Close to Home Read Online Free Page B

me.
    Thank you, God, this Kacie Jo he could handle.
    “Well, hey there stranger.” He spoke the words with a playful drawl, letting her know he noticed the difference and liked it.
    She lifted an eyebrow in a cocky grin and pursed her lips. “Don’t ‘hey there’ me, Donovan Nelson. And you can keep your sweet talk to yourself.”
    Donovan fought the disappointment at this turn of events. Insane disappointment, but disappointment all the same.
    He opened the door further. “Come on in.”
    She sashayed past him, and for a second, Donovan wondered if this reminder of a simpler past was more seductive than the earlier tease.
    He decided then and there they couldn’t avoid earlier. Sure, it might be easier to move forward from here and pretend earlier hadn’t taken place. But it would also be dangerous.  
    “So what changed your mind?”
    She didn't back down from his challenge. “I think you know the answer to that.”
    “I was almost afraid to open the door. I thought I might find you wearing nothing but a raincoat or something along those lines.”
    “Well, I thought about it.”
    “But?”
    She laughed, and he caught a glimpse of the temptress. “One, what a total cliché. Two, in case you’ve forgotten, this is my brother’s place.”
    Like that mattered. “Didn’t seem to bother you earlier.”
    Her soft laughter soothed a broken place inside him. “You know me. Bothering Grady just gave me extra incentive.”
    His broken soul refused to be soothed.
    “So you’re telling me that come on earlier was a form of rebellion against your brother?”
    His gaze slowly lowered to take in lightly glossed lips that smelled like strawberries, before she finally answered. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
    Donovan closed the door, and the self-destructive demon inside him sprang to life, good intentions forgotten as he leaned forward and braced a hand on either side of her head.
    “So I’m being ridiculous now?” He whispered the question, and he could see the response flare in her eyes. Could see her nervous tension in the way she swallowed after he spoke.
    He wanted to touch her sweet lips with his. To see if they tasted the way they smelled. To see if that mixture of wax and scent could sweep him back to days when his worst nightmare had been seeing which new “uncle” his mother brought home to live in the trailer.
    And he would have if she hadn’t ducked under his arms and moved away from him, across the room. “I’m not having this conversation with you. You want to be friends. Remember?”
    He took a deep breath and tried to get a grip on his bearings. This was Kacie Jo, not some cheap date who wanted nothing more than dinner and a night of passion.
    "Maybe I changed my mind.”
    “Too bad," she said. "I've changed mine."
    "Oh really?"
    She nodded in perfect seriousness. “Yes. When I left I realized that if I wanted you, I could have you.”
    “Oh, you did?”
    “Of course. I could have you now if I wanted.”
    The fact that she was saying those words across the room, arms crossed protectively across her chest struck him as incredible. This was quite possibly one of the most remarkable conversations of his life.
    “Let’s just say for the sake of argument that you’re right.”
    Her hands lowered to her hips and in spite of the ponytail and clean face, she looked every bit the temptress from earlier. “I know I’m right.”
    “How do you know?”
    She seemed to come to a decision. Fascinated, he watched emotions cross her face. First indecision, then determination and then…he wasn’t sure what word to give the heated gaze she sent his way as she strolled forward seductively.
    He couldn’t wait to see what she did next.
    She raised her hand to his arm and slowly ran her fingers down his bicep. “I think you know very well how. I think you feel the same thing I do right now.”
    Donovan didn’t bother to answer, but he refused to move either.
    “Be honest here, Donovan. If I push you,