Heat Waves by Carrie Anne Ward Read Free Book Online Page A

80’s tunes playing quietly in
the background.
    Cole leaned his hip casually against the bar
and waited to be served. His eyes grew distant, his mind lost in
the dreaded thought of returning back to work in just under an
hour’s time and working right through until he was back in this bar
again, like a broken record. His thoughts were quickly broken when
he caught a flash of red out of the corner of his eye. When he
brought his eyes back into focus, he turned his head in the
direction of the spark of colour, to find a beautiful girl leaning
over the bar at the far end from where he stood, staring at
him.
    Her long, hot red hair flowed in large silky
waves around her pretty face and over her slender shoulders. She
had full, pouting, heart shaped lips, red to match the colour of
her hair, and her long dark lashes framed bright sea-blue eyes. She
had a subtle fifties bad girl look to her, which was complemented
by an elegant feminine tattoo that covered the whole of her right
arm, from shoulder to wrist.
    A wickedly, sexy smirk curled onto her lips
and, after retrieving her drink from the bartender, she winked at
Cole and headed off in the opposite direction. Cole was intrigued;
there was a yearning inside him to know more, to meet this girl.
She was everything opposite to what he normally went for in a girl,
and this made her oddly more beautiful and enticing than any other
woman he had ever been with. It was no good, he wouldn’t be able to
concentrate for the rest of the day if he didn’t, at least, get her
name and number.
    It was like magic; first she was there
teasing him with her stunning looks and sex appeal, and the next
she was nowhere to be seen. He searched every level of the bar for
the best part of his lunch break. It wasn’t until he finally
admitted defeat, and started to head back towards his friends, that
he heard a female voice call to him from behind.
    “Wow, you gave up easily.”
    He stopped, frozen in place, as the voice
slid over his body like liquid, physically seducing him as it
seeped into his soul. He spun on his feet to see the red head
standing with her agile hip popped to the side and her arms crossed
over her firm breasts. She was just as breathtaking up close as he
imagined. Her porcelain skin was flawless and glowing, and her aura
gave off a sexy, mischievous vibe, which immediately excited
him.
    “I wouldn’t say it was giving up easily; I’ve
been searching for you for about half an hour, and I haven’t even
ordered my food yet. I’m due back at work soon.” He stepped in
closer, drawn to her like a magnet.
    “Then screw it off,” she shrugged casually,
as if it meant nothing to her. That it was simply that easy just to
leave work for the rest of the day and say fuck it to the
consequences.
    If only!
    “What? You mean... not go back to work?” he
chuckled, but soon stopped when he noticed she wasn’t laughing. She
glared at him, one eyebrow raised and deadly serious.
    “Yeah, why not? Take a risk. Blow off work
for the rest of the day and spend it with me. I’ll show you a good
time, I promise.”
    That seductive smirk was back, and Cole felt
his whole body react to it, like a flame rippling right through the
centre of his being. When was the last time I threw caution to
the wind and went with the flow? he thought. The petite redhead
registered the struggle in his eyes, and placed a small delicate
hand on his arm. A spark erupted within him, sending a shiver right
down his spine, and in that split second he knew, without a single
doubt, that he wanted to go with her.
    “Ok, let’s do it. Let’s get the fuck out of
here,” he demanded, and a cheeky teeth-showing smile blossomed on
her beautiful face.
    He linked his hand into hers and tugged her
towards the door, speeding through it as quickly as possible,
fearful of changing his mind.
    “Cole, where you going?” he heard his friend
yell.
    “Just tell work I went home ill,” he
answered, pushing the door to and stepping