Page 9 of Love Without Demands

The driver was standing ramrod straight in a blackBouviersuit with a crisp white shirt and black tie. One thick finger reached up and tugged at his collar, and I got the feeling he wasn’t accustomed to wearing a suit.

His skin was deeply tanned, like maybe he was Italian or Latino. He sported coal-black hair that was cut short, but I could tell it would curl if he let it grow out. To top off the look, he had absolutely the most perfect mouth I’d ever seen on a man. A well-defined Cupid’s bow topped lips so full I wondered if he’d had lip injections.Do guys get lip filler?I mused. I didn’t see why not.

The man I assumed was Cruz lowered the tugging hand to clasp its mate in front of his crotch, and if he wasn’t wearing a custom-tailored suit jacket, I knew the fabric would have bunched over those broad shoulders. I couldn’t see his eyes because they were covered by classic Ray-Ban Clubmastersunglasses, but based on his appearance, I assumed they were brown.

As soon as I talked my feet into walking, his head swiveled instantly in my direction. “Hi,” I said as I approached. “Are you Cruz?”

“I am, and are you, um, Leer-a? Did I say that correctly?”

“Close. It rhymes with Sara.”

He pronounced it again, correctly this time, and the sound of his voice reminded me of s’mores. Sweet marshmallow and warm chocolate melting onto a crisp graham cracker.

Oh jeez. Poetic much, you weirdo?

“I’m Cruz Estrada.” He held out a hand, and I placed mine in it, instantly feeling like a child shaking an adult’s hand. Then he smiled and pushed his sunglasses up, giving me his eyes and showing off his… dammit,dimples.

Well, that was just too damn much. Someone stop the Earth’s rotation and let me climb off because it’s not fair that I should have to live on the same planet with a man who possessed so many gorgeous features. The audacity of him!

A current of something hot and indistinct pulsed between us as our gazes held. His eyes were blue, not brown like I expected; a thick ring of navy surrounding a shocking azure toward the middle.

Stop staring at the pretty man’s eyes, Lehra. Abort! Abort!

To distract myself, I looked back down at his lips. “Do you get lip injections?” I heard someone ask and glanced around to see who had asked such a presumptuous question.

Yeah, it turned out that was me.

Someone. Anyone. Please. Stick a dirty, dirty sock in my mouth to shut me the hell up.

For fuck’s sake.

Chapter 2

A laugh started deepin my chest and rumbled up my throat at her question. “Not since I was four.”

Lehra’s big eyes widened, and she blinked those long lashes a few times in surprise. I had the strangest urge to feather my thumb along the tips to see if they felt as soft as they looked.Dude, that would be weird.

“Oh, well. Okay.” She appeared confused by that revelation.

Leaning toward her a little, I caught the scent of summertime and wondered if it was her as I pointed to my bottom lip. “I was running when my mama told me not to and busted my lip open. I got a numbing shot and two stitches.”

She craned her head closer and inspected the tiny scar.Yes, that’s definitely her fragrance. Something light and breezy with a hint of… pineapple?

“Wow, the scar perfectly bisects your bottom lip and turns it into two pretty pillows.” Then a scowl formed on her pretty face, and she shook her head. “Are you carrying a firearm?”

I couldn’t quite keep up with this chick, but I shot a surreptitious glance around at the people filing past us. No one seemed to be paying us any attention. My gaze came back to her because it was difficult to look away from her for very long.

A heart-shaped face was set off by her ash-gray eyes, which were framed by long, inky lashes. Her skin was a few shades lighter than her blonde hair, which fell below her shoulders in bouncy curls.

“I am,” I whisper.

“Good. Could you shoot me in the mouth so I’ll stop saying embarrassing shit?”

A quick bark of laughter popped from my lips before I could stop it. “Afraid not, Lehra, and don’t worry about it. I appreciate honesty.”

“There’s a difference between honesty and saying everything that pops into your head. I just called your lipspretty pillows,” she informed me, propping her hands on her slim waist. That gesture drew my eyes down, and my tongue instantly found my bottom lip, working forward and back over the scar in the center.

This girl is fucking breathtaking.I’d been so focused on her perfect face that I hadn’t noticed the body, but I’ll be damned if I wasn’t noticing it now.

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