Read Home to Me (The Andrades, Book 2) for Free Online

without the prying eyes of the public.
    Nick was part of that world.
    The door to the balcony on the left was open. Rena took a step inside the room and looked around. Nick was standing beside a table with his back to her, just back far enough from the wooden railing that he wouldn’t be visible to those below.
    Her breath caught in her throat as she soaked in the perfection of the mostly nude man before her. His dark boxer briefs clung to his tight ass and hugged his muscular thighs. She wouldn’t have been human if she hadn’t taken a moment to appreciate the cut of his bare back and the breadth of the strong shoulders above it. Apparently he worked out as hard as he partied.
    Oh, God.
    I told Serge he was wrong; I lied. I’m a bad, bad friend. I do want more.
    I always have, no matter what I’ve told myself.
    The intensity of her attraction to him made Rena nervous, and she began to babble internally.
    Hello, I’m lost. Can anyone tell me how to get back to denial?
    It’s a beautiful place located in the land of sanity. You know, where things make sense and I don’t leer at men in their underwear?
    Nick picked up a glass of clear liquid and the napkin beneath it fluttered to the floor. He bent to retrieve it. Rena bit her lower lip as he did. The movement rippled the muscles in his back and thighs. Mouth dry, Rena imagined running her hands over both.
    She let out a wistful sigh that echoed through the room.
    Nick froze, straightened, and turned. Their eyes met across the room. Unable to deny herself, Rena let her gaze slide down his lightly haired chest, over his well-defined abs, to a part of him the dark briefs outlined lovingly.
    Damn, no wonder women lined up to date him. Even in an unaroused state, his size was enough to make her jaw go slack. She knew she should look away, but he stirred beneath her scrutiny and an answering heat swept through her.
    Whoa.
    Just, whoa.
    In slow motion, Rena raised her eyes. She expected him to be amused, but the expression on his face was anything but jovial. He’d never looked at her that way before. One kiss had changed everything.
    And nothing, she reminded herself harshly.
    It’s not surprising he wants me. She shook her head and squared her shoulders. I’m a woman and I’m breathing—that’s his criteria. Add to that how he was told I’m off-limits and I’m suddenly on his who-to-do list. Do not read anything into it. This is Nick we’re talking about. He’d do a nun just to say he had. And he either just screwed someone or was just about to. Either way, I need to stop looking at his amazing abs and start reminding myself why being with him, even one time, would be a mistake.
    And I will, right after I give myself a moment to enjoy how it feels to be wanted by a man like him. Yeowza.
    Rena swallowed hard as Nick closed the distance between them. He stopped less than a foot from her. Close enough that, had she raised her hand, she could have touched the smooth muscles of his chest. Close enough that she could feel the heat emanating from his body.
    “What are you doing here, Rena?” The warm timbre of his voice made her skin tingle with anticipation. A woman couldn’t be blamed for the naughty thoughts that raced through her head when he used that tone.
    I’m here because he needs tough love. Focus. Rena gathered her inner resolve, calmed her libido, and asked, “Can we talk?” She quickly scanned the room. “What I have to say won’t take long. Then you can go back to your party .”
    “No party,” he said, his expression becoming guarded. “I’m alone.”
    The way he said alone sent her thoughts scattering, and she frowned. Her feelings for him were a complicated mix of yearning and caring. She wanted to hug him and tell him that everything was going to be okay. She wanted to throw herself into his arms and lose herself in his kiss again. Her body had never hummed for a man the way it did right then for Nick. She licked her bottom lip.
    He’s a