Free Temptation's Kiss by Michelle Zink Page A

the hell are you talking about? You don’t think I see you guys having coffee? Walking to the farmer’s market to buy supplies for the house? Maybe it’s time to stop dicking around and tell her how you feel.” Rowen suddenly sat up straighter, eyes focused on a man heading into the armory. “Wait a minute … who is that?”

Two
    Lily Montgomery stood outside of La Perla, her eyes riveted to the silk and lace on display. She’d been in the store with Scarlet only last week, but the delicate balconette bra was new. It was stunning, the lace so deep a purple it was almost black. Paired with a matching silk thong, a lavish lilac bow on the back, Lily couldn’t take her eyes off the set.
    She caught sight of herself in the window, surprised as she always was by her reflection. Most days, she was so busy baking and cooking and taking care of the house and the warriors who called it home that she lost sight of who she was. Forgot that she was a flesh and blood woman of only twenty years old, her blonde hair, dainty features, and pale green eyes coming together in a way that wasn’t unattractive.
    She knew the men at the house would be surprised by her lingerie fetish. They doubtless saw her as a little sister. Someone they could talk to, ask for advice about women, request that she bake their favorite cookies.
    And what about Kane Dawson? Did he think of her that way, too?
    The thought of him caused something warm and fluid to move through her veins. He was a big man, as all the men of the Shadowguard were, but he was always so careful around her. Like she was a porcelain doll he might break by looking at her too long and hard.
    She couldn’t deny that he had become dear to her. His dark brown hair was a little long—she often had to stop herself from pushing back the stubborn lock that fell over his forehead—and his eyes were a deep blue that made her think of a clear autumn sky.
    She wanted him. She’d already accepted it, even though she knew the men would be shocked that little Lily Montgomery wanted anything besides a fresh batch of muffins in the oven, a pot of soup simmering on the stove, the house warm and welcoming for everyone who lived there.
    Would Kane be shocked by her feelings? Or did he feel the electricity that seemed to move between them when they walked to the farmer’s market? When they sat at the table, talking and laughing about everything under the sun?
    And would he even want her when he knew everything? When he knew the secret she kept locked away from everyone but Scarlet?
    A blanket of despair dropped over her shoulders. She forgot sometimes. She would think about Kane, begin to summon the courage to tell him how she felt, and then she would remember; even if he felt the same way she did now, everything would change when she told him the truth. He was a warrior of the Shadowguard. As male as they come. And there were things men like that wanted.
    Like a family.
    They might not have wings or any of the other accoutrements assigned to them by legend, but they were descended from angelic ancestors as old as time itself. Kane would want heirs to carry on his name.
    And that was something Lily could never give him.
    It was a random thing. Not something that had happened to her but something she was born with. She only found out through a routine check-up—her first gynecological exam—when she was eighteen. Thank God, Scarlet had been there. Lily had been devastated. Children weren’t something she’d wanted right away, but the possibility had been open to her.
    And then it suddenly wasn’t.
    She had sunk into a months-long depression even as she swore Scarlet to secrecy. But eventually, Lily had come to accept it. The Shadowguard was her family, and she put all of her energy into nurturing the men who lived in the house. It would do for her, but she could never ask a man like Kane to give up the possibility of having a family of his own.
    She sighed, pushing away the thread of sadness that