Read Want Me for Free Online

fault, the way she’d looked at him.
    Shannon sighed.
    He accidentally brushed her arm. “I’m sorry. I’ll be more considerate. I will. I haven’t had to be for a while.”
    She stared at the place he’d touched her, and when she looked up again, he knew he was in trouble. She was a very beautiful woman. Not a kid, not a teen. And he’d spent a few hours of sleeplessness thinking about how pale her skin was and if all her hair was as stunningly red. He’d felt weird about that last night, but not now. He wanted her, and he was pretty damn sure she wanted him right back.
    She cleared her throat, then hurried into the bathroom and shut the door.
    It was a problem. He had no idea what the ground rules were. Except that he had no business being half-hard standing in the hallway. He made it to Myles’s room in case Brady hadn’t gone to his girlfriend’s place last night, but Nate was acutely aware that the next door over was Shannon’s bedroom. That she was taking a shower right this minute. Naked. Pale. Her nipples would be pink. Like the color of her blush.
    Shit.
    * * *
    “W AIT ,” S HANNON SAID , pointing at Nate. “Come over here and stand in front of the fireplace.”
    “Why?” He glanced at his watch.
    “It’ll only take a second. I need a couple of pictures.”
    He frowned at her, but he was moving in the right direction. “For what?”
    “Neighborhood blog. No big deal, but I edit the damn thing and I need filler.”
    “Wait a minute. What are you going to say?” He had reached the brick fireplace and placed his hand on the mantel.
    She doubted he even realized he was posing, but she brought up her cell phone quickly, clicking as often as she could between flash charges. “You live a very adventurous and heroic life,” she said, moving a bit to her right to get another angle. Then she zoomed in even closer. He looked great in his dark suit, no tie, off-white shirt with the top button undone. She wished she could have gotten him in his towel this morning, but then again, she probably wouldn’t have been able to keep her hands steady.
    She clicked again. “You’re a native son. It’ll make a great story.”
    “How many people read this blog of yours?”
    “Oh, a lot.”
    “I’m not sure about this. There are people I don’t want to see. I was hoping to keep the visit quiet.”
    “Oh, well, that’s easy to solve. I’ll run it after you’re gone. And I’ll make sure to say great things about your organization. I looked it up. You guys do fantastic work.”
    “Yeah, we do. And they’ll appreciate the mention,” he said, then glanced at his watch again. “I’ve got to go.”
    “Fine,” she said, stealing one last picture.
    “But I get to read it, and if I don’t like it, you’re not going to run it.”
    She wanted to argue, but it didn’t really matter. She could easily skip writing a piece for the blog. This session was about the trading cards. “Deal,” she said.
    “Okay. See you tonight.”
    “Maybe Molly’s?”
    He smiled as he passed her. “Yeah, Molly’s sounds great.”
    She watched him as he walked, still stunned at her reaction to his…to him. The thing was, she hadn’t expected the change. He’d been one of those narrow boys, no ass, no chest to speak of. Like most of her brothers. Myles hadn’t been that way, though, at least not after puberty hit. He’d gathered a harem when he got on the junior varsity football team, and that hadn’t all been due to padding.
    But Nate, he’d had an average, if slim, silhouette the last time they’d been to the community swimming pool. He’d been seventeen, she’d been twelve, and she’d threatened to drown him if he continued to splash her with his stupid cannonballs.
    He wasn’t average anymore. Not a muscle man, either, just, well, sculpted. Defined. Enough chest hair to be enticing instead of daunting, and those guns…who would have guessed?
    She’d reacted. As any woman would. But being attracted to Nate