Page 16 of Expiry Dating

“I ... I have to go,” she stuttered, still catching her breath.

He didn’t move but did allow her to walk away. She didn’t look back. She couldn’t.

CHAPTER SIX

He hadn’t meant to kiss her. Sure, he’d thought about it. What kind of red-blooded man wouldn’t wonder what Alice Hart’s rosy lips tasted like? Just because she annoyed the hell out of him, didn’t mean he hadn’t noticed that she was sexy as fuck.

What he really needed to do, though, was to stop thinking about her. Stop thinking of how soft her body felt against his, how sweet her lips tasted, and the tiny whimpers she made that he took great pleasure in swallowing.

Goddamnit.

In an attempt to rid Alice Hart from his subconscious, Brady had thrown himself into his home renovations. Any minute he wasn’t on duty, he was trying to work off his newfound energy with some good old-fashioned manual labour.

Finally, he managed to pry the last bathroom tile off the wall. He celebrated by wiping the sweat off his forehead with the bottom of his T-shirt, a T-shirt he wasn’t quite sure a wash would be able to salvage. He caught his reflection in the cabinet mirror and winced at what he saw. It had been five days since he’d seen Alice and five days since he’d had a full night’s sleep. Manual labour only seemed to help when he was awake. As soon as he closed his eyes, she was there again.

While he contemplated his sorry state, the roar of an engine outside pulled his attention to the window. It looked like an old Ford truck was parking just outside his house.

Who the hell is this?

Not expecting a visitor, he went straight for the stairs, cursing to himself about the fact he needed to interact with another human being on his day off. When he swung the front door open, he stood there frozen for a moment, startled by the sight.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

Ace chuckled, not in the least bit affected by the anger lacing Brady’s words.

“Nice to see you too, brother.”

Ace wasn’t his biological brother of course, but he was the closest thing Brady had to one. That was probably why being discharged had stung as much as it did. The Marine Corps hadn’t only given Brady a career, it had given him a family too.

Before he could answer, Ace had him pulled into a hug and was clapping him on the back. Brady couldn’t deny he’d missed his friend. They’d gone from seeing each other every day to months of no contact. That’s not to say Ace hadn’t called when he could. He had. In fact, Brady had been the one to distance himself from him and his other brothers. Talking to them only reminded him of the life he’d lost.

“Seriously, man, why the hell are you here?”

Ace released him and took his time inspecting Brady’s dishevelled appearance. “You think I’d leave you swinging in the wind? By the looks of it, I got here just in time.” He shot him a smirk.

“You’re fucking hilarious. I’m in the middle of fixing up the house. Get your ass inside so I can have a beer while you explain why you’re really here.”

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