumes me. My life is a series of superficial relationships and closed doors designed to keep me safe. I will never let myself become the person I was. That girl is dead, and in her place is a woman who guards her inner self fiercely. I’m not going to let anyone breach those hard earned barriers. Not even him.
But when those secrets come home to roost, I have to decide what I’m willing to risk for my happily ever after. When the evil I left behind finds me, I have to choose. Will I succumb to the girl I was and crumble under the pressure? Or can I break the cycle and finally be free to fly?
I stood and closed my eyes as I stretched my hands over my head, followed by the soft, satisfying crackle as my spine readjusted. Some of the tension melted away, and I sighed as I opened my eyes. Only to jump in surprise and stumble back into my chair as I took in the sight of Logan Clarke leaning nonchalantly in my doorway.
“Holy shit!” I swore, fluttering my hand in his direction. “You’re like a sneaky fucking ninja. What the hell?”
He grinned “I see you’re going to take my comment about cursing sailors literally. Good to know.”
I grimaced. “It isn’t a regular occurrence in the office. You seem to be special.” I leaned one hip against my desk.
We stared at each other silently before Logan broke the tension with another smile.
“I was actually coming here for a reason other than scaring ten years off your life,” he said with a chuckle. “I made some zoning calls this morning for the land we’re building on and figured I’d tell you the news over lunch. Care to join me?”
I was about to refuse. No way was I spending more time than necessary with him. Then my stomach rumbled. Loudly. Damn.
“Yeah, I could use some food,” I said grudgingly, seeing from the humorous glint in his eye that he knew I’d been about to refuse before my stomach’s gauche betrayal. I scooped up my briefcase, which held my wallet, and motioned for him to precede me out to the elevator bank.
My coworkers eyed us curiously as we waited for the elevator doors to open, but I staunchly ignored them and Logan, choosing instead to absently stare at the lit numbers. 3…4…5….
“So, what sounds good for lunch?”
I flinched and turned to look at Logan just as the elevator doors slid open. His hand came over to lightly press against the small of my back to gently guide me into the box before the doors closed us off from the rest of the world.
I could feel the heat seeping through my shirt from where Logan’s hand rested, and a tingling warmth spread through my body, igniting a flame deep inside. I felt the need to wet suddenly dry lips, and I flashed back to that night five months ago. The feel of his mouth on my skin, large hands holding me firmly in place, hard –
“Do you have any preference?”
I sucked in a startled breath and jerked away from him. As I clenched my fists, I tried to steady my breathing. What the hell was wrong with me? I hadn’t been this affected by a guy since I was seventeen, and that ended in… No. Not going there. I shied away from the memory, and physically backed away from Logan as well, as if that could lessen his impact on me.
“Are you okay?” The question was innocent, but the smolder in his eyes was anything but. He’d noticed my reaction to him. Of course he had. I nodded and blew out a sigh.
“Yep. Just tired. I’ve been working all morning to get these distributors lined up. and my caffeine intake has suffered for it.” I avoided his gaze as the elevator settled and opened. Then I stepped out into the well-lit lobby and made for the exit. “How do gyros sound?” I tossed over my shoulder. “I know a great little shop around the corner that has the best tzatziki sauce this side of the Atlantic.”
“Perfect,” Logan replied. He caught up to me and settled in for a stroll with his hands tucked neatly in his pockets.
The walk over was silent, filled with tension. I could feel my shoulders tightening with every step and wondered once more how I was going to manage this. I couldn’t even be within ten feet of the man before my libido went through the roof. How was I going to get through however many months of close work it was going to take to finalize all of the choices and start on breaking ground? After that, we’d mostly speak through the contractor, but until then…
It was official. I was going to go insane. Jason hadn’t managed it those years ago, but this was going to push me over the edge. Logan Clarke was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Wonderful.
Morgan Reeves currently lives in the middle of Iowa, surrounded by lots of cornfields and people with a fanatic love for college football. Her heart, however, will always belong to California. She has two Minions to call her own and a husband who may or may not think she’s insane. Morgan loves to read romance in any genre, and she loves to chat books. She also loves Facebook, so feel free to stalk her at https://www.facebook.com/authormorganreeves or add her as a friend on her personal page. She’d love to hear from you! Free to Fly is her first published book, and is the first in a series of interconnected standalones.
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