Free Animal Magnetism by Jill Shalvis Page B

the bag back, but she slapped his hand and hugged the bag to her chest.
    He appeared to fight a smile, but his voice was serious. “Are you okay?”
    “Yes. Though I’d be a hell of a lot better if you hadn’t told the whole world that I have a parking problem.”
    “I didn’t tell the whole world. Just what’s his name. Your friendly ex.”
    She blew out a sigh. “Nick. And how do you know he’s an ex?”
    “It’s either that, or he’s a prospect. Which would explain the hungry look on his face.”
    “Ex,” she admitted. “And he looked hungry because he was. For donuts.”
    “And for you as well.” Stepping into her personal space bubble as he had a habit of doing, Brady cupped her face and tilted it up to his, running his thumb under her eye, catching a tear she’d missed. “You don’t look like you’re okay,” he said quietly.
    She sent him another glare just for the heck of it and tried to turn away, but he held her still.
    And close.
    And Lord, he was deadly up close. “What?” she asked, sounding testy. Because she was.
    He backed her closer to the building, under the eaves and away from the window, giving them a little bit of privacy. “You look like you need . . . ” His eyes darkened a little and his thumb brushed over her bottom lip now, making it tingle and tremble open.
    “What? I need what?”
    “This.” Holding her gaze for as long as possible, he leaned in and lightly brushed her mouth with his warm, firm one.
    She heard a sound, a whimper really, and realized it was her. He was right. She needed this. Bad. Fisting his shirt to hold him close, she heard the sound again, horrifyingly, embarrassingly needy.
    “Shh,” he whispered soothingly, and then kissed her once more, not lightly this time.
    She promptly forgot everything, including the fact that they were standing on the sidewalk in broad daylight, with cars going by and people moving in and out of the bakery. It all faded away behind the wild pounding of her heart.
    With a hand on the nape of her neck, Brady deepened the kiss, his other hand gliding down to the small of her back to hold her against him.
    On board with that, she loosened her hands from his shirt and slid them up his chest and around his neck, pressing as close as she could to his hard, warm body.
    When they were both breathless, he pressed his lips to her throat and murmured something she couldn’t quite catch because her blood was still roaring through her veins. “What?” she murmured.
    He rocked her against him. “No idea what I’m going to do with you.”
    She didn’t know what he was going to do with her either, but she hoped it was good. She might have asked him to speak slowly and in great detail but she became aware that her hands had migrated and were now perched precariously low on what felt like perfect eight-pack abs.
    Two inches south and she’d have hit the jackpot.
    She glanced down and revised. One inch. He hadn’t moved so she tipped her head back up and found his eyes on hers, dark and scorching. “We seem to have a little chemistry,” she whispered.
    His lips curved slightly in acknowledgment.
    “I should go,” she said slowly, but her mind wasn’t on the words. Instead it was thinking, One more inch ! “Really. You’re going to need to back off a little, because I need to—”
    He lifted his hands, indicating that he wasn’t holding her in any way and she felt the blush on her face. Gathering her dignity, she forced herself to back away and turned to the Jeep.
    “Lilah.”
    She kept her back to him and closed her eyes. “Yeah?”
    When he didn’t say anything, she glanced back.
    “Why do you give the animals away if you want to keep them?”
    “Because that’s what I do,” she said, surprised. “It’s my job.”
    He came up behind her, putting his hand on hers on the Jeep handle, preventing her from opening the door. “And what’s up with the studying all night and not telling anyone?”
    “That’s . . .