Free Superb and Sexy.3 by Jill Shalvis Page A

his hand up her leg, beneath her skirt and commandeered said knife.
    Holy shit, she’d never seen him move so fast. Apparently, when they’d been making out, her mind had shut off.
    But his hadn’t. She stared at the knife now in his fingers. “It’s for emergencies.”
    “Okay. And since you’re the smartest woman I’ve ever met, you can probably figure out my next question.”
    He thought her the smartest woman he’d ever met? Interesting, considering she thought him the most amazing man she’d ever met.
    Amazing, frustrating, completely pig-headed, world-class kisser…
    He had the knife between his two fingers like it was distasteful, his arm loose at his side, and with her own lightning speed, she grabbed it back, not holding it loosely, but up as if she meant business.
    He merely stepped forward so that the blade was only an inch from his chest.
    Then, while she debated her next move, he put his mouth to her ear, irritation personified. “Are you mad because you thought I didn’t know you, Mad? Or because I do? Because let’s clear up one thing right now, knife or not, attitude or not, I’ll always know.”
    God. She actually let her eyes drift closed at that, but caught herself and flashed her eyes open again to find him watching her intently.
    Then he took another step forward, and now the tip of the blade touched his chest, not that he seemed to care. “What’s it going to be, Maddie?”
    The fight draining out of her, she turned away, letting the knife fall to her side, both shocked and uncomfortably aroused. He wanted answers, and unfortunately, she had them. “I told you Leena’s in trouble.”
    “Yes.”
    “I’m going to help her out of it.” She didn’t even realize she was rubbing her shoulder until she felt him gently nudging her fingers away, touching her scars, touching her heart.
    And other places, too, places that wanted to get back to that whole kissing thing, which would be an even bigger mistake than all her other mistakes combined, and that was saying something.
    “How?” he murmured, his mouth brushing her shoulder and then the side of her throat…
    Oh, God.
    She was going to melt into a boneless puddle of longing right here on the floor. “Don’t.” She said this in a pathetically low, whispery voice, not knowing exactly what she was saying don’t to.
    Don’t stop touching me…
    Don’t stop any of it…
    His fingers continued to work on her, slipping beneath her shirt to touch bare skin now as his jaw slowly rubbed alongside of hers. “Are you going to pretend to be her?”
    “No. Brody, stop—”
    But he didn’t. Somehow, he knew exactly what muscles were sore, and what to touch, and how to leave her a bowl of jelly. It had to stop. “I mean it.”
    But he kept doing.
    All of it.
    “But you’re going to somehow risk yourself to save her, is that it?”
    Close. Too close, and frustrated, hot, God, so hot, she simply reacted. Whipping around, she hooked her leg behind his knee and dropped him to the floor, which he hit with a heavy thud.
    Sprawled on his back, he stared up at her. “What was that?”
    Not proud of the move, she backed up a step. “I said don’t.”
    Wincing, he sat up and rubbed a spot low on his back. “Ouch.”
    Okay, so now she’d used her unfair advantage of martial arts against a man who’d done nothing but drive her crazy.
    And turn her on. Let’s not forget that part. Guilt-ridden, she bent over him and offered her hand. “I’m sorry— hey —”
    That’s all she got out before he grabbed her hand and tugged hard so that she fell right over the top of him. Or would have, but he caught her and rolled.
    The next thing she knew, her knife had flown across the room, and she was flat on her back on the floor where he’d just been, held there by well over six feet of frustrated, temperamental, leanly muscled male.
    She struggled, oh, how she struggled, but it was all in vain. He deflected every move she made as if he knew martial