Getting Hot (Jail Bait Book 3) by Mia Storm Read Free Book Online Page B

so my days are swallowed up in a blur of useless information. I went to the park with my guitar after school yesterday and found a bench near the play structure at the top of the hill, hoping the moms and dads there with their screaming kids might find the music soothing and tip well. I made twelve dollars in two hours. So I had no choice but to break my vow to stay clear of Bran. I’d convinced myself that I could be in his presence and not be affected. I’d told myself he’s just a player, like half the guys in my high school, only with more experience—that he looked at every other woman in the bar the same way he looked at me.
    I was wrong.
    The heat in his gaze has nearly scorched me every time his eyes scour my body. I feel like I’ve spent the last three hours in a sauna. When he looks at the redhead, there’s no fire in his eyes. Not even a simmer.
    So what does that mean? And the bigger question: how does he look at Destiny?
    I don’t really want to be anywhere near Bran when Destiny’s there. I know how my body reacts to his presence and there’s no way I could hide it from my sister. They’ve slept together. Now that I know that, I thought I’d see Bran in a new light. I thought that would stop the flood of hormones he seems to unleash in me.
    Not so much.
    I shouldn’t have come back, but until I can find an actual job, I need the money.
    He sets the drink on a bar napkin and pushes it across to the redhead. She sips it and her red lips pull into a lascivious smile. “Perfect.”
    I yank my bag off the bar and head for the door.
    “Lilah!” Bran calls from behind me. When I turn, he’s rounding the end of the bar, moving toward me. He stops just in front of me and it feels like I’m caught in a solar flare. “You’ll be here tomorrow?”
    “Unless I get a better offer,” I say, flicking a glance at the redhead, who’s watching us with dagger eyes.
    He nods slowly. “Just checking.”
    I spin for the door, because the redhead at the bar might have gotten the drink, but I’m the one getting wet. And that can’t happen. “I’ll tell Destiny you say hi.”
    When I hit the sidewalk, I take a second to catch the breath Bran stole from me, then try to clear my head.
    It’s still spinning when a voice comes from behind me. “Hey.”
    I turn, expecting Bran, but instead see the guy Bran threw out. His friends are nowhere to be seen.
    “Hi.”
    “You’re probably thinking I’m some kinda stalker,” he says, his words fuzzy with alcohol.
    I hug my guitar case in front of me like a shield. “The thought crossed my mind.”
    He holds up his hands. “I just wanted to apologize.”
    “For…?”
    He takes a step toward me. “I was a dick in there. It’s my birthday and the guys were buying me drinks. I guess I had a few too many.”
    “Happy birthday,” I say without moving.
    He laughs. “Would have been better if I coulda not gotten my ass booted outa there.”
    “So, was he right? Were you lying about the Army?”
    His smile turns sheepish. “Yeah.”
    “So, what’s the real story?”
    “Where you headed?” he asks, instead of answering.
    “Home.”
    “I’ll walk with you and tell you the whole sad story.”
    Does this guy seriously think he’s coming home with me?
    “You know what?” I say, my hand rifling through my bag. “I left my keys on the bar.”
    “I’ll wait,” he says as I back toward the door.
    The redhead is still at the bar and one boob, partially encased in a black lace bra, has fully escaped her shirt now. Bran is leaning toward her on his elbows and she’s laughing shamelessly at something he said. He smiles…until he sees me standing in the door.
    Carol’s passing by with a tray of drinks and stops. “Hey, hon. Everything okay?”
    “Yeah. Just waiting out the creep Bran threw out of here earlier.”
    Her eyes widen. “What do you mean, waiting out?”
    “He’s out there,” I say with a jerk of my thumb at the door.
    “Seriously,” she says,