Convincing Lina: A Bachelor of Shell Cove Novel (The Bachelors of Shell Cove Romance Book 2) by Siera London Page A

blood. He paled watching the sushi chef.  
    “We should look into installing a home security system as soon as possible. I didn’t find a control panel when I searched the home. I will research–”  
    “What was it that you needed?” She interrupted. He’d been kind. But tonight, of all nights, she couldn’t tolerate a promise of support that would be forgotten in the morning light. She didn’t want to repay him with rudeness, but men offered her the fairytale and didn’t deliver. She’d fallen for enough unicorns to last her a life time.
    “I want something.” Would he hit on her now? So far, he’d gotten everything he wanted from her today. The man fast chant stopped and the booty call alert began. She shouldn’t be disappointed that he was interested in her body, but a part of her wanted him to crave her heart more than the hips. She had to give him props, he was unsuspectingly smooth and calculating. She liked him. Steeling her spine she tamped down her desire and prepared to push him away. Send him home after a lesson in urge control and keeping his priorities in order.  
    “A towel, beach sized if you have one.”  
    “Towel?” He stood there looking like a super-sized bottle of sex, and she was vulnerable and ripe for the taking and he wanted a towel?  
    “It’s a useful item following a shower, but I can air dry if you don’t use them.”  
    He missed the memo. He was supposed to be flirting, taking the edge off the evening, so she could turn him down and send him packing. Maybe if she flirted a little, she’d close her eyes tonight and not have nightmares. She was more than a little perplexed. Looking up at him, the deep smile lines bracketing his mouth told her that he knew the direction of her thoughts.  
    “Grab a set out of my closet,” she said in a casual tone. She placed one hand on her hip, and then pointed to the closet with the other. He openly grinned at her then. Oh my goosebumps, he was a gorgeous specimen of manhood.  
    “Ooh, closet privileges,” he joked. He placed a chaste kiss on her forehead before moving away. If he only knew how close she was to giving him full access. To everything. He crossed the three feet to her closet in two steps, disappearing from sight. Tempted to massage the conciliatory kiss into her skin, she started tugging at her jewelry dropping it in the footed silver bowl on her bedside table. Bothered by Gideon’s lack of flirting, Lina was cranky, her skin felt too tight. Quelling the urge to walk into that closet and straight into his arms, she sank into the bedside chair. Dropping her head to her knees, she rubbed her damp palms up and down her shins, willing herself to breathe. In and out, nice and slow. She was stressed and her previous form of release was off limits for the next twenty-nine days. How could she keep it together, when her biggest temptation was three feet away and untouchable?

Chapter 7

    Gideon was born on the wrong side of the economic tracks. Once he left Waverly Falls he learned the hard way that it was easier to bury the original rails and lay down new tracks far away from where you started, than try to convince people of your worth. But frugality he learned as a child never left him. He recognized fine quality in clothing, cars, and food.
    Lina’s closet, on the other hand, could make a guest appearance on Keeping Up with The Kardishians . He had never been in a woman’s closet before, hers seemed to brim with couture designs. The cherry wood shelving and glass doors resembled an episode from one of those remodel house shows.  
    He had shared a closet with a woman, but stepping into Lina’s closet was similar to experiencing who she was through fabric and color. Her shoe cabinet was anchored from ceiling to floor on the rear wall. The shoes were color coordinated by seasons. Racks of clothing hung from light to dark according to length. Two jewelry cases adorned a chest of drawers in the center of the space. As a