Read Aegis 01 - First Exposure for Free Online Page A

fallen in love with was still in there. The one who’d taken a chance on the wrong boy, who’d stood up to her parents when they’d told her to stop seeing him, who’d demonstrated her loyalty by running away and marrying him when all logic told her it was a bad idea. She was proving it in her determination to find her friend against all odds, in the way she’d agreed to pretend to be his wife when he knew it had to be hard for her, in the way she stared at him now with eyes steeped in emotions he’d tried so hard to forget.
    He wasn’t over her. He wasn’t ever going to be over her. And in that moment, another truth slammed into him. He didn’t want her to just admit that there was something left between them. He wanted her . Not the actress the world knew or the girl she’d once been. He wanted the woman staring up at him now with trust and longing and hope in her gorgeous, familiar eyes.
    Somehow, no matter what they found this weekend, he had to figure out a way to make that happen.

    A very’s stomach twisted as she climbed out of the town car and stepped into the warm Jamaica air. They’d fooled the driver and the staff at the airport, but the big test lay before them. If she was going to be recognized, it was going to happen now.

    She adjusted the glasses and took Cade’s hand when he offered it. His wide palm was warm, his skin rough like a man’s should be. A thrill rushed up her arm and into her chest, but she fought to ignore it.
    And failed miserably.
    Dammit, it wasn’t just fear over being recognized that was sending her nerves into overdrive. It was that look that had passed between them seconds ago. The way he’d stared at her. The things she’d felt . Yes, she could admit that being close to him still affected her—that touching him completely set her off-balance—but why couldn’t she keep her emotions in check? Why did one little rake of his gaze send her hormones into the ozone layer? Why did that one look remind her of every single time they’d made love and he’d gazed deep into her eyes, as if he could see her soul?
    She waited while Cade tipped the driver and said a few words to the valet. Told herself to snap out of it. This was about finding Melody, not her ludicrous hormones and most definitely not about Cade’s wandering eyes. The sooner she remembered that, the better off she’d be.
    He tugged her toward the entrance of the resort. Palm trees swayed over the Mediterranean-style building, and the distinct sounds of a steel drum drifted on the breeze. The open-air lobby was all marble, plush furnishings, and soaring ceilings with lazily turning ceiling fans made from bamboo. But dressed in loose-fitting linen slacks and that white-button down rolled up to his elbows, Cade was the only thing Avery could seem to focus on. His skin was tan from hours in the sun, and that tattoo peeking out from beneath the sleeve of his right arm kept drawing her attention.
    A woman dressed in a slim blue skirt and white sleeveless blouse with dark hair pulled up in a stylish do greeted them in the middle of the lobby. “Mr. and Mrs. Black, welcome to Indulgence. I’m Patrice, your personal concierge. I’ll be at your beck and call twenty-four hours a day should you need anything while you’re here. I hope your flight in was good?”
    Cade slipped off his sunglasses and hooked them in the top button of his shirt, then shook the woman’s hand and smiled that half grin that had always done erratic things to Avery’s pulse when they were kids. “Very good. Thank you. This is my wife, Ava.”
    Patrice looked Avery’s way and smiled sweetly, but Avery didn’t miss the quick once-over and subtle dismissal in her eyes. “Welcome.” She refocused on Cade. “If you’ll both follow me, I’ll get you checked in quickly so you can begin enjoying the resort’s amenities.”
    Cade placed his hand at the small of Avery’s back, and they both followed Patrice down a short hallway and into