Under His Skin Read Online Free PDF Page B

room.”
    “This is my floor. Come on. I can get you some water.”
    They walked hand in hand down the hall, with its pretentious gold-plated sconces and busy patterned carpet. They could be any couple returning to their room together for the night. Brian led her into one of the rooms not far from the elevator, swiped his card and pushed her in ahead of him. The darkness swathing the room was comforting, easier on her eyes. Even when he flipped the lights on, bathing the room in a muted glow, it was better than the harsh glare downstairs. Besides a suitcase sitting on the desk, there wasn’t any evidence he was staying in the room.
    “How you feeling?”
    She turned to face him. It was like being eighteen again and going back into the piercing room to make out with him, only this time it was actually Brian. As if to remind her it wasn’t a dream, his hand brushed her arm.
    Flinching away from the touch, she headed for the armchair next to the window and sank down in it. The curtains blocked out all but two lines of light at the top and bottom. Closing her eyes, she tried not to listen to the rasp of his jeans as Brian walked across the room, following the path she’d taken but much slower. She could hear his breathing and smell the cologne that had rubbed off on her skin the day before. Dropping her head back against the chair, she dug her fingers into the armrest to give them something to do.
    Brian was not Robert. He wasn’t like the guy kicked out of his band. He wouldn’t hurt her, at least not physically. But neither was he the kind of guy who dated a girl like her.
    Large hands grasped her knees, his thumbs swiping over the fishnets that were already slicing into her toes.
    “Hey.”
    The gentle word might as well have been a command. Prying one eye open, she looked at him kneeling in front of her.
    He appeared serious and stark without the long hair. He’d aged, and not in a bad way. “How you feeling?”
    “Like shit.” She massaged her temples.
    “Want some water? Something for a headache?”
    “All of the above?”
    The corners of his mouth turned up. “You got it.”
    He left for a few moments, then came back with a glass and a package of pain relievers.
    “Thanks.” She downed both, folding her hands around the glass. She held it in her lap and stared at it to keep from looking at him. “I should go back downstairs. The girls will be looking for me.” She pushed to the edge of the seat until her knees bumped his chest.
    He put a hand on her thigh. She could feel the pressure from each individual finger through the sateen skirt. “Do you think Robert’s going to give you a hard time again? You don’t have to go. You can stay here for a bit.”
    Lifting her gaze to his face, she searched him for some sign, some intangible something she couldn’t name. One side of her mouth hitched up and she put a hand against his arm. The muscles tensed under her fingertips. He might be scarred, but he was a strong, virile man. “Was this your plan? Get me up here and see where it goes?”
    “What?” He snatched his hand back and she missed the reassuring weight of him immediately. “That’s not what this is about.”
    “I’m kidding. Bad joke.” She squeezed her temples with her fingers.
    He shook his head, the scowl still firmly in place. “Fuck. If I could go back and erase what happened to you, I would.” He leaned forward, planting his hands on the armrests and invading her space. “I wish I could, because I want to kiss you, but I feel like trash for something I didn’t even do. If that’s not screwed up, I don’t know what is.”
    Her heart kicked into double time. A spike of adrenaline overrode the pain between her ears.
    She sat up a little straighter. Licking her lips, she whispered, “So kiss me already.”
    His face hovered near enough she could see every eyelash ringing his eyes, the thin scar on his brow and his chipped front tooth. “The problem is, I don’t want to stop with