The Sweetest Seduction (The Kelly Brothers, Book 1) by Crista McHugh

the covers up over them, and lay on his side. “Whatever you were saying, it was damn sexy.”
    She rolled over and grinned, bunching the covers up over her breasts in an unexpected display of shyness. “I suppose I just lost control of myself.”
    “Don’t ever apologize for that.” He smoothed her hair back off her forehead and placed a kiss there. “At least, not in the bedroom.”
    Her shoulders relaxed, but her smile faded as she watched him, growing more sober. “I meant what I said when I first arrived here tonight.”
    He flashed back to her rushed declaration that she refused to sleep with him to keep her restaurant. His hand stilled. Why would she be bringing that up now? The events of the night fast-forwarded through his mind, pausing at the moment where he cautioned her that he would have to let go of her soon. He’d wanted her to know that as much as he desired her, he wasn’t going to push the issue of taking things to the next level.
    No, she’d been the one to initiate things. She’d been the one who’d kissed him, even after he’d warned her that he wouldn’t be able to refuse her if she did. And now she was the one reminding him that what they’d just shared could have ulterior motives.
    He searched her face for any signs of manipulation, any self-congratulatory smirks. Instead, he saw only fear and uncertainty. His doubts eased. Whatever had prompted her to make the first move, it wasn’t an act of guile. “I know,” he said at last.
    The corners of her full mouth rose. “Thank you.”
    “No, I should be the one thanking you.” His body still hummed with pleasure. His eyes feasted on the beautiful woman in his bed. He had to be the luckiest son of a bitch in the world right now.
    “You sound like you didn’t expect us to end up here.” She wiggled closer to him, giving him a sultry glance through her lashes that matched the flirtatious tone in her voice. “I thought you always got what you wanted.”
    “I think this was the first time I was worried about it,” he teased back.
    He ran his finger along her jaw, his confidence faltering by the time he reached her chin. A strange pressure filled his chest as he looked into those deep green eyes. He could fall in love with Lia right now if he wasn’t careful, and mixing business with pleasure could be dangerous. Very dangerous.
    She bit her bottom lip as though she could see the turmoil raging inside him. It was a delicate game they were playing, one that involved both their heads and their hearts, and they’d just placed all their chips on the table.
    The ring of a cell phone shattered the silence. Lia jumped back, pulling the covers up over her shoulders. Adam closed his eyes, praying it wasn’t what he thought it was.
    The familiar chords of “Bad to the Bone” rocked through his bedroom once again, and Adam cursed under his breath. That was Frank’s ringtone, and Frank only called for one reason.
    “Sorry, but I have to take this.” He slipped his jeans on and waited until he was in the living room before fishing his cell out of his pocket and answering, “This had better be important, Frank.”
    “Would I bother you if it wasn’t?” his younger brother asked. “I’m in a bit of a bind, and I sure could use your help.”
    Adam sank down on the couch and pressed his palm against his temple. What had started out as a dream evening was quickly turning into a nightmare. “What did you do this time?”
    The sixth of the seven Kelly boys, Frank was the only one who’d inherited their grandmother’s red hair and Irish temper to match. Of course, that also meant he could turn on the Irish charm when he wanted, like now. “I was just at a club, minding my own business, when these two guys came up to me and started giving me a hard time for flirting with one of the girls.”
    Adam groaned. He’d heard this story more times than he cared to count. “And let me guess—one thing led to another, right?”
    “Hey, they