LITMIR.BIZ

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was so conscious of her his skin felt as if he’d sandpapered it. He wondered if she felt the sexual tension as much as he did. He wanted her with an intensity that stunned him. He couldn’t just sweep the remnants of dinner aside, though, and jump her bones, much as he might want to. He had to move slowly. He could not afford to give her the idea this was some casual hookup, like the ones she seemed to think he enjoyed on a regular basis. Somehow he had to dredge up every bit of discipline he’d spent a lifetime learning and keep a lid on things until the right moment. The next time it would be a lot more than a grope session.

      Managing to do it was going to be easier said than done.

      * * * *

      Shay studied the man standing in front of the television. It was hard to wipe away the image of him naked from the shower, the one from yesterday that was etched in her mind with acid. He still had the toned athlete’s body only now it belonged to a mature man. She wanted to see it again, without any of those clothes concealing it. Run her hands over his muscles and squeeze his very fine butt.

      After last night, just being in the same room with Joe made her pussy throb and her blood heat. She didn’t know about him but for her it had occupied nearly every waking moment during the day. He sure didn’t seem like he was going to make another move on her. If she had half a brain, she’d take her dessert and hide in the bedroom. Wait! Wasn’t that what she’d been doing this morning before she finally snuck out to the kitchen?

      Okay, no more hiding, not if she really wanted sex with Joe Reilly. Real sex. She wished she knew if he was being so nice to her because she was Hank’s sister, because he was afraid he’d pissed her off last night or because he wanted more with her. He’d brought her ice cream and her favorite cookies and asked her to watch the videos with him. Exactly what did that mean?

      She tried not to look at him stretched out in the big chair, his masculine sexiness like an aura clinging to him. He still wore the clothes from the afternoon, the khakis outlining the lean length of his legs, the dark green of the soft-collared shirt stretched across wide shoulders and a muscular chest. Her palms itched to touch him again, feel that soft chest hair scattered over hard chest muscle. God, she wanted him more than a snickerdoodle.

      She was so lost in her imagination the sound of his voice startled her.

      “Shay? You with me?”

      “What?” She blinked. “Sure. Sorry.” She tried hard to focus. The last thing she needed was for Joe to catch her salivating over him.

      “I’d like to hear more about your take on this kid. You’ve got a sharp eye.”

      “Um, okay.” Damn straight she had a good eye for players’ strengths and weaknesses. She’d studied them all these years. She took in a breath. “Sure. Be happy to.”

      Joe pressed Play on the remote. “He declared for the draft in his sophomore year and pretty much rode the bench as a rookie. I saw him in training camp last year when he was still a raw recruit. The coach says he’s come a long way since then. Watch his two-step dropback when he gets ready to throw.”

      Shay curled her legs beneath her and forced herself to concentrate on the screen. The young quarterback actually had good moves, a good rhythm. In some ways, he reminded her of Joe in his college days. The lithe athleticism on the verge of maturity. She watched Joe making notes in his iPad as the video unfolded, then eject the disk when it came to the end.

      “I wanted to be able to study him before I meet with him,” he told Shay. “Like I said, the Mustangs have great hopes for him and my producer wants to lead off the show this season with his interview. What did you think?”

      “Good footwork,” she told him. “Good timing. He shows a lot of promise.” She grinned. “Like a young Joe Montana.”

      “Yeah? Well, maybe Montana can show up and get you some ice cream.”

      “No, hey.” She jumped up from the couch. “You can’t get out of this. I want my treats.”

      “Do you now.” He winked at her. “Ask nicely.”

      She wrinkled her forehead in a mock scowl. “Give me my ice cream and cookies, or I’ll have to hurt you.”

      Joe threw back his head and laughed. “If that’s nicely, I don’t want to be around when you’re ticked off. Come on. We’ll dish it up. I have more video to watch.”

      Shay followed him into the kitchen, her body heated just from their close proximity. How on Earth had she allowed herself to agree to this “friendly” evening? She was torn between wanting a repeat of last night—no, more than last night—and wanting to hide until Joe finally left the house and the city.

      Sighing, she plated the cookies while Joe dished up the ice cream and they carried their food back into the living room. She set the cookies on the coffee table and picked one up. Biting into it, she hummed with pleasure as the sugary flavor exploded in her mouth.

      “Shay?” Joe’s voice broke into her thoughts. “You okay?”

      She drew in a breath. “Just enjoying my treat. Mmm. This is yummy good.”

      “They always were your favorite.”

      “I can’t believe you remembered.”

      “It’s hard to forget,” he told her. “I don’t think there was ever a time I was at your house you weren’t eating those cookies or begging for them.”

      He remembered? The thought gave her a warm feeling. Of course, then she’d just been Hank Beckham’s little sister. But now? Had last night changed how he looked at her?

      Drive yourself nuts, why don’t you, Shay?

      “Well.” She licked her fingers. “Thank you for remembering. And for getting them today, although it wasn’t necessary.”

      He looked at her as if about to say something then shook his head. After sliding in a new disk, he hit Play again.

      It took every bit of Shay’s willpower to sit there quietly watching game video and discussing the details with Joe. What was going on here? Were they just going to keep pretending last night hadn’t happened? She was ready if he ever made another move, but she was pretty sure she couldn’t make the first one herself. Staying in the house with him under these circumstances was going to be a strain on her self-discipline. Maybe she could bunk with a girlfriend until Joe left. Her problem was her few friends from the past years were in New York, people she’d chosen now to disconnect herself from.

      She hadn’t exactly made time since she moved back to reconnect with anyone. In fact, it depressed her to realize how much time had passed since she saw or spoke to any of the people she used to hang out with from Granite Falls. She’d left home for college and apparently left them behind, too. Why? Was she just so focused on herself, on getting away from Granite Falls, she wanted nothing to do with them?

      No help there. If anyone was going to leave, it would have to be Joe, and that didn’t look like it was going to happen.

      Argh! She wanted to pull her hair.

      Damn Hank, anyway.

      “Shay?” Joe’s deep voice cut into her thoughts. “Are you with me? I just asked you a question.”

      “What?” Oh, great. Her mind had been wandering again. He probably thought she was bored to death. She set her ice cream dish on the table. “Oh, yes. Sorry. I thought the guy was terrific. Great hands.”

      Joe’s deep laugh rumbled in the air again. “Nice try. That was ten minutes ago. Here. Let me have your ice cream before it turns into soup.”

      “No, no, no.” She gripped the bowl. “I was paying attention. Truly. And I want my ice cream.”

      “Then let me get you some that isn’t melted.”

      He stood up and reached to take the bowl from her. When his fingers touched hers, she nearly dropped the bowl. The color of

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