Dirty Trick by Christine Bell Read Free Book Online Page B

courage to get past her nerves, it couldn’t hurt.
    He walked toward her and laid the pillows on the ground at their feet. When he took the bottle from her, she didn’t resist. “I didn’t get any wine glasses, so we’ll have to rough it,” he said with a smile. He yanked out the cork and handed it back to her.
    “That’s okay. Considering you had your tongue in my mouth a minute ago, and that we’re about to…” The muscles in her throat worked beneath the delicate ivory skin, and he couldn’t stop himself from reaching out to her. From tracing the spot with the tip of his finger. She shuddered and swallowed again, hard. “Look, I don’t want to scare you away, but it’s been a long time since I’ve done this. I know I’m acting weird, but, frankly, I don’t know how to stop it.”
    “Don’t worry about anything. We don’t even have to go there. Let’s just hang out and see what happens, okay? Stars are bright tonight.” He shrugged off his leather jacket, tossed it onto the floor, and held out his hand. “Come on.”
    She slipped her fingers into his and sank into a seated position on his coat, fidgeting to make sure her skirt covered as much of her as possible, which wasn’t much. He lowered himself next to her, and then reclined backward until his head was propped on the pillows. Her back stayed ramrod straight for a second before she sucked in a deep breath and took a long swig from the bottle. She swiped a hand over her mouth, setting the bottle onto the stone with a clink, then stretched out next to him. Flat on her back, stiff as a board.
    “So, um,” she said, shifting to get comfortable. “What do you do for a living, other than fight crime and hunt gazelles or whatever?”
    Her tone was so bright it was almost brittle, so he moved closer until their arms were touching. She’d been soft as butter when he’d held her on the dance floor earlier. Maybe talking was only going to make things worse. He thought of how to frame his answer without lying to her, but she saved him from the effort.
    “You know what? Don’t tell me. As long as you’re not a serial killer, I don’t really care.”
    “I’m definitely not a serial killer. But I hate to tell you, your interview process is flawed. I would’ve answered the same way even if I was .”
    That got the desired chuckle from her and some of the tension seemed to flow out of her. “You were right, the stars are gorgeous tonight,” she murmured. Her fingers twitched against his knuckles, and he took her hand.
    “That cluster is Cassiopeia,” he said, tracing a pattern of white light in the inky sky. “The goddess of war. She hunts wild boar with her bow and arrow to feed her army of warriors.”
    “Wow, really?”
    “No. Not really. I have no clue what that constellation is. Or who Cassiopeia is, for that matter.” He shrugged. “But I’m a gambling man. I figured you didn’t know either, and maybe I could impress you.” He rolled to his side and raised his brows. “Are you impressed?”
    This time she laughed loudly, his favorite laugh. The one that shook her whole, curvy frame. The one he would have donned a goddamned jester’s cap and curly-tipped shoes to coax from her. What a fucking sap. Pussy-whipped beyond all recognition without ever having had a taste of the pussy. But even that knowledge didn’t stop the warmth in his chest from spreading.
    She flipped onto her hip to face him and grinned. “Actually, I am kind of impressed. I couldn’t have come up with BS like that on the fly. You should be a lawyer. Or maybe you are?” She eyed him speculatively.
    “Nope. Not even close. Nice try, though.” He tucked a curl behind her ear and leaned in close enough for that gardenia shampoo to tickle his nostrils. “I’m more of a hands-on kind of guy.” The wail of the horns in the background seemed louder, the music just a little sexier, as he waited to see if she was ready to take the bait.
    “I see no evidence of