Her Forbidden Marine (Hearts Ablaze: Men in Uniform Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

you.”
    “Because of Brody?”
    “Yes!  No, I don’t know,” he said, shaking his head.
    “Well, which is it?” she asked sarcastically.  “It’s no secret that you don’t like me—God only knows why not.  But Brody’s gone, so why the hell are you pretending to care about me now?”
    Matt’s eyes narrowed, and he stepped closer.  Becky backed up against her car, her back coming into contact with the metal, and her breathing hitched.  Interesting.  She wasn’t scared, of that much he was certain.  Her mouth parted slightly as she gazed up at him, her eyes were wide with arousal, and it was all he could do not to rest his hands on the top of the car, pinning her in, and bend down for just one kiss.  Her sweet vanilla scent was filling the air even now, driving him completely crazy.  Would she taste as sweet as she looked?  The way she was looking at him was almost as if she wanted him to kiss her.  Which was completely insane.
     
     
    ***
     
     
    Becky’s eyes widened as Matt leaned closer.  She’d had a fun night catching up with Jade and was finally leaving to head over to her parents’ house when Matt had practically chased her down the street.  Matt, who never wanted a damn thing to do with her.  Who’d barely spoken to her even tonight.  Sure, he was a Marine and probably had that protective instinct engrained in his DNA like all the rest of them did, but did he really need to walk her one block to her car?  Even though it was late there were other people around.  It was Friday night for heaven’s sake.  Now he was gazing down at her with almost a hint of interest in his eyes.
    Not possible, she thought.  Matt didn’t even like her.  There’s no way he’d be out here… lusting after her.  Sure, he was attractive in that tall, dark, and brooding type of way.  Short cropped hair, chiseled features, deep brown eyes.  No doubt he had a rock-hard body beneath that uniform.  She blushed, remembering bumping into him earlier at the bar.  Not the smoothest way to get reacquainted.  He’d looked almost angry that she’d said that he didn’t like her.  Did he think he was being subtle all those times in the past when he’d avoided her?  When he practically ran from the room the moment she arrived?  He didn’t just make himself scarce, the guy simply vanished.  Now he suddenly thought he had to chase her down the street at night, escort her to her car, and be her protector?
    The air between them felt thick, and for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out if some underlying sexual tension was brewing between them or if their past history was just rearing its ugly head.  They never really fought before, they just didn’t talk.  Period.  It had almost been easier to ignore him than to discuss the elephant in the room.  And the elephant wasn’t really in the room, was it?  It was sprinting away from her as fast as it possibly could. And elephants didn’t sprint.
    “You should probably get home,” he said in a low voice, eyes never leaving her face.
    Her heart pounded as her eyes ran over his chiseled features, the hardened planes of his face. She nervously swallowed.  Man, that guy was intense.  She could practically get lost in the depths of his brown eyes, which was… completely crazy.
    “Yeah, probably so,” she agreed, finally breaking eye contact to reach into her purse to dig out her keys.  Heat bloomed over her skin, and she wondered what, if anything, he’d seen in her expression.  He’d looked like he’d been moments away from kissing her, which was ridiculous.
    She clicked the key-fob and the lights on her rental car flashed.
    “Allow me,” Matt said, his voice gruff, reaching toward the door handle.  His hand brushed against her arm, and she swore she felt sparks, even through the layers of her sweater and coat.
    Becky stepped to the side as Matt pulled open her door.  “Where’d you park?” she asked.
    “Just across the street,” he