Hard Time (Hard as Nails #1) by Hope Conrad Read Free Book Online

mind are turning faster than leaves in a hurricane. To get what I want, every single move I make needs to be calculated. I need to understand why Katie went to bat for me in that office, because right now it doesn’t make sense. As much as I want to believe she did it because she wants and needs me the same way I want and need her, the rational side of my brain seems to know better.
    But more importantly, now that I’ve got one foot in the door, I need to see how far I can push her. It will be the ultimate test for the both of us.
    You can tell a whole lot about who people are by how much they let you push them
    In a hurry, without any more care for the appropriate placement of the books any longer, I shove the last three books in a row at the end of the aisle, brush my palms against my jeans and begin to make my way to the front of the shop.
    When I reach the end of the aisle, I halt and park myself against the shelves. I peek around the corner to find Katie’s face buried in a book that rests open on the counter top. She’s lost in the pages of the story, and I’m lost in her innocent beauty. She’s gorgeous, fragile-looking even, but her strength is obvious in the fitness of her limbs and the scars on her arms. There’s a strong dichotomy between her face and body; like she’s lived a hard life but her softness and femininity will always shine through the darkness.
    “It feels like I’m doing all the work,” I say, and she lifts her head from the book she’s currently devouring. “Doesn’t seem quite fair.”
    “Interesting point of view.” She sticks a bookmark in the pages of her book and closes it.
    I step to the counter and take a quick peek at the book she had been reading; a sweet, southern romance. I’m immediately suspicious. “That doesn’t seem like the type of book you’d be interested in.”
    “Remember when you said you know me?”
    I answer with a simple nod.
    “It would appear that you were wrong.”
    “Was I?” I step around the counter, and behind her. I can feel her unease as she flinches ever so slightly forward, and away from me. I reach my arm around her, to make her believe I’m going to touch her, but in reality, I’m simply reaching for something else. A book I had seen her stash underneath the register in a little cubby earlier. I grab it and toss it onto the counter. On the cover is a sweaty, bare-chested man.
    “You want me to think you’re reading a sweet little romance, but I know better.” I take a measured step toward her. “I know everything. Remember that forever and always.”
    She clears her throat and turns to face me, resting her palms on the counter behind her for leverage. “You don’t know anything about me,” she says through gritted teeth. It’s the same lie she’s repeated over and over again, and I relish the challenge of proving otherwise.
    “Why did you throw down for me yesterday?”
    “I told you, I believe there’s good in you.”
    What is wrong with this girl? How can she believe there is anything good about me? I’m not a good person. I never have been. I never will be.
    “Why won’t you admit it?” I question.
    “Admit what?”
    “Admit that you went to bat for me because you’re attracted to losers.”
    She laughs and rolls her eyes. “You think I’m attracted to you?” She shakes her head. “No.”
    Her voice is steady, but her cheeks are flaming, and she can’t quite look at me. Her nipples harden beneath her shirt, and her pretty breasts tremble with her quickening breaths.
    “No?” I murmur. “Is that all you have to say for yourself?”
    “Maybe I was wrong about you,” she says and pushes past me.
    “You weren’t wrong.” I follow her. “You fought for me because you want someone to help get you through the day-to-day in this mundane, boring trap.” I take a short pause, and smile, knowing full well she can’t see me as I launch into my next tirade. “Just admit it, you wanted someone to screw while