Read Reach Me for Free Online Page B

his green eyes inspect me from head to toe.
    “What are you doing here?” I force the words out even though my mouth is dry and my throat is scratchy.
    “You agreed to meet me, but you aren’t answering your phone. I was worried.”
    “I was sleeping,” I say easily, leaning against the door frame. My eyes involuntarily skate over him like he just did to me. This is the Russ I expected. He looks like I had imagined him all these years, casual in jeans and a cotton tee that hugs him in the right places. He’s gorgeous.
    “Well, since I’m here…” he trails off. One arched eyebrow is my cue to invite him in.
    I flick my wrist, motioning for him to come in, then turn to walk away from my open door. “Breakfast?”
    “Sure.”
    “Okay. Give me a sec to change and we can go.”
    Twenty minutes, three different outfits, and a hair and makeup-a-thon later, and I’m rejoining him in my small kitchen. He’s standing at my stove flipping a pancake in the skillet. My mouth pops open and I’m feeling a little mushy. This isn’t fair. Cooking me breakfast in my own apartment? No woman can resist a man like that. We need to get down to business quick so I can get him the hell out of here.
    I watch in silence as he plates my breakfast and sets it on the two-person table. I eye him warily, as if he’s a loaded weapon, and slowly take my seat. He’s set the table and everything.
    I glance at the empty place on the table in front of him and look back up to those tantalizing green eyes.
    “You aren’t going to eat?” I sound entirely unlike myself and I pinch my leg beneath the table to snap out of it. He’s just so handsome. His features are sharp and defined, but soft and inviting at the same time. Something about the stubble on his face has my palms itching to brush my hand across it. His eyes are warm and seem to twinkle when he looks at me like he knows something that I don’t.
    “Thank you, but I’ve already had breakfast.”
    The way his mouth moves draws my attention right to his lips. God help me. They look soft. And full. And warm. A vaguely familiar tingling sensation buds between my thighs. So embarrassing. I can feel my cheeks warm and I grab my fork like it will save me from my own body.
    As I’m shoving the first fluffy forkful of pancakes into my mouth, I peek up to Russ and see the smirk he’s wearing. I roll my eyes and quietly remind myself that he may be handsome, but he’s a suit. He’s a cold, indifferent businessman and I don’t have a hint of desire to be caught up in him. At all.
    Okay, maybe a little.
    A heavy sigh escapes my lips and I set my fork down. “Let’s get this over with.”
    “Where’s Trey?” he surprises me by asking.
    “Oh, um… he’s with Maggie. I needed to think after…” I trail off, unsure of what to call what happened yesterday.
    He nods then tilts his head to the side, studying me for a moment. “Okay.” He interlocks his fingers and rests his bare forearms on the edge of my table, leaning slightly forward towards me.
    A hint of his cologne drifts my direction and the tingling returns with a vengeance. I try adjusting in my seat to mollify the growing sensation, but it’s wasted effort. He’s impossibly handsome and he smells amazing. The combination of seeing him and smelling him is a heady one that’s too difficult to ignore.
    “You ran from me yesterday and I don’t blame you.” His broad, muscle-capped shoulders lift and fall in a shrug. His voice is smooth and deep but something in his eyes looks conflicted. “I’m not proud of how I spoke to you yesterday, but I can’t really say that I regret it.”
    What? My brows draw together. He was a huge prick yesterday. How can he not regret that? I sit in silence and wait for him to explain.
    “I can tell you that I had a shit day which included a morning meeting with my mother, who makes Maleficent look like an angel, but there’s no excuse for how crass I was. I regret the words I said, but I