Wounded Angel (The Earth Angels) Read Online Free

tongue as she set about exploring him bit by bit—from the muscle-padded curve of his shoulder to the elegantly defined line of his collarbone, to the hair-shadowed chest that was as solidly built as a cinderblock wall. She’d be willing to bet he tasted subtly different from region to region. She’d have to sample every delicious location to see which flavor was her favorite...
    Ah, damn. There she went again.
    The glass door opened with a flurry of snowflakes. Without warning her heart leaped into her throat when the object of her heated fantasies pushed into the lobby. Nate looked almost too big to be indoors, wrapped in a long duster-style coat that emphasized the impressive breadth of his shoulders. Right on his heels was Jacob, looking dour in his ancient aviator earflap hat and watching Nate as if he expected the other man might pull out an AK47. Not sure what Jacob was doing there since he wasn’t scheduled for anything until mid-morning, Ella offered him a nod of bewildered greeting before her focus swung inexorably back to Nate.
    It was almost unfair, how perfectly nature had constructed him. Diamond-faceted snowflakes dusted his shoulders and hair, and the hands she kept idle on the desk itched to brush them away. He looked disgruntled, as if he disapproved of the snow, Jacob, the gym’s bright reception area and mornings in general, and ideas of how she could wash that irritation away with a smile flooded her brain before she could dam them up.
    It was insane, how much she wanted to make him smile.
    He shook his head to get the snow out of his hair and found himself face-to-face with her before he seemed to be prepared for it. He froze, the line between his brows vanishing as if it had never been, and for a full heartbeat they did nothing more than simply stare at each other. Then Jacob cleared his throat so noisily it yanked her gaze away from Nate’s, and her cheeks heated as if she’d been caught ogling hardcore porn in public.
    “Good morning.” Ella gave Nate her best professional smile while Jacob swept the hat off his bristly head and stomped back to Phoebe’s office. And all the while she prayed her new client hadn’t noticed her overheated gaping. “Considering the frown on your face, I take it you’re not a fan of early mornings?”
    “Early mornings don’t bother me. Early mornings accompanied with snow, howling arctic winds and temperatures below thirty degrees... Now that’s something to frown about.”
    “You’re not a native of Chicago?”
    “Nope. Born and bred in Atlanta, though I’ve done enough traveling in my life to give me a pretty boring monotone.”
    “You’re from the South?” Twin spires of wistfulness and unease coiled through her as he came to lean on the reception desk opposite her. With his soulful dark eyes drinking in the sight of her as if her face was the only thing he wanted to see, wistfulness won out. “Do you miss anything about your old home?”
    “Right now I’m missing warmer temperatures.”
    She laughed, and even she could hear the fluttery quality of it. “It’s not that bad if you stay indoors.”
    “What about you? I thought I detected a hint of Dixie in your accent.”
    “Like you, I’m pretty much from all over, but I think of Chicago as my home.” A spurt of alarm had her gaze dropping away from his while she did her best to cover her rattled state with a form of the truth. But damn, that sucker-punch observation of his left her scrambling. “The cold shouldn’t affect you in the gym, unless you have any medical issues I should know about. Do you have any arthritic problems that might need special attention?”
    “My body is in excellent working order.”
    I’ll just bet . The words trembled on her lips even as his statement hung in the air, begging for the feminine attention it deserved. Shocked at how much she wanted to give it, Ella instead backed away from the counter with another polite smile. “That’s nice.”
    That’s