Brady's Hellion Read Online Free PDF Page B

a small smile that held a few
secrets.
    “Same as me.” He punched the button and leaned
against the wall, watching her.
    She couldn’t help but notice his scrutiny.
“What?”
    “How can someone look as fresh and gorgeous at three
o’clock in the morning as they did at two in the afternoon?”
    She beamed. “It’s all magic.” She held up her hands
and wiggled her fingers.
    “Magic, huh?” He grinned, pretending to play
along.
    She leaned forward and whispered, “Yes, lots of
special girl magic. It’s called concealer and highlighter that I
lay on with a putty knife.”
    He reached out and gently rubbed his thumb across her
cheek and down to the corner of her lips. He leaned over more and
followed the same path with his lips. “I don’t taste a speck of
makeup on you. I didn’t earlier either.“ The elevator stopped and
the door slowly slid open.
    Raven pulled her room keycard out of a hidden pocket
in her dress and indicated which door was hers.
    “I’m down that way.” He cocked his thumb in that
direction before taking the keycard from her and inserting it in
the slot until the light turned green.
    “Thank you for a lovely evening,” Raven said softly,
the smile on her lips telling him just what she was thanking him
for.
    “Meet me for breakfast.”
    “I usually go surfing around five.”
    He grinned. “You’re not going to make it easy for me,
are you?”
    Raven tapped her forefinger against her chin in
thought. “Yes. And I’m not acting coy. I meant what I said earlier.
This isn’t normally like me.”
    Brady easily read the hidden words. “I didn’t think
you were, Rae. What I felt was an intense attraction that you also
felt. We acted on it tonight. I’m asking for you to meet me for
coffee, orange juice, eggs, bacon, and toast or your choice of
muffin,” he gently teased. “Maybe we could take a drive around the
island. I heard there’s a waterfall on the other side of the island
that’s worth seeing. Or we could check out the tennis court, play a
round of golf if you’d prefer that, although I should warn you that
the last time I tried golf I broke more than my share of windows. I
want to spend time with you even if we do nothing more than lay out
on the beach,” he said seriously, knowing he meant every word.
    Her lashes swept down; hiding the eyes he enjoyed
looking into. “I guess I could miss surfing one morning. I’ll meet
you at the lanai restaurant at eight. “
    Brady brushed his lips across her forehead. “If I
don’t leave now, I won’t leave at all,” he whispered. “Good night,
beautiful Rae. I’ll see you at eight. Don’t forget to use the
security lock.”
    “Good night, Brady,” she whispered back and then
slipped inside her room.
    He waited until he heard the quick click of the
security lock then moved down to his own room. Out of habit, he
checked the traps he’d laid to make sure no one uninvited entered
his room then stripped down for a quick shower. Just as he got
ready to step into the shower, he inhaled the scent of Raven’s
perfume on his skin. He reached in, turned off the water, and
walked back into the bedroom. He decided he’d rather sleep with her
scent surrounding him.
    *****
    Raven’s smile disappeared as she crossed the room.
She wrinkled her nose against the pungent aroma filling the
parlor.
    “Not again.” She retrieved her case from the closet
and pulled out the vial of gray dust to sprinkle over the Astay
flower that lay on the coffee table in the same spot the first one
had been. “If I’d known this was going to happen I would have
brought more dust.” Within moments, the reeking purple flower from
the depths of her realm was gone but a wine colored envelope with
her name written on the front appeared in its place. Without caring
about the contents, she sprinkled dust over that too.
    She opened the balcony door to let in the fresh sea
air and release the smell of burned flower and envelope.
    She paused and walked out onto