Claimed by a Stranger (Craved Series #2) by Hazel Kelly Read Free Book Online Page B

seen.”
    “It’ll all make sense in a second.”
    I couldn’t decide if it was fun that he always left me guessing
or torturous that he was always one step ahead of me.
    A young woman put the bucket down in front of us. “Hi Jack,” she
said, completely ignoring me.
    “Nina, this is Audrey,” he said, gesturing with an open palm.
    Nina looked me up and down like she was thinking about selling
my skin.
    “Audrey, this is Nina,” Jack said. “The best bartender in
Thailand.”
    Nina relaxed her scowl.
    Jack laid some baht on the counter.
    “Your money’s no good here,” she said. “You know that.”
    “It’s not for the beers,” he said. “It’s your tip.”
    Nina pressed her hands together and nodded before making the
money disappear.
    Jack grabbed the bucket. “Follow me.”
    He walked to
the back of the bar and came to a closed door. There was a sign on it that said
something in Thai over the words “No Roof Today.”
     
    He opened it
and headed up the narrow staircase.
     
    Just when I
thought we would never reach the top, Jack stopped walking, pulled out the
keys, and unlocked the door. A burst of fresh air came down the stairwell as I climbed
the last few steps.
     
    When I reached
the roof, I was delighted to discover that all the tacky red lighting was gone
and had been replaced by colorful paper lanterns and plain teak furniture.
There were even a few of those big round day beds with cushions and canopies
that I thought were only for the decks of fancy yachts.
     
    “Wow,” I said
while Jack locked the door behind me. “This is amazing.”
     
    Jack stepped
up beside me. “I’m glad you like it,” he said. “You know, it’s not just any guy
that can reserve a rooftop bar for two in Thailand on short notice.”
     
    “I don’t doubt
that,” I said, walking to the edge of the roof. The breeze was cooler so high
up and the rooftop was one of the highest around. “You can see the whole city
from up here.”
     
    Jack laughed.
“Yep. All twelve blocks of it.”
     
    I looked over
my shoulder in time to see him setting the bucket at the foot of one of the
daybeds.
     
    “Just kidding,”
he said, pulling out two beers and popping the tops off with the opener on the edge
of the bucket. “It’s bigger than that, but not by much.”
     
    “You know all
the best spots in town then, huh?” I asked, leaning against the railing.
     
    He stepped up
and handed me a beer. “I try.”
     
    “Well, I
appreciate you showing them to me.”
     
    Jack smiled
and looked towards the water.
     
    My first sip
of beer turned into a swig when I realized I was thirstier than I thought.
     
    “Audrey,” he
said, leaning against the railing.
     
    “What?”
     
    “Have I mentioned
how glad I am that you hurt yourself while you were snorkeling?”
     
    I laughed.
     
    “Really.”
     
    “I’ve enjoyed
your company, too.”
     
    “I mean it,”
he said, looking at me in that way again, like I was Thumbelina or something. “I
think you’re absolutely enchanting.”
     
    “Thanks.” I
shook my hair over my shoulder and leaned my shoulder against his. “But you don’t
have to try so hard.”
     
    He furrowed
his brows. “You think I’m kidding?”
     
    “I think you
have a thing for American girls and you’re starved for them out here.”
     
    He shook his
head. “That’s not it at all.”
     
    I cocked my
head at him.
     
    “Okay, that’s
absolutely true, but that’s not the whole story.”
     
    “What’s the
whole story?”
     
    “The truth is,
I’ve met plenty of American women in my life, and you’re different.”
     
    “Different?”
     
    “Better.”
     
    I smiled.
“Flattery will get you everywhere,” I said, tilting my beer bottle against my
lips.
     
    “But will it
get you here?”
     
    My beer almost
came out my nose. I pressed the back of my fingers under my nostrils, closing
my eyes while I waited for the sensation of the little burning bubbles to go
away. “Excuse