Falling for Alexander (Corkscrew Bay #2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

look.
    “ Let’s just say a woman with a tendency to slam doors brings out the best in me,” he explained, pushing the door gently shut.
    By the time he ’d settled in behind the wheel, her frown had smoothed. There was no apology. She flung her bag into the back and clipped in her seatbelt. “I really appreciate the ride.”
    “ No problem.”
    “ I am surprised,” she said thoughtfully. “Do your lawyers approve?”
    “ That depends on what you are today,” he murmured as he started the engine and swerved into the left lane. “A reporter or Mrs. Pinnings’ niece?”
    “ And if I said both?”
    He could feel her gaze on him as he merged into the high street traffic. “ What are you saying when you cut out the hypothetical bullshit?”
    “ You don’t like me. You don’t trust me.”
    He glanced a t her.
    She twisted her lower lip into a grimace. “ I feel like the scorpion invited into the bosom of the anthill and it doesn’t make any sense.”
    His laugh was a dry shout. “ A scorpion can’t inflict much damage with its tail cut off and you’d do well to not mistake me for a harmless ant.”
    “ My tail is not cut off.”
    He quirked a brow at her. “ You don’t paint a flattering picture of yourself, Ms. Hadley.”
    “ I’m not trying to impress.”
    “ And let’s just call me a Good Samaritan and leave it at that.”
    “ Good Samaritan?” she huffed. “You’re certainly not afraid to toot your own horn, are you?”
    They ’d reached the main road out of town and he put his foot down, coaxing a deep-throttled purr from the Aston Martin. “Perhaps you should give your aunt a call,” he suggested without a trace of the irritation she stirred in him. “Let her know we’ll be there after lunch.”
    She looked him in the eye. “ I spoke to her first thing this morning.”
    Alex almost believed her. His gaze snagged on the stubborn tilt of her chin, then drifted to those full, enticing lips. He had a deep appreciation for passionate commitment, even a fevered obsession. Any other cause, and he might have applauded her.
    How far would she go before calling the trip off?
    Meanwhile, why would she bother unless she was hoping to drain him dry for her paper?
    How far would he go to teach her a lesson? To make her squirm while he attempted to instil a quota of human decency in the woman so she ’d leave him alone?
    They were two sharks circling each other, hungry for blood.
    Her lips pursed. “Eyes on the road, Mr. Gerardo.”
    “ Alexander.” He set his eyes on the road, a narrow strip of asphalt that speared long and straight through at least another mile of shrubby fields.
    “ Kate.”
    “ Barely fifteen minutes in, and we’re already on first name terms.” He rested one arm on the door, keeping the wheel steady with his other hand. “I can’t wait to see what the next fifteen brings.”
    “ No reason to wait,” she said. “I’m ready to take this intimacy to the next level if you are.”
    He believed he had a fairly decent measure of Ms. Hadley—Kate—and he knew she wasn’t offering sex on the side of the road. Still, his voice came out a notch husky as he said, “What did you have in mind?”
    “ Why don’t you play and find out?” She shifted, uncrossing her legs in a slow slide that drew his gaze.
    A vision of her backside propped on the Aston ’s low bonnet, those shapely legs wrapped around him as he sank into her, had him hard in zero-to-three seconds. Unfortunately, there was traffic ahead, requiring half his attention.
    He slowed down behind a tractor pulling a trailer stacked with hay bales.
    “Yes or no, Alexander.” His name rolled over her tongue with promises she’d never keep.
    She ’s not offering sex. But damn if his body hadn’t decided to pay attention anyway.
    He slanted a hidden glance her way from behind his shades. She was rolling her lower lip between her teeth. A pale flush tipped her cheeks. Her lids rested heavy, halfway closing her eyes