Free Zane (Alluring Indulgence) by Nicole Edwards Page A

had
missed out on. Kaleb was a good guy. Better than most actually.
    When
Zane’s hulking body folded into the booth beside her, V was forced to move
over. She glared at him, but was unable to be angry with him. Having him close
was beginning to be a familiar thing, even though he’d been away for several
months. Despite her better judgment, V wasn’t crazy enough to push him away.
Although she should. She really should.
    His
arm came to rest on the back of the booth, barely grazing the tops of her
shoulders and V had to suppress the shiver that raced down her spine. That’s
what happened when he touched her, even in the slightest, most innocent of
ways. When he leveled those blazing blue-gray eyes on her, V met his stare head
on. If she weren’t mistaken, there was an odd twinkle in the heated way he was
looking at her. God she had missed him.
    The
instant that thought plowed through her brain V jerked her eyes away. She was
the reason he’d been gone for so long, and she’d be smart to remember that.
    “How’re
you?” Zoey asked Braydon, breaking V from her weighted thoughts.
    V
focused on the looks passing back and forth between everyone at the table. The way
the twins smiled at Zoey was so benevolent that V would have probably mistaken
her for family if she didn’t know better. The way the twins had stepped up to protect
Zoey all those years ago when her loser of a husband had up and gotten some
girl pregnant, V was pretty sure that’s how they saw her anyway. Like a little
sister.
    But
there was nothing sisterly about the way Kaleb pulled Zoey against him when he
dropped into the seat beside her. For two people who lived together, no one
would’ve known it by the way they acted when they saw one another. It was like
they hadn’t seen each other for months, not hours. The amatory way Kaleb
embraced Zoey, pulling her against his side and kissing her forehead made V turn
away. She felt as though she were intruding on a private moment.
    For
a brief, irrational second, her brain wandered down an unfamiliar trail,
wondering whether she ever would have that sort of love in her life. She was
pretty sure she knew the answer to that, and it was a monumental, resounding
no. The most she had to look forward to was an affair with Zane Walker. One
that was based on extraordinary sex and nothing more.
    Brendon
returned to the table a minute later with four beers, handing one to each off
his brothers and keeping one for himself. Then he grabbed a chair and flipped
it around the way Braydon had, and dropped into it.
    Watching
the twins together was still a spectacle as far as V was concerned. If a man
could be described as beautiful, the twins would hold that honor. It was hard
to think that two rough and tumble cowboys could be anything but rugged, but
there was so much charisma and grace with the twins, V understood exactly why
women flocked to them when they walked in a room.
    Tearing
her gaze away from them when Braydon sent her a knowing wink, V found herself
looking over at Zane. Now, this guy was rugged in every sense of the word. With
a day’s worth of stubble on his strong jaw, and his black Stetson low on his
forehead, hiding his beautiful eyes, he exuded that mysterious charm he was
known for. She couldn’t stop herself from smiling. The man was delicious.
    “You’re
beautiful when you smile,” Zane whispered in her ear, low enough that only she
could hear. Another chill raced down her spine at the words. She couldn’t even
say thank you, she was so taken aback. Zane wasn’t quite as much of a player
like most of the Walker brothers, but he did have his fair share of women in
his past. As far as she knew, there was never anything serious though.
    “How’s
the bachelorette party planning going?” Braydon’s question shook V back to the
present.
    “It’s
coming along nicely.” V returned his conspiratorial wink. She and the twins
were devising a plan to have the bachelor and bachelorette parties in