Free Jealous in July (Spring River Valley Book 7) by Clarice Wynter

harsh voice in the back of her head told her he was nothing more than a warm and willing substitute for the man she really wanted in her bed.
    How would she be feeling if Riley was lying with her now? Would her guilt transform into triumph?
    Chase deserved better. He deserved to have a woman who’d pined for him the way she’d pined for Riley. It wasn’t fair to him for her not to be completely, 100 percent besotted with him.
    She thought of his wicked grin, his strong arms , and the devastating way he looked at her when he held her body beneath his and steadied her through a near-blinding climax. His strong, gentle hands, his lips, his skillful fingers—what girl could have asked for more?
    So why did she feel like a liar and a cheat?
    He must have sensed her sudden rigid defiance as she clamped a hand over her mouth to stop herself from moaning. He stirred, stretched like a big cat, and narrowed his gorgeous eyes at her in a come-hither expression that had her wanting nothing more than to obey.
    “Good morning.” His voice rumbled, sending a shock wave of desire through her.
    “It’s Tuesday,” she whispered dryly, as if that explained everything.
    Fortunately, the realization hit him fairly quickly. “What time is it?”
    “It’s only six.”
    He sighed, his suddenly tensed muscles relaxing. “So we don’t have to rush just yet. If I’d known this was how the evening would end, I’d have picked a Friday so we could enjoy the morning.” Under the blankets, his hand found her thigh and teased her cooling flesh to goose bumps.
    She gathered her sheet and nodded, avoiding eye contact. “I even forgot to set my alarm. Good thing the sun is up. If it was a rainy day, we might have slept straight through.”
    “That sounds fantastic. Next time let’s pray for rain.” He sat up, flexing those tight abs. When he leaned over to kiss her, she stiffened, and he pulled back. “You okay?”
    “Chase —”
    He dropped his hand from where he’d reached to brush hair from her cheek. His voice lost the sensual, husky quality that had carried her through the glorious night, and some of the light left his eyes. “Ah. I understand.”
    “I’m sorry…I…last night was fantastic, but I feel—”
    “You don’t have to apologize or explain. I do understand. It’s like in that book you were reading. We’re friends with benefits.”
    “No! Not at all. That’s not what I wanted.” She scrambled for some of her discarded clothes as he got out of bed. Naked in the morning light he was magnificent, and she had to ask herself what kind of fool would turn a man like that away out of guilt or any other misplaced emotion. She should have been begging him to take her again, not hating herself for the possibility that she really didn’t feel all the things she’d felt when she’d come apart in his arms last night.
    He scooped up his underwear and jeans and had them on in record time. When he turned to face her, she’d found her panties and her shirt, but still felt embarrassingly naked. Not even an iron curtain would have hidden her raw emotions at this point.
    “Brenda, I had a great time last night. It was…probably the best night ever. If you want to get together again, call me.”
    “Chase…” She withered under his cool stare. He didn’t mean a word of what he’d just said. She’d wounded him with her hesitation, and she despised herself for it. Why couldn’t she let go of Riley for good and accept that Chase was the one who wanted her just as she was, no games, no lies?
    “I’ve got to go home and shower. I still smell like the river.” He picked up his shoes and left the bedroom. “I’ll see you at work.”
    Brenda crumpled herself into a ball in the middle of her bed, still too spent to cry. She should have run after him and apologized for even thinking for a moment that what they’d done could be pushed aside and forgotten in the light of day. They’d made a connection last night, something