Disarm Read Online Free PDF Page A

choose, or what would I be born with?” he asked, balancing a beer bottle between his legs. “Because if I was born with a superpower, I’d say it’s being really, really ridiculously good-looking.”
    I threw a crumpled napkin at him. “No, I meant what would you choose?”
    He took a large bite of his third slice of pizza and chewed a moment before saying, “I would choose the ability to fly.”
    â€œHuh, I would have chosen invincibility for you.”
So you could come out of the war unscathed
, I wanted to add, but didn’t want to ruin the mood.
    â€œSo I can sneak into your shower and see you naked?”
    I smacked his arm. “No,
invincibility.
”
    â€œOh,
that
invincibility,” he said with a laugh, looking happier than I had seen him in months. He took a swig of beer, then said, “So, hey, are we going to talk about what happened this morning?”
    The question caught me by surprise and my brain struggled to come up with an elegant response. “I, uh . . .”
    â€œBecause I think the elephant in the room needs to be addressed,” he said. “And I’m not referring to my colossal size.”
    I burst out laughing, finally finding my voice. “You’re not that large, my friend.”
    â€œHow large would you say then?” He held his hands two feet apart. “So about this big, right?”
    â€œRiiight.” I chuckled, feeling the embarrassment melting away. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what that was about.”
    â€œI think that was about your hand on my dick.” He laughed at my shocked reaction and continued, “Would you rather I call it my phallus? My hammerjack? How about my
porksword
?”
    I spit out my drink, having never heard the last one before.
    Henry’s eyes glinted with mischief. “For the record, you are more than welcome to churn my butter any time. Seriously, morning, noon, night, whenever.”
    My laugh caught in my throat as his words painted a very vivid picture in my overactive imagination. I took a large drink from my glass of water, torn between changing the subject and pressing him for more details about what I could do with his penis.
    I started when he pressed the cold bottle of beer to my cheek. “You’re all red,” he said, his face suddenly closer than I remembered. He touched his thumb to my cheek and traced along my jawline. “Have I ever told you that I love your complexion? It’s like milk, so creamy but always quick to take on color.”
    I couldn’t breathe. I didn’t know what the hell had happened to me, but somewhere between finding out his secret and waking up with my hand in his pants, I had devolved into someone who could barely form a coherent sentence. I didn’t want to be that girl who got all googly-eyed when an attractive guy paid attention to me, but I couldn’t react to his nearness any other way. Henry had me stupefied.
    When his thumb traced my lower lip, I lost it. Or rather, I let that thin wire of control snap. I spanned the space between us and kissed him, and he, thankfully, didn’t pull away. Instead he grasped the back of my head and deepened the kiss, our tongues a slippery, tangled mess. He gently bit down on my lower lip, then pulled away, giving me that dark, heated look I’d fantasized about. “Elsie, I . . .”
    I waited for the rest of the words, but he said nothing else. He just ran a hand through his hair, then rubbed his forehead.
    â€œWhat is it?” I asked, ready for him to get it out so we could get back to kissing already.
    â€œThis can get complicated,” he finally said.
    â€œIt doesn’t have to.”
    He looked at my lips for a long time, then, with a sigh, finally met my eyes. “We’d better not,” he said, leaning his head against the couch and closing his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

4
    DETONATION
    I couldn’t