Free It's In His Heart (A Red River Valley Novel) by Shelly Alexander Page B

passionate fingers through it. His breath hitched, and lust flared in his eyes, turning them a dark shade of green.
    Then, Ella did the unthinkable.
    She lowered her head and kissed her boyfriend’s best friend.
    His reaction was instantaneous. Lips warm and ready, he took control of the kiss and pulled her against him. His padded snow jacket cushioned her breasts, and she melted into him as he encircled her in his arms. One of his hands drifted down her back, flexing and caressing until it cupped her bottom. The other threaded through her hair. Pressing her into him, he deepened the kiss.
    He tasted earthy and intoxicatingly male. He explored her mouth with his tongue, and she followed his every stroke. In spite of the freezing basement, the air around them sizzled with need. She settled against him with a soft moan, and he pulled her hips into his, his rock-hard groin confirming his desire. His fingers pulled at the blanket, tugging it upward. A shiver raced up her legs as, inch by inch, he bared her to the cool night air and to his warm, searching hand. When his palm settled over her bare bottom and caressed, a low growl came from somewhere deep inside him, and his kiss became primal and urgent. His grip on her was firm, like he didn’t want to let her go. And for an instant, she didn’t want him to, either. Her brain clouded, a sensuous moan escaped from the back of her throat, and it startled her.
    That was her, right? The room spun around her, and she fought to regain lucidity.
    Frick. It was her.
    She pushed herself off him.
    “No! I can’t.” Her shaky hands fumbled with the blanket that had slipped dangerously low.
    Coop’s scowl returned, and he pulled himself off the basement floor.
    “I’m sorry.” Ella looked at the cinder block walls, the wood beams that ran across the ceiling in perfect increments, anything to avoid Coop’s stare. She eyed the stairs, wanting to make a run for it, but Coop stood in between her and the only escape route.
    “Can we . . . pretend this never happened? Please.”
    He analyzed her for a moment, conflicting emotions playing across his face. None of them looked positive.
    “I wouldn’t want to hurt Bradley. Especially over something foolish that didn’t mean anything,” Ella plowed on.
    Coop gave a slow nod. “Right. It was just one of many kisses I’ve had this week. It wasn’t even that good.”
    His tone had turned retaliatory, and Ella couldn’t blame him. She had initiated the kiss, not him.
    He certainly hadn’t tried to stop her, though. How far would it have gone if she hadn’t pulled away? And could she trust him to keep it quiet? Maybe she should tell Bradley herself. But that would cut him deeply—his best friend and his girlfriend fooling around when he wasn’t looking. And he actually had thought it was a good idea for Coop to be looking out for her while he was gone.
    She was an idiot. A two-timing, traitorous idiot.
    “I need to go upstairs.” She gave him a pointed look.
    He stayed rooted in place for several long, torturous moments. The furnace kicked on, drowning out the deafening silence. Finally, he stepped to the side, waving her through with a bow. Mocking her.
    She darted up the stairs and into Bradley’s room, slamming the door in her wake.
    Tucked safely into her room, she put on one of Bradley’s T-shirts and dug a pair of lace panties out of her suitcase. The black pair that drove Bradley crazy with desire. Pulling a handful of the shirt to her nose, she inhaled his scent and rubbed the soft cotton across one cheek. She loved sleeping in his shirts. It was so intimate, like a security blanket or a shield of protection.
    Then she paced the floor. How could she have done such a thing? She had just humiliated herself and betrayed Bradley. And with his chauvinistic, philandering best friend, no less.
    The lavender hue of twilight filled the window by the time Ella finally dried her eyes and climbed under the covers. She drifted into