Read Broken for Free Online Page B

closer to the table. She knew in a heartbeat why he’d done it. Nathan was trying to hide a hard-on.
    “You probably think I want you just for sex. I promise it’s not that.”
    Ciera sputtered. “Oh, hell, I thought you were going to say I’m too fat.”
    “Too…? Ciera, the only complaint a red-blooded man could have about you is that you won’t open up, and I’m working on it. But your body. Sweetheart, you’re killing me every time I taste your lips and hold you.”
    Sweetheart? She was killing him? Ciera panted. She stared down at her food and shifted it around on her plate. He was killing her with his words, and she kept trying to resist. Nothing worked, and now she had to add to it that Nathan truly wanted her , as she was. None of it seemed possible.
    Ciera laid her fork down and licked her lips. She drew in a deep breath and looked him dead in the eyes. “What if I don’t believe you?”
    “What?”
    “You heard me, Nathan. What if I don’t believe you? You say you want me, and you’ve been hinting around all this time about us having sex.”
    “If I made you feel rushed or—”
    “No, you didn’t. I want yo— it —just as much. I’m a woman, and I have needs. What I want to know is, what if I think you’re just horny and any woman will do? Okay, so you haven’t slept around. With Melly to care for, you didn’t have a lot of time. That doesn’t make you a good guy. It makes you a great father,” she rushed to add.
    His expression softened. “Thanks.” He too set his fork down and leaned back in his chair. “If I make love to you, that proves nothing?”
    She noted he used “make love” rather than “have sex.” “I don’t think so.”
    “Unless I stay with you.” His words were spoken so low, she wasn’t sure she’d heard correctly.
    “What?”
    He stood up and walked around the table. Ciera was tempted to dart away, but he captured her hand and pulled her to her feet. “Right now. In your room. I think you’re ready as much as I am. We satisfy each other, and then I get to work proving to you I want you and only you.”
    Ciera followed him down the hall with her head shouting, Crazy, get your ass back in the dining room and finish your food! Of course, she was no longer hungry. Eating just seemed like a good way to avoid what was coming and save face when Nathan realized how much she had stuffed into her tight jeans.
    He stood in front of her as she sat on the bed and raised her chin to kiss her lips. When he leaned up, she had no doubt at least that he was turned on. His pants tented with his shaft straining toward her. Ciera ran the flats of her palms up his thighs, and she felt his muscles tense.
    “I want to see you naked so bad, baby.” He dropped to a knee in front of her, and she froze. Her heart hammered in her throat as he raised her T-shirt. She covered his hands to stop him.
    “Um, can you turn off the light?”
    “I can’t see you in the dark.”
    “What about just the hall light?”
    He stood up and pulled her to her feet. “Ciera, you’re beautiful. Please let me see.”
    She swallowed and jerked the T-shirt over her head. Nathan caught his breath, but she didn’t look at him. She started in on her pants before she lost her nerve. When she shoved them down her thick thighs, she bent to disentangle her feet, but Nathan beat her to them. He rested a hand on her bare leg and let her brace herself on his shoulder to get the pants off. She could only see the back of his head, so she didn’t know what his reaction might be.
    Instinct made her fold both arms over her chest even though she still wore a bra and panties. Granny panties. What was I thinking?
    Nathan straightened. She’d turned her head to look at the wall, and refused to look back. He touched her lips with his thumb and then grasped her chin, forcing her to look at him. To her surprise, he seemed a little angry, and she didn’t get why.
    “You’re going to let me look at your body without