Free Off Limits by Lia Slater

 
     
     
     
     
    Off Limits
     
    Kara Reynolds squirmed against the handcuffs that bound her wrists behind her back. She glared up at Austin who, in return, flashed his signature lopsided smile. Ergh . What did he think he was doing, keeping her restrained to this chair? In her ex-husband’s home.
    How mortifying. And incredibly annoying.
    “I wasn’t going to steal anything,” she said for the umpteenth time. “You know that, Austin.”
    How lucky for her that she’d gotten caught breaking into her ex-husband’s home by her brother-in-law. Who just happened to be a cop.
    And the star of the highly erotic dreams she’d been having for the past several years. Dreams that woke her in the middle of the night, fevered and wanting.
    Her cheeks heated. She couldn’t help that. Austin had ingrained himself in her mind the day of her wedding and every day since. She’d been in her white gown, ready to walk down the aisle, and Austin, her soon-to-be husband’s younger brother, had taken her by surprise by telling her she was making a huge mistake.
    At twenty years old, eight years her junior, he’d been young and passionate. He’d told her he was in love with her and warned her not to go through with the ceremony.
    She still remembered the way he’d looked at her. More in love than she’d ever seen Clint look. And for a fleeting moment she’d thought of running out of the church with Austin, running away from a marriage she hadn’t been sure she really wanted, and into the arms of a younger man.
    A man who held enough pent-up passion that it radiated from him and warmed her skin.
    She’d brushed the silly notion aside. Run away with her soon-to-be-husband’s twenty year old brother? No, that couldn’t happen. The rational conservative part of her overcame the wild passionate side, as usual. And she’d married Clint.
    Now, ten years later, Austin seemed wiser and much more in control of his emotions.
    He sat in the recliner across the living room with his long lean legs spread out in front of him. He was a couple months away from thirty and gorgeous. He’d inherited his mother’s Spanish skin tone and thick dark hair and his father’s smoldering green eyes and lean muscular build.
    The exact opposite of Clint with his pale skin, red thinning hair, and dull brown eyes.
    Austin’s fingers steepled and tapped against his angular chin, as if deep in thought. His amused gaze glinted in the low lamplight as he studied her. He was always such a thinker, an observer.
    God, it was sexy as hell.
    “What are you doing in my brother’s house, Kara?” He finally spoke with that deep thoughtful voice, releasing some of the tension from her shoulders.
    How was she to know he would be house-sitting while Clint was away on vacation? It was somewhat ironic. She’d only broken in to get back the bracelet Austin had given her for her birthday two years ago. Six months had passed since the divorce was finalized, and Clint had obviously moved on. But for whatever reason, he refused to hand over some of her most personal possessions. Funny thing was, the charm bracelet was the only thing she really cared about. The jerk could keep the rest.
    But what would she tell Austin? The truth?
    No. God, how embarrassing would that be? Here she was, handcuffed like a thief, thanks to him.
    “I only wanted to get back some of my things. I know he’s your brother, and you have every right to protect his home but...” She blew out a breath. What was the point?
    “But what?” He leaned forward, draping his muscled forearms over his knees. “Talk to me, Kara.”
    “I just want some of my things back. Clint’s been keeping them from me.”
    His grin twisted as if holding back a laugh. “So you smashed in a basement window and broke in? I never thought you had it in you to do something so naughty.”
    She ignored his teasing tone. The man knew her better than anyone. “Clint’s in Brazil with his girlfriend.” She tried not to sound