Free Pretending She's His: A Hard Feelings Novella by Kelsie Leverich Page A

and smooth as his hands leisurely browsed her flesh, testing and exploring the sweet feel of her back.
    He could see the white rays in her blue irises as her face hovered over his. Her eyes had always been killer—bright, crystal-clear blue eyes that stood out next to her copper-colored hair. But now that they were so close to his, just peering at him, he realized those eyes could do some damage. He felt like he was getting sucked in, or lost, or fuck, hypnotized just looking at them.
    She was waiting, concentrating on his hands, which were still skimming the bare skin of her back, rubbing gentle circles and delicate patterns across it.
    Then she kissed him.
    And it knocked the air from his lungs.
    Her lips fell to his in an urgent, desperate descent. They moved over his as if she couldn’t do anything other than kiss him. Fuck, he wanted so badly to part her lips with his tongue and sink it into the depths of her mouth so he could explore and taste her. He wanted to truly kiss her. He wanted to make her delirious with his kiss. He wanted to steal the breath from her lungs and the thoughts from her mind. But this was just part of the game. It was make-believe. And she made the rules.
    His hands left her back and threaded through her wet hair, drawing her mouth tighter to his.
    She moaned.
    It was soft, and barely audible. But he heard it. And there was no pretending about the way that breathy little sigh sounded as it hummed from her chest.
    “Get a damn room,” Finn, one of Reed’s friends, hollered from the pool. There were only a handful of people left at the cabin, and they were all good people, but Trevor was tempted to jump in the pool to give Finn a reason to shut the hell up. Because the second his voice hit their ears, Eva pulled away.
    Her face was damn close to the same color as her hair. She looked mortified. Her breathing was quick and she refused to meet his eyes.
    His hands rested on the side of her neck and he forced her to look at him. She didn’t say anything, just moved her eyes over his face—trying desperately not to meet his.
    “Eva,” he whispered, bringing her attention to him. “It was just a kiss. And a damn good one at that. All part of the show, baby.” He raised his head off the hammock and pressed his lips to hers once more, only this time he broke the rule. This time he allowed his tongue to venture out—just slightly—and skim across her bottom lip. He felt her body relax against him for a brief moment, then her eyes opened and she separated her lips from his.
    She smiled, one that was equal parts sexy and evil. She was playing the cocky card to cover her embarrassment. But this woman knew the effect she was having on him, and she was enjoying the shit out of it.
    ***
    She’d had one too many. Okay, maybe a little more than one too many. But it was easier to deal with the shit floating around in her head when her head was fuzzy from alcohol. She’d lost a little bit of her control up on the deck. But she was a woman, and when a man—a sexy-as-hell man at that—was running his hands over her body, when she could feel his cock hardening against her, and when his eyes were looking at her like he was looking for a way in, she couldn’t help it. She kissed him. And it wasn’t for show. It wasn’t to prove some false point to her ex, it wasn’t to play the part of the smitten girlfriend, and it wasn’t to appease him. She had kissed him because at that very moment, it was the only thing she could think about.
    The bed dipped down beside her. “You awake, Red?” Trevor asked as he slid in next to her. She was facing away from him, but she could easily picture him stretched out on his back, his hard chest rising and falling as he rested his hands under his head.
    “Yep,” she replied.
    “Ohhh,” he groaned as she felt him flip to his side. “I’m not looking forward to the drive home tomorrow.”
    She was tired. Her good buzz was wearing off, leaving her drowsy. Closing her