Bottom Line: Callaghan Brothers, Book 8 Read Online Free

her arms around his waist, she was able to keep him upright and moving forward.  He remained quiet as she gently guided him toward the guest bedroom and eased him into a soft chair.  Her big yellow Lab, Max, padded along beside them, looking both interested and curious.
    “Big dog,” Aidan commented, eyeing Max warily out of the corner of his eye.
    “Yeah, he’s my shadow.”
    “Should I be worried?” he asked, when the dog sat down within lunging distance and focused his gaze on Aidan as if trying to decide just what part of him would be the juiciest.
    “Only if you try to hurt me.” 
    Mary wasn’t quite certain that was true.  Max was the most easy-going dog she’d ever had, but he was very attached to her.  She always suspected he’d come to her rescue if need be, but that theory had never, thankfully, been tested.
    She pulled down the corner of the navy blue comforter, revealing ice-blue linens beneath, then disappeared in the adjoining bathroom to return with a big fluffy towel.  She dried Aiden’s hair the best she could, then patted softly around his face and neck.  He had the loveliest glow to his skin, smooth and golden, almost like he’d spent a few weeks in the Mediterranean, but she sensed it was just his natural coloring.
    “I won’t hurt you, Mary,” he said softly. 
    She felt his eyes on her as she knelt before him and removed his shoes, one at a time, when he seemed incapable of doing so himself.  Beautiful eyes of golden brown, not unlike a tiger’s - studied her face as she unbuttoned his soaked shirt. 
    When she reached the buckle of his pants, he caught her wrists with his hands.  She felt the strength in them, suppressing a gasp.  Bringing a strange man back to her house suddenly seemed like a very foolish thing to do.  Her good intentions ran and cowered into the corners of her mind, despite the words he’d just uttered so sincerely a few moments prior.
    “I’m drunk,” he said solemnly.
    “Yes,” she agreed.  Mary held her breath, even though it was confusion she saw in his eyes, not malice.  His grip, while strong, was not painful.  Despite the fact that his hands were chilled from the cold weather, heat pooled beneath her skin where he touched her.
    “I don’t think I’m capable of getting it up right now.”
    Her heart beat furiously in her chest, but outwardly she remained calm. “No, probably not.  But that’s really not an issue.”
    His confusion grew; his eyes searched her face.  “You don’t want to have sex with me?”
    She couldn’t say no, because some secret part of her did very much want to have sex with him at that moment.  He was an extraordinarily good-looking man, more suited to a Hollywood leading man than an ordinary guy who just had a little too much to drink at a Birch Falls tavern.  If the taut, hard muscles she felt beneath those clothes were any indication, he was built like a Calvin Klein model, too.  Her thoughts strayed for a moment, wondering what it would be like to make love with a man who had tiger’s eyes and a body like that.
    Shocked at that realization, she hushed that dark, wicked urge and promised herself she was going to cut back on the erotic romance novels.  Maybe she’d download a few good mysteries to her eReader instead. 
    “How about we just get you out of these wet things?”
    “But... you brought me back to your place.  And you’re trying to take my clothes off.”
    His voice, deep and smooth, caressed against her feminine parts, sending unfamiliar tingles into generally dormant zones.  She ignored it. 
    “I brought you back to my place because you are in no shape to drive, or to be left alone, for that matter.  And I’m trying to help you undress because your clothes are wet with melting snow and you’re shivering.” 
    She spoke soothingly, feeling a small ache in her chest for this beautiful man who was having trouble believing she didn’t want to do anything but help him.  Didn’t he