Advice of Counsel (The Samuel Collins Series Book 1) by Debra Trueman Read Free Book Online

zipper and I was breathing hard just
from kissing her.  I wanted to rip her clothes off and take her right there on
the kitchen floor, but something stopped me.  She wasn’t the kind of girl that
a guy could do that to and hope to see again.  And I definitely wanted to see
her again, and a whole lot more of her for that matter.  Landra Krally was
fun.  And I hadn’t dated anyone who I would classify as fun for a long
time.  Plus, she was a great sparring partner.  Shit, even in the depth and
breadth of a heated kiss, she was trying to one-up me.  Yeah, Landra Krally
could be my girlfriend any day, but I wasn’t about to tell her that.
    “Didn’t your mother ever tell you it’s not safe to seduce a guy
you don’t even know in his own home?”  I was trying to sound serious but I
couldn’t pull it off because I was still laughing.
    “Well, I won’t make a habit of it.”  She ducked under my arm
and retrieved her beer and handed me mine, then she backed me up against the
counter and stood right in front of me, leaning her weight against me.  “If I
can’t be your girlfriend, will you at least ask me out on a date?”
    She was such a tease.  She nuzzled her face against mine and
kissed me so lightly on the lips that it sent goose bumps down my spine.
    “I was waiting for you to ask me.  It’s obvious that you like
to be in control.”
    “Funny, I’ve noticed the same thing about you,” she fired back.
    I pulled her to me and kissed her again, another long drawn-out
one, and when I pulled away from her it was only with considerable effort.
    “Name a time and place and I’ll be there,” I told her.
    “Friday night,” she said smiling.  “You can pick me up at my
house.  Do you have a tux?”
    “For what?”
    “A 50th wedding anniversary party.”
    “You set me up!”
    She gave me a look that included curling her bottom lip into a
pout and batting her eyelashes.  “Pleeeease!”
    I knew I had been conned, but I didn’t care.  In truth, the
idea of going out in public with Landra Krally all dressed up in formal gear
sounded pretty damn good.
    “All right.  But you’ll owe me big time.”
    “You’ll go?” she said, wrapping her arms around my neck again. 
“Awesome!”
    I undraped her arms from my neck.  “Now get out of here and go
home.” I directed her back through the living room towards the door.
    “You’re kicking me out?” she exclaimed, laughing.
    “Damn right,” I said.  The Siamese was sitting on the hearth
again.  “And take that bastard with you.”
    The cat looked at me and hissed, and Landra laughed and scooped
him up in her arms and let him out the front door.  She took my hand and pulled
me down one step below her so that we were eye level with each other, then she
wrapped her arms back around my neck and gave me a good night kiss that somehow
managed to top the first two.  I was about to pull her back inside and take her
straight back to my bedroom, when she abruptly ended the kiss and bounded down
my steps all in one motion.
    “Bye Sam,” she said, without turning back, but I knew she had a
smile on her face because there was laughter in her voice.
    “That’s Samuel to you,” I called out, and I could hear her
laughing as she crossed the street into Mrs. Howard’s yard and disappeared into
the house.
    I went back inside and took a cold shower while I contemplated
how big a fool I was for getting involved with Landra Krally.  But then I
thought . . . Fuck it.  I like her.   Anyway, it wasn’t the first stupid
thing I’d done in my life.   I searched through my closet and found my tux and
set it out so I’d remember to take it to the dry cleaners in the morning, then
I looked through some files I’d brought home from the office.  It was
impossible to concentrate because the kitchen scene kept interrupting my
thoughts.  I couldn’t wait to kiss her again.  I eventually gave up on the
files and went to bed, and when I finally fell