The Shifter Romances The Writer (Nocturne Falls Book 6) by Kristen Painter

felt a little like snooping. Or checking her out. Why else would a guy read a romance? Although he was pretty sure he’d get a few more chapters under his belt before he called it quits. Or maybe he’d read to the end. Which was more likely. “They should be here soon. Are you starving? I might have a PowerBar or something.”
    She laughed. “No, I’m good. A PowerBar.” She shook her head. “You’re such a guy.”
    He got the lemonade out of the fridge. “Is that a good thing? Because my options are pretty limited.”
    “Yes, it’s a good thing. Hey, speaking of guys, where’s Diego?”
    And so the lying began. “Oh, sorry, he’s not going to be here after all. Howler’s called him in. One of their bartenders came down with the flu or something, so they decided to put him to work tonight.”
    She gave him a look. “So we’re celebrating Diego’s new job without Diego actually being here?”
    Alex nodded slowly. “To be perfectly honest, I’m more excited about him having a job than he is. You know this is the first time I’ve had my house to myself since he moved in?”
    Her brows lifted. “Does that mean you want me to leave?”
    “No.” He winked at her. “I can’t eat all that pizza by myself.” Then he realized she might feel uncomfortable alone with him in his house. “That is, as long as you want to stay?”
    She leaned against his kitchen counter. “And miss out on that hot tub? No way.”
    “Good. Ready to try the lemonade?”
    “Absolutely. If I’m going off my diet, I might as well have something cold to wash it down with.”
    He shook his head as he got two big tumblers out of the cabinet. “What’s up with all the dieting talk? Seriously, you look fantastic. I hope it’s not too forward of me to say, but you have a rocking body.”
    When he turned around, she was staring at him. He filled the tumblers and handed her one. “Did I cross a line? You look upset.”
    She took the glass from him. “Not upset. Just…not used to those kinds of compliments.”
    He frowned. “Are you kidding? You were married.”
    “ Were being the operative word.” She stared at the drink in her hand, and her gaze took on a faraway haze. “He wasn’t…kind that way. He wasn’t a lot of things.”
    The doorbell rang, preventing Alex from asking any more questions. He paid for the pizzas, brought them back to the kitchen and set them on the counter. Roxy still didn’t look like her usual happy self, and he felt awful for being the one to bring up bad memories of her ex.
    He decided that made it his job to cheer her up. “I’ll be right back.”
    She looked up. “Okay.”
    He jogged back to his bedroom, threw on his trunks, then took two big towels from the linen closet and tucked them under his arm. Plan in motion, he returned to the kitchen.
    Her brows rose at the sight of him shirtless.
    He smiled as he strode past her and grabbed one of the pizza boxes and the pitcher of lemonade. “I say we eat this pizza in the hot tub. You in?”
    Her slightly dazed expression turned into a grin. “Yeah, I’m in.”
    “Great. Grab the glasses since I’ve got the pitcher.” It was impossible to be sad in a hot tub eating pizza. He opened the slider with one finger, then shoved it back with his hip. His feline senses picked up her pulse increasing like the beat of a distant drum. He hoped that was because she was happy and not worried about anything.
    He guessed he’d find out soon enough.

The lemonade was a great idea, because Roxy needed something to cool down the fire burning inside her. Alex with his shirt off was almost enough to make her pass out. It was like one of her cover models had stepped off of their book. But better.
    She stared at the open sliding door, the sounds of sloshing reaching her ears. Alex was already in the water. Waiting for her.
    Her heart was racing, her palms were sweaty and she was about to strip down to her bathing suit and get into the outdoor equivalent of a bath