Against the Cage (Worth the Fight #1) Read Online Free

God, one of his thighs was almost as wide as her entire body. Okay, not quite, because she wasn’t exactly petite, but standing next to him made her feel tiny.
    As he made his way up the set of stairs, Chrissy took off her shoes and looked around. The layout of his house was identical to that of her old house right next door. But it wasn’t exactly as she remembered. Jack’s mom had decorated the place on the kitschy side, with knickknacks everywhere and not a single inch left undecorated. But now Chrissy stood in a simple and warmly decorated bachelor pad. “Warm” and “bachelor pad” could have been an oxymoron, but not in Jack’s home, she noted. Even though it lacked a female’s touch, the furniture was nice and airy, typical of Florida beachfront properties. The television was huge but didn’t take up the entire wall the way most men’s electronics usually did. And instead of it hanging on the wall with a lawn chair planted in front, it was set atop a nice wooden hutch opposite a white linen sofa with bluedecorative pillows. Closer to the kitchen, there was a round wooden dining table with matching chairs. She turned the corner and walked into the kitchen, which had been redone. There were brand-new stainless-steel appliances surrounded by dark wood cabinets with granite countertops. Everything was simple and tasteful. The wall that faced the ocean had been replaced by windows. If it hadn’t been night, she would’ve been able to see the ocean from the living room. She stood by the window and squinted. She could faintly hear the ocean and see the outline of the sea oats and sea grape plants that gently swayed with the ocean breeze.
    “Hungry?” The gruff voice startled her.
    She turned around to see Jack leaning against the doorframe. “No, I’m okay. Just looking at the view. Trying to, at least. It’s too dark. Your house is lovely. You did all this?” She waved her arm around.
    “I did.” He nodded proudly. “When my parents moved away, I got rid of most of my mom’s leopard-print chairs, gold-plated vases, and anything and everything pink and zebra-striped.”
    Chrissy laughed. “She always did have interesting taste.”
    “She still does. You should see their apartment. It’s awful. I don’t know how Dad puts up with it. Anyway, I went on a shopping spree and basically bought a display that was already color coordinated and combined. ‘Island Chic,’ it was called.” He air-quoted the name. “So I didn’t have to think too much. It was all already done for me at the store.”
    “Well, still, you have good taste. You could’ve chosen something like ‘Space-Age Chic,’ but instead you went simple and classy.” She giggled nervously. All of a sudden she couldn’t seem to get a handle on her nerves.
    “Is that a compliment? I think that’s the first time in twenty years I’ve heard you say anything nice to me.”
    “Well, it’s hard to say something nice to someone who’s always being an ass.”
    He looked a little sorry, which made her feel guilty for having insulted him—yet again. She’d never been in this situation with Jack before. It was unsettling. He slowly stalked over to her, and her heart started to beat faster. His eyes looked down toward her mouth, and Chrissy began to think he was going to kiss her. That was the last thing she wanted.
Don’t kiss me. Don’t kiss me
. She could feel his breath by her neck as he reached over a few inches above her head and to the right and flipped a switch, then stepped back.
Damn it, why didn’t he kiss me?
He nodded toward the window, and she turned around.
    “What I really wanted to do was make sure I could see the ocean from the house at any time. That’s the whole point of living by the ocean, isn’t it?”
    “Wow, Jack. That’s amazing. It’s beautiful. You did good. Real good.” She couldn’t help but smile. With the outdoor floodlights on, she could see the beach. It was eerie to see it deserted. She was used