Shayla's Story (The Mathews/Clemmins Family Series) by Beverly Preston

closer to her face, giving her no
other choice but to move over and allow him to sit beside her. Sliding across
the leather, Shayla allowed her gaze to drift down his jean denim clad hips
lowering to take his seat.
    Shayla grimaced,
silently huddling next to the window, huffily crossing one leg over the other
and both arms across her chest.
    “How long is the
flight, Shayla?” He pronounced her name mockingly, provoking Shayla’s anger.
    She lowered the
armrest between them and narrowed her eyes in a glare of resentment. “Fourteen
hours, John .” Unable to stop herself,
she continued with her own jab. “Or should I call you, Rocky ?”
    Offhanded amusement
wandered across his lips. “Is that what this is about?”
    “How about Muhammad Ali or Sugar Ray ?”
    Their gazes battled
for a long moment.  
    John’s haughty grin
widened at her irritancy. “Tom got off pretty lucky…considering.” His voice was
thick with insinuation.
    “Considering!” She
gasped, unable to hold back an unnerving glare. “My uncle didn’t do anything to
you and you…you attacked him!”
    John twisted,
leaning on the armrest to get closer. “I had plenty of reasons to kick his
ass.” His lips pulled back full, exposing a sexy white smile that would’ve made
most women eagerly line up at the sperm bank. “I thought he cheated on my
mother.”
    “You beat him up for
no reason.” Her heartbeat slammed against her chest and dampness gathered at
the nape of her neck.
    He scoffed with a
long, graceful shrug of his muscular shoulder. “I didn’t beat him up. I just
punched him a few times.”
    “You gave him two
huge black eyes!” She fumed. Shayla, who’d never in her life laid a hand on
anyone, reached out and poked him in the chest. “You’re lucky you didn’t break
his nose. Do you have any idea how horrible that would’ve been? Do you? He
makes his living off his face!”
    John glanced
comically at the crinkle in his shirt left by the imprint of her finger. He
moved closer, inches from her face. “Lucky for him it was a misunderstanding.
If he really had cheated on my mother,”—he backed away with an arrogant
grin—“well…”
    “Well, what?” Shayla
swallowed hard, peering into the most gorgeous emerald eyes looming near the
shade of vibrant moss.
    “Well let’s just say
he’d probably require plastic surgery.” A smirk curled at the edge of his mouth
as he took in every nuance of her angered face. Each muscle on her face strung
tight with revulsion. His smile broadened. John rested his large palm on her
forearm, “Calm down, I’m only messing with you a bit.”
    Annoyed, she
squirmed free of his touch, the tenderness of it tingling all the way to her
toes. Staring at his chiseled face, Shayla felt her rigid composure chipping
away.
    Untailored charm
caressed every inch of his long athletic physique. His grin softened at her
silence, causing her chest to feel tight and warm. A small horizontal scar
above his left cheek captured her attention. She wondered who in their right
mind would be tough enough to go toe-to-toe with this man.
    “Tom and I are
fine.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “I like him, and better yet, my mother is
crazy about him. That’s what’s important.” He paused. “As long as he doesn’t
hurt her.”
    Her lip snarled at
his warning, but her concern quickly shifted hearing the words doggie bag
coming from the seats in front of them. Tracy asked the attendant for a short
list of items, cool rag, clear soda and a few crackers.
    “Is she gonna be all
right?”
    “JC has a severe
fear of flying. Take off is the worst part. She’ll be okay after we get in the
air.” Worry pinched his forehead. Powerful muscles shaped his long legs as he
inched forward, straddling JC’s seat from behind. Tucking his arms around the
chair from both sides, he massaged her shoulders.
    JC released a long
shaky sigh.
    “It’s okay, sis,
just relax. Close your eyes and take a deep breath,” he said