Free Inseparable by Brenda Jackson Page B

just glad to see you,” she said.
    Why did her words send his heart pounding in his chest? And why was her smile nearly stealing his breath? And where in the hell did that heated rush that raced up his spine come from?
    “I fixed dinner,” she said excitedly, and he tried not to notice how cute she looked. He swallowed. Was she even wearing a bra? He could swear he saw the outlines of her nipples pressed against her halter top.
    Hell! Why was he staring at her chest? And after the mental beat-down he’d given himself today, why was he still looking at her with yearning in his eyes again? What happened to Reese, the man who was nothing more than her best friend?
    He cleared his throat. “I heard you prepared dinner. I also heard you made enough to feed just about everyone within miles of here. I’m sure Tanker appreciates getting a night off. You couldn’t wait for Sunday, uh?”
    She threw her head back and laughed, and the sound seemed to float in the air on this incredible wave of clouds. It was the same air he was inhaling, and it was causing a shudder to rip through his body.
    “I don’t mind cooking. And besides, come Sunday I don’t know what shape I’ll be in after partying all Saturday night.”
    He hadn’t considered that, he thought, walking her into the house after handing the reins for Rollins over to Joe. But then he’d never known Alyson to give a wild party. She’d given one last New Year’s Eve and he would be the first to admit it had gotten a bit rowdy, but that was to be expected. The one she’d given a few months before that for her sister’s birthday had beenrather tame. Her parents, who were strict when she was growing up, had been there, which is probably the reason no one was bold enough to cut loose.
    He picked up the aroma of lasagna the moment he entered the house. He’d had her lasagna several times before and she knew it was his favorite meal. “Hmm, something smells good in the kitchen,” he said.
    “I hope you like it,” she said, licking her bottom lip with her tongue.
    Why were his eyes following the movement of her tongue again today? He was tempted to tilt his head to the side and concentrate on it even more. “I know I will,” he said, knowing he needed to escape her presence, to see why he still had a few screws loose somewhere in his head. “I’d better go get washed up for dinner.”
    “All right. By the time you get back, everything will be ready.”
    He headed toward the stairs, taking them in quick strides while thinking he needed to focus all his energy on making sure he kept all his immoral thoughts to himself.
     
    Kenna moved around the kitchen trying to calm the frenetic energy that was making her heart beat like crazy in her chest. The horse ride was supposed to make her relax, but once she’d moved beyond the trees and seen Reese talking to Joe in the distance, all she could think about was that he was home and she couldn’t wait to see him, to tell him about her day and to hear how his day had gone.
    “I wasn’t expecting this.”
    She spun around when Reese returned to the kitchen. Her eyes roamed over him and the first thought that entered her mind was that she wasn’t expecting this either—at least not the way he was looking now. When he’d said he needed to wash up, she hadn’t expected him to shower and change. But he had, and the resultswere impressive. Not that he’d looked bad before, since Reese was a good-looking man to begin with. But for some reason the rays of sunlight coming through the window hit him at an angle that accentuated the deep, rich brownness of his skin and the long lashes covering his dark eyes. Standing in his bare feet, he slowly slipped a shirt on over his bare chest, covering the low-riding jeans that braced his hips.
    She’d seen him shirtless before, so that wasn’t the problem. It was the total package that was throwing her hormones off balance.
    Kenna did her best to suppress the rising heat as she