Free The Avoidance of Love (The Daniels' Sisters Book 2) by J. L. Monro Page A

kiss was pretty sweet, and I’m sure you’ve got some other pretty sweet places as well.” This time, he looked at me and waggled his eyebrows. I just hoped he didn’t notice me clench my thighs together in response. He shrugged his shoulders and turned back to the road.
    “Whenever I’m near you, I can always smell your hair. You smell of strawberries and vanilla. It reminds me of strawberry bonbons.” Okay, now that was kind of sweet. Not that I was about to tell him that. “I saw your cheek twitch. I know you liked what I just said.” He reached over and gave my knee a squeeze, then returned his hand to the steering wheel.
    Rat bastard!
    We drove the rest of the way to the airport with nothing but the radio to fill the silence. I wondered whether I should make small talk but that had never been my forte and Jace looked like he felt awkward the few times I tried to take a sneaky look at his facial expressions.
    He parked the car in the airport car lot and we headed to check in. The rain had started coming down pretty heavy so we ran to get inside. Once through the doors, Jace pulled me into his body and began to pat me down to take off some of the surface water from the rain. If I said it felt good, it would be the biggest understatement of the year.
    I suddenly realized there was something I secretly yearned for, without even realizing it. I wanted someone who could deal with the bitch I was on the surface, but take care of the real me that lived inside. I was fucking exhausted. I lived to protect my family and be there for everyone, but it was tiring.
    That was the real reason I was struggling to resist Jace. He was starting to get through. I was starting to see a man that I actually wanted and it scared the hell out of me. If I was wrong about him, who was going to catch me when I fell? I couldn’t do this. I was pretty sure that I was just a conquest for him. He was probably so used to women falling at his feet that I was merely a challenge that turned him on. It wasn’t the real me he wanted.
    What was so special about me? What made me different from the many women he had been with before? Nothing. He’d get bored and leave me then. I was already alone. Was there any need to self-inflict the torture of becoming emotionally attached to him only to end up back in exactly the same place?
    I collected myself and then pushed away from his warm body. I felt the loss physically and emotionally almost immediately. Jace eyed me curiously and then shook his head.
    “Let’s go get some breakfast, BonBon. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”
    “It’s too early to eat.”
    “For you maybe, but I can eat around the clock. Don’t worry, I don’t mind if you don’t eat. It just means you’ve got no excuse not to talk to me.”
    Damn!
    We checked our bags in and then went off to the departure lounge to grab some breakfast. I had my customary double shot espresso and Jace had . . . well . . . just about everything on the menu. It was like watching something from National Geograhic. He ate like an animal. In fact, I think animals had better table manners. And where did he put it all? There was no fat on him. I pretty much had to count every calorie and it wasn’t always a winning battle; thank God, I burned some of it off on job sites.
    He must have felt me staring at him and finally looked up from the plate then put down his fork mid-shovel. “Sorry, sometimes I forget that it’s not going to be my last plate.” He looked sheepish and almost embarrassed. “We didn’t have a lot of money when I was growing up. My parents only had me, luckily, but it was still a strain.
    “Some days there wasn’t as much to eat. I made sure I took in as much as I could as fast as I could. Guess I haven’t broken out of the habit. No one else generally notices because I’m around men most of the time, and I don’t take girls out to dinner.” He shrugged and raked his hands through his hair before continuing to