Read Seized by Love (Love in Bloom: The Ryders, Book 1): Blue Ryder for Free Online

fighting his desire to reach out and pull her into his lap, as Sawyer had with Sky. When Lizzie had first turned him down for a date, he’d purposely not told Sky he’d asked her out. What guy likes to admit defeat? The last thing he needed was Sky putting pressure on Lizzie to go out with him. He knew in his heart that if Lizzie ever came around and went out on a real date with him, she’d fall for him on her own, the same way he’d been falling for her all along.
    “Sometimes,” Lizzie answered, bringing his mind back to the moment. “But more often I worry about what she’d think of me if she knew who I really was.” As if she caught herself saying something she shouldn’t, she quickly added, “I mean, look how short my shorts are. She would totally think that’s slutty.”
    “Slutty has more to do with attitude than clothing, and you’re too beautiful a person inside to ever look slutty.”
    She shivered as a breeze swept off the water. The Cape was always cool at night, and the sea breeze made it that much colder. He’d like to have her in his lap now and to drape the blanket over her legs. He should have suggested that she change out of her skimpy shorts before going to the bonfire, but he hadn’t been able to think past his shock of her agreeing to go with him. Blue draped the blanket over her shoulders and placed an arm over her shoulder to hold it in place, hoping the way it hung to the back of her knees would keep her warm. She turned to face him, no longer shivering.
    “Thank you,” she said softly. Her lips always seemed to be smiling, but now they were slightly parted, and she was looking at him like she was trying to decide if she should lean in a little closer, the same way he was trying to decide if he should take the initiative and press his lips to hers.
    “Lizzie.” Her name came out as a whisper, surprising him, but standing there beneath the stars, with moonlight dancing on the water and Lizzie’s sweet perfume surrounding them, there was nothing he could do to rein in the emotions he’d been trying to temper for more than a year. Being in a group made it easier to distract himself from all the ways he was drawn to her, but now, as Lizzie’s hair blew across her cheek, he couldn’t resist tucking the wayward strands behind her ear. She had the silkiest, shiniest hair, and he’d dreamed of tangling his fingers in it as he ravaged her mouth and kissed her breathless. That simple touch, the brushing of his fingers over her skin, heightened the desire that rushed through him.
    She licked her lips, and hell if it didn’t feel like an invitation, but Blue didn’t want to mess this up. He fought to shift his brain off of the fast track to her lips and focus on something else. Anything else.
    He reached for the two sides of the blanket and placed them in her hand. “Here. This will keep the wind off your back.”
    She watched him tuck the blanket into her hands, confusion riddling her brow and desire lingering in her eyes. “Okay. Thank you.”
    They started walking down the beach again, and he knew he was on his last shred of self-control. “We should probably head back to your place and fix your oven before”— I take you in my arms and kiss you —“it gets too late.”
    “Right.”
    Way to go, jackass. Now things are even more confusing .
    By the time they made their way back down the beach, their friends were gone and the fire was out. Blue hadn’t realized how long they’d been walking. On the way back to Lizzie’s house, Blue silently cursed himself. He was a fool for not backing off before they got that close—and an even worse fool for not kissing her when he’d had the chance, but she’d made it clear that she didn’t want to date him, which meant he had to have misread her signals.
    Back at her house, he followed her down to the basement and knelt beside the oven to fish through his tools. Lizzie leaned against the counter, looking sexy as hell in those skimpy