Fangs for Nothing by Erin McCarthy, Kathy Love Read Free Book Online Page B

ground in front of her. Yeah, nowhere in sight.
    Great.
    She lowered her glass and continued to stare at him, but now she no longer looked flirty and determined. She looked angry and determined.
    Shit, maybe a spurned dominatrix was scarier than a horny one.
    Yeah, definitely time to go talk to the cute caterer in the kitchen.
    The brunette was easy to find. She stood at a stainless steel counter that was littered with dirty dishes, utensils, and trays of food in various stages of preparation. She swiped at her bangs with the back of her wrist, the movement tired and a little agitated, then she started dolloping some kind of sauce onto minicrepes.
    He walked up behind her.
    “Hey,” he said, keeping his voice low and gentle, not wanting to startle her. She seemed tense enough. But his strategy didn’t work.
    A small, surprised squeak escaped her, and she dropped the spoon she held. It clattered against the metal mixing bowl, then disappeared into the creamy concoction.
    “Damn it,” she muttered as she spun around to face him. Her startled expression quickly transformed to one of utter annoyance, but she quickly suppressed that look behind a mask of stoicism. Although her blue eyes still flashed with irritation.
    Such blue eyes. The same bright, vivid blue as a clear summer sky. Or at least as he remembered it.
    Shit, this woman was furious and he was thinking about her eyes. That was as crazy as everything else about the wedding. Or maybe it just further validated that he needed a little adult fun—with a woman like this. Adorable with big, blue eyes, pink lips, a pert little nose, and curves in all the right places.
    “I’m sorry, sir,” she said stiffly, “I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
    “Sir? What happened to ‘sugar pie,’ cupcake?” he teased, but if the flash of irritation in her eyes was any indication, she didn’t appreciate his joke.
    “Fine, sugar pie, I need you to leave. Only employees are allowed in the kitchen.”
    “I understand, but I really wanted to apologize to you and explain my actions. I shouldn’t have kissed you like that, but it was an impulse.”
    “Well, I’m glad you cleared that up for me,” she said with feigned sincerity. “Otherwise I would have gone through my life thinking you had plotted that out for weeks. Now if you don’t mind, I really do need to work.”
    Instead, Drake chuckled at her sassiness. “You’re funny.”
    “No, I’m busy.” She turned back to the counter and reached for a new serving spoon.
    But Drake wasn’t about to be dismissed so easily. This woman really did intrigue him. So instead he moved beside her, leaning a hip on the stainless steel counter.
    She attempted to ignore him, probably hoping if she didn’t acknowledge his presence, he’d get bored and wander away. And often he probably would have, but he wanted this woman and as flighty as he could be about some things, he could be very tenacious when he wanted something . . . or someone.
    The brunette finally stopped scooping the filling onto the crepes and turned back to him. “I accepted your apology, why are you still here?”
    He smiled at her brusque words. She was an interesting combination, physically all sweet and soft looking, but her personality was brisk and blunt—maybe with a hint of sarcasm.
    “I wasn’t actually done explaining why I behaved so badly,” he said.
    “You know, your explanation worked just fine for me. I’m good.” She lifted the spoon again and returned her attention to her work.
    “But I don’t want you to think I’m some creep who just goes around kissing woman unsolicited.”
    “Too late.”
    Drake chuckled again. She was a delight.
    “I did have a good reason. I was actually trying to dissuade unwanted attention from that woman who was standing beside me.”
    “You’re right,” she said, not pausing her work to look at him. “That totally makes me think you aren’t a creep. Why not just tell the woman you aren’t