Wicked Lovers 06.5 Wicked All The Way Read Online Free PDF Page A

this cooler. The
fact that he genuinely believed they could have something special shouldn’t be
a factor. Hunter had pushed Kata into marriage and nearly lost her. Caleb knew
he had to be smarter.
    Into her silence, he swallowed. “I’m sorry if I’m making you
uncomfortable. I’m the kind of man who doesn’t dance around the truth well. If
there’s something to be said, I say it. I’ve held this in for too long as it
is. I’m sorry if I frightened you when I kissed you on our second date. I wanted
you and I wasn’t good about taking things slowly. I know Gordon hurt you. I
didn’t do so well with Amanda myself. But if you’ll talk to me, share your
concerns, I think we could…” What? Ride
off into the sunset? Live happily ever after? What were they supposed to do at
this stage in their lives? “Try again.”
    Her little hands curled inward to something nearly like
fists, hiding her short red nails. “You scare me.”
    “I know. I’d be good to you, Lottie. Not perfect, but I’d do
my best to make you smile.”
    She peered up at him with sharp brown eyes. “Do you really
need my help with Hunter and Kata’s house?”
    “What do you think?” He laughed. “I admit that I used it as
a bit of an excuse to spend time with you at first, but now that I’ve seen the
place…”
    “It does need a lot of work.” She wrinkled her nose.
    “A metric shit ton.” He winced. Hell, he wasn’t used to
editing his language anymore. Amanda had always hated his swearing, thought it
uncouth and crass.
    Carlotta just laughed. “A colorful phrase, but you are right.
You have your work cut out for you over the next few weeks. Somehow, I think
getting back to my work as a surgical nurse will be a vacation compared to all
that must be done before anyone can inhabit the house.”
    Absolutely true, but he was having trouble thinking much
past her gorgeous mouth, that lovely, lilting Latina accent...and that tight
sweater cupping her full breasts. Everything about her turned him on.
    “Is that a yes?”
    “Tell me about you and your wife,” she said instead.
    God, the request blindsided him. He didn’t want to talk
about that. What if he just confirmed all her worst suspicions with his
explanations? But she’d been honest with him, damn it. He couldn’t do less.
    “We married too young. Neither of us were good at
communicating. We both made too many assumptions.” He dragged in a rough
breath. “I grew up in a traditional—if loud—house with three brothers, two
sisters, and lots of love. My dad was absolutely the head of the household, and
his word was law. Everyone fought and laughed and roughhoused. Yelling meant
nothing to us since we’ve always been a boisterous lot. Amanda didn’t
understand any of that. She grew up an only child—a surprise baby for very
liberal forty-something parents. Her house was very quiet. No one ever yelled,
well…except her when she wanted her way. Amanda learned early that through
tears and emotional blackmail, she could rule the family. I can’t fault her,
exactly. She was a product of her environment, just as I was a product of mine.
I proposed because she looked hot in a bikini. She married me because I looked
good in a uniform. Looking back, we got together for all the wrong reasons.
When I met her, I was away from home for the first time and I missed my family.
I thought I’d just make my own. She just wanted excitement and to be swept off
her feet. It didn’t work so well when I was deployed more often than not and
she had a baby on each hip and another on the way.”
    “So she was unhappy?”
    To say the least. He nodded. “I tried the only way I knew how to take some of the responsibility
off her shoulders when I was home by taking over. She resented me for coming in
and arranging things the way I wanted before leaving again for months on end. I
didn’t understand that. She complained and cried. Drama didn’t happen in my family.
I didn’t know how to adjust.