Run the Risk by Lori Foster Page A

all.”
    Pepper couldn’t resist reaching for his wrist, drawing his hand
toward her. At the base of his thumb and halfway up his index finger, purple,
blue and green colored his skin. At the fleshiest part of his thumb, where it
webbed, she saw a puncture.
    “What did you do?” she asked softly, pretending she didn’t
already know.
    “Drove a nail through it.” He curled his fingers around hers.
“It’s fine.”
    “Ouch,” she said in sympathy. The urge to kiss his hand nearly
overwhelmed her. But she didn’t know for sure if Rowdy had followed them, and
she didn’t want to do anything to set off her brother’s temper. When it came to
her, he had enough anger for ten men. “Did you go to the hospital?”
    “No need. I already had a tetanus shot and I didn’t hit
anything vital—just my pride.”
    She smiled with him.
    Almost as a suggestion, he said, “I’ll be off work for a few
days.”
    She waited…for what, she wasn’t sure.
    “I was hoping we could spend more time together.”
    And there it was, the reason for Rowdy’s suspicions. She tried
to think of what to say, tried to muster up the conviction to turn him away.
    He didn’t give her a chance.
    “I have so many things to ask you.”
    Alarm took her breath. “Like what?”
    Teasing, he kissed the end of her nose, then her cheek and
finally her mouth. He lingered, a soft press of lips, breath mingling,
heartbeats accelerating. Finally he sat back. “How is it a woman as shy as you
are has a rubber handy?”
    Oh. Not a horrible question. “I, um…”
    “Why don’t you run in the park instead of on a treadmill?”
    She winced. She knew sooner or later he’d ask about that. “The
thing is…”
    He put a finger to her lips. “And why don’t you realize how
pretty you could be.”
    Could be. Out of all the people
who’d looked past her, even through her, did Logan actually see her, not a
disguise, not the bland facade, but a real woman? The tension left her
shoulders. “Logan.”
    “Not that you aren’t cute now.” He ran the backs of his fingers
over her cheek. “It’s there, even though you don’t want it to be.”
    “It?”
    “Your physical appeal. I know you’d rather I didn’t notice, but
I can’t seem to help it.”
    No, she didn’t want him to see much of anything at all. “I’m
not cute.” She really wasn’t. Not like this. “I have mirrors.”
    Leaning in for another kiss, he murmured, “If you give me a
chance, I can convince you.”
    He was soooo tempting. “A chance…how?”
    His mouth brushed the corner of hers. “Spend some time with me.
We can do dinner out and a movie, or nothing at all. Your choice.”
    “But you want to have sex again?” She could care less about the
other stuff, but the physical intimacy—she craved a repeat performance.
    His mouth quirked. Then he laughed. “Yeah, I wouldn’t object to
it.” He traced a fingertip over her jaw, her chin and down her throat. “It
doesn’t have to be all or nothing, you know. We can mix it up a little.”
    The way he looked at her, almost as if he meant it, as if he
really did think her cute, had her drowning in need. She drew in necessary
oxygen—and her cell phone buzzed in her purse.
    Rowdy.
    Oh, God, she had to get away from Logan, and fast. She didn’t
know if Rowdy was watching them right now, and she didn’t know if Logan realized
her phone was on vibrate. But she’d taken enough chances for one day.
    She opened the door and slid off the seat. “Sorry, but I do
need to go, and no, I don’t want you to wait for me. Please don’t argue with me,
Logan. I want to walk. I need the fresh air.” And then, because that all felt so
abrupt and maybe even unkind, she added, “I’ll see you tonight, okay?”
    Confusion narrowed his eyes. “That was an awful lot, said
awfully quick.”
    “Logan, please. ”
    He searched her face, scowled darkly, and nodded. “All right.
If you’re sure.”
    “I am. Thank you.” She reached for her