Free Ready by Lucy Monroe Page A

the minicam in her stereo speaker.
    She puttered around, made a cup of tea, and then took it into the living room. Flipping on the television, she curled up in her rocker, trying very hard not to show the discomfort she felt knowing that her seat could be seen via her stalker’s minicam transmitter.
    An hour later, Joshua arrived and she wanted to jump up and greet him, but she was supposed to be alone. She’d actually missed his presence, which was both foolish and pathetic. She could almost be grateful that she was being watched so she didn’t reveal her idiocy.
    She continued watching her show while Joshua and Nitro had a low-decibel consultation by her computer. The show ended five minutes later and she picked up her tea things to take into the kitchen. Walking to the sink, relief that she was no longer on candid camera released tension in her muscles she hadn’t even realized was there.
    “Nitro said you did a good job of pretending to be alone.”
    She turned from dropping the cup in the sink to face Joshua and had to suck in air from the impact. He was gorgeous, everything a man should be. It would be easier on her if there was some sort of flaw she could latch onto, but even the small scar near his temple was sexy.
    “It wasn’t hard,” she forced herself to answer without giving away the longing that grew with each moment in his presence and no amount of self-protective lectures could diminish. “He’s not exactly sociable, is he?”
    Joshua opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of beer that hadn’t been there before she left.
    He twisted off the cap and took a swig. “He just came off assignment.”
    “So?”
    Was it just her, or had he come closer? She could smell the beer and a spicy scent she’d only known when she was around him. All male. All Joshua.
    Eyes the color of burnished walnut pinned her in place as his body moved, shrinking the distance between them. “It takes a while to start reacting like a normal person and not a battle-ready soldier.”
    She leaned back against the sink, trying to create a sense of space and failing dismally. “Do you mean to say this is your normal person mode?”
    “Uh-huh.”
    She mentally strained at the bond linking them so effectively. “Hotwire is a lot friendlier than either you or Nitro. Why is that?”
    Joshua’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t let that sweet Georgia accent fool you. He’s every bit as deadly as me or Nitro.”
    “I didn’t doubt it for a minute, but he’s also about as charming as a new preacher at Sunday dinner.”
    The bottle landed with a thud on the countertop behind her and Joshua’s hands settled on either side of her. “Would you rather go to bed with a man who can charm you than a man who turns you inside out with passion?”
    She swallowed and then licked her lips. “I wasn’t talking about going to bed with anyone.”
    “Keep it that way.”
    “Excuse me?”
    “Don’t start thinking about Hotwire as a potential bed partner.”
    Her hands came up to push against a solid chest that seemed to be pressing into her. “I can think of anyone I like.”
    “No.” He kissed her. It was short, but powerful to the point of leaving her weak-kneed. “You can’t.”
    Her fingers tingled from the heat of him. “Why can’t I?”
    “Because you want me and when this job is done, I’m going to show you how much.”
    “Conceited toad.”
    His smile about finished the job his kiss had started. She was pretty sure she would have slid right down the cupboard if he hadn’t been so close and practically holding her up with his body.
    “Conceit isn’t justified. Confidence is, and I’m confident the attraction is mutual.”
    “Is it?” she asked, remembering his rejection the night before.
    He pressed his pelvis into her and the hard length against her stomach answered her question before his sexy, “Oh, yeah,” did.
    He kissed her again and she hung, suspended by the connection of their two lips, until he stepped