Free Off Limits by Lia Slater Page A

bitter. She’d only recently found out that Clint had been cheating on her for most of their marriage. What a fool she’d been for not seeing it. “I thought it wouldn’t hurt to try. I didn’t know what else to do.”
    Austin’s smile faded quickly. “You could’ve asked me. You’ve been avoiding me since the divorce, Kara. Am I to be tossed aside with the idiot you married?”
    “No.” Her heart beat rapidly, like it always did when she thought of what could’ve been. She’d avoided Austin because she hadn’t wanted him to see her at her lowest. Clint had done his best to thoroughly humiliate her throughout the divorce proceedings, going as far as to tell her she was the reason their marriage fizzled, that she hadn’t taken care of herself like she should have.
    Even though she knew Clint was only trying to take the blame off himself, the words had stung. She wasn’t as young and perky as she used to be. Would a man like Austin give her a second thought now that gravity and life had taken its toll?
    At thirty-eight, she was nothing like the type of woman he usually dated.
    “No?” Austin arched a dark eyebrow, leaving her breathless like he did so well. “Then what am I to you now?”
    Whatever you want to be .
    Crap. Where did that thought come from? He smiled at her again, as if he could read her mind. She wasn’t so sure he couldn’t. He was very good at his job as a detective.
    She crossed her legs and tried to look comfortable under his intense scrutiny. “Of course I still want you in my life. You’ve meant the world to me the past few years.” After he’d started talking to her again, that is. The wedding incident had put an uncomfortable wall between them for several years. She’d been thrilled when they became friends again. And she didn’t want to lose that friendship.
    “Which makes me wonder,” she added, “why you’re treating me like a common criminal. If you want to arrest me, then do it. Why keep me handcuffed to this chair?” She was bluffing, of course. She could only hope Austin would let her go and forget the whole night ever happened.
    He stood and enveloped his chest with his muscled arms. Kara couldn’t tell if the T-shirt that clung to his well-developed torso was black or dark blue. With the dim lamplight, it was hard to tell. But nothing could disguise the vivacity in those sexy moss-green eyes. Or the fierceness of his defined lips. The whiteness of his teeth, contrasting with his olive skin. And the faded denim that curved along his long legs.
    She crossed her thighs tighter, but was unable to stop the flood of heat rushing to her panties, soaking them. Did he have any idea how much he turned her on? How she’d dreamed of him even when she’d been married to Clint? How when Clint finally left her for a much younger woman, the first thought that zoomed through her mind was would she ever see Austin again?
    He walked behind her, brushing her side, and she impulsively inhaled his familiar scent. Clean with a hint of musk aftershave. Was there any part of him that wasn’t perfect?
    She closed her eyes, dwelling in the nearness of him. How pathetic was she? It had been ten years since he’d shown any interest in her, and it had only been a sweet crush from a twenty year old boy. So much had changed since then.
    Judging from the warmth emanating from his body, he was right behind her, possibly looking down on her. She felt his warm breath on her ear and jerked her eyes open in surprise.
    “Maybe I just wanted to see you vulnerable for once.” His voice was a low whisper, hot against her skin.
    A whimper escaped her throat, and she hoped to God he didn’t hear it. “What...what do you mean?”
    His large hand settled on her shoulder, and he massaged her with a tenderness she hadn’t felt in a long time. “Sugar, I don’t plan on letting you go until we have some things settled, so you might as well get comfortable.”
    ****
    Austin wasn’t a man who minced