Honor Bound by Joey Hill (speld decodable readers .txt) 📕

with to be sure no harm comes to me?”

He looked horrified. “Uh, no.”

She laid a hand on his arm. “I’m a grown woman. And I’m not stupid. I can handle this.”

He shook his head. “I know you think this is a great idea. But there has to be a better way to jump back on the horse again.”

“If I knew a better way, I’d do it. I’d have already done it.”

“Need it that bad?”

She laughed, and at the same time heat pooled low in her belly. Talking sex with Clay made her body heat up. They’d never had a conversation this . . . personal, this intimate before. He wasn’t a “best friend” kind of man. He was a man. All man. Hot, sexy, but their conversations were usually all business. She’d never thought of him in that way other than the occasional admiration for his body, his looks, the way he commanded a room and the men who worked for him. She’d learned a lot watching him, and maybe while watching him she’d had a feminine appreciation for him as a man.

But in her life there’d always been James. And she’d loved James with her whole heart.

So no other man had attracted her.

But James had been gone for five years now. And in the last year or so, she might have started noticing Clay as more than a business associate. Still, she’d never once thought . .

.

Yet here she was in Hawaii, talking about sex with him. Not just sex in general, but her sex life. Or rather, her not-quite-but-impending sex life. The whole thing was surreal.

“I might be able to help you.”

Finally. “Great. What do you suggest?”

“What about me?”

Her heart dropped to her stomach. “What?”

“You can have sex with me.”

Her throat had gone dry. Where was that glass of wine now? “Are you kidding me?”

His smile died. “I never joke about sex.”

She’d just bet he didn’t. He probably took it very seriously. She could already imagine . .

.

No. No way. Oh, definitely no way. “I . . . We . . . Oh, hell, no.”

She clamped her mouth shut. Way to insult a man’s ego, Ella.

But instead he tilted his head back and laughed. “So, you think I’m repulsive.”

“Oh, God. No. I didn’t mean that at all. I think you’re hot, Clay. Any woman would want to have sex with you. I mean, you probably have women falling all over themselves wanting to . . .”

Again . . . she clamped her lips shut when she saw the grin on his face. “I think I should just shut up now.”

He walked his fingers along the flesh of her back. “No, you’re doing great. Keep going.”

She shivered at his touch. Shawn hadn’t elicited one-tenth of the response in her that Clay did. This was bad. Really bad. “Don’t you see how this couldn’t work?”

“No.”

“We work together. We own competing businesses.”

“So?”

“We’d have to face each other . . . afterward.”

“So?”

She blew out a frustrated breath. “It would be awkward. Plus, what would everyone think?”

“Are you going to tell them?”

“Oh, my God, no.”

“Neither will I. What goes on between you and me is just that . . . between you and me.

And why would you feel awkward about having some fun?”

Dammit. He made it sound so logical. “Clay, you’re too . . . f amiliar.”

“Huh?”

“I know you. You’re too close. The last thing I need for this is someone I know.”

“I disagree. That’s exactly what you need right now.”

Clay watched the mix of emotions on Ella’s face, and still couldn’t believe he’d offered himself up as . . . what? Stud? Sex partner? Hell, even he didn’t know. He just knew he’d seen red when that guy had pushed her too hard. And he’d be damned if he was going to let some other guy touch her.

Unfamiliar territory. He’d come here to make sure she was okay. And she had been handling the situation okay, but he’d wanted to knock that guy hard—like onto the next island. The only thing that had stopped him was Ella standing there.

And then listening to her talk about wanting to have sex with some random guy?

Oh, hell, no. But he hadn’t known he wanted the guy to be himself until tonight, until he’d seen another man kiss her, put his hands on her. He knew then that the only man he wanted touching her was . . . him.

“You need someone you know, someone you trust, someone who can lead you back into sex and expect nothing in return.”

She tilted her head to the side, exposing her neck. He wanted to kiss her neck. Okay, he wanted to start there, then put his mouth all over her.

“Yes. But that’s my whole point. Someone who expects nothing in return. That’s the great thing about anonymity.”

“Anonymity can also be dangerous. That’s where the trust is lacking. You can’t trust a stranger. A stranger doesn’t know you.”

“And you do.”

“You know I do. I’ll also keep you safe.”

She sighed. “Okay, I hadn’t thought about that part. I was just so excited about this trip I hadn’t thought about the danger aspects. Stupid, I know.” She looked down at her hands.

“It’s just that I’ve finally started to feel whole again. And that took a long time after James died. I never thought I’d ever want to be with another man after him.”

“But now you do.”

“Yes and no. I don’t want to fall in love again.” She lifted her gaze to his, and his gut clenched at the sincerity in her big brown eyes. “I can’t ever love anyone like I loved James.”

“But it’s not love you’re after. It’s sex.”

“Yes. Lately it’s all I’ve been able to think about. And all I want is meaningless sex.”

He slid his fingers under her hair and teased the nape of her neck. Her hair was soft, her skin even softer. “Sex is never meaningless, Ella. Or it shouldn’t be. And I’d be really disappointed if that’s what you’re going for.”

She snorted. “Oh, right. I’m