Leather and Sand (Riding the Line Series) by Jayna Vixen Read Free Book Online Page B

needed that job Dax! But you never care about anyone else’s needs do you? You think you can just show up out of nowhere, again, and ruin my life?!”
    ***
    Rhee was beside herself, anxiety mingling with exhaustion and abject fear. Once again, her world had come crashing down and the tall, blond, ridiculously good-looking cause of it was just standing there silently, with a familiar aloof and dismissive look on his face. Darren groaned again, reminding her that he could be seriously hurt. Even if he was a lecherous toad, her boss deserved medical care.
    Dax moved like a predatory feline. He was silent and deadly, and you never knew when he was going to sneak up behind you. Rhee had forgotten just how quickly Dax Jamison could move. Dax pounced, swiping her phone before she could react. Infuriated, she whirled on him, ignoring the heat that raced through her body when his hand had brushed her palm.
    Before she could even consider what she was saying, a torrent of angry words fell from her mouth, accusing him of ruining her life. Heat danced in his gaze, darkening the blue of his eyes to a stormy gray. Rhee knew that her words weren’t fair, but the tide of emotions that had arisen now that Dax was standing in front of her were wreaking havoc on her carefully constructed mask. What was he doing here? He could not be here! Feeling the prickle of hot, embarrassing tears threatening to slide down her cheeks, she turned on her bare heel to flee to the sanctity of her car. Perhaps, just perhaps, if she could just drive away, the entire scene would fade, like the nightmares she used to have.
    “Fuck!” The expletive flew from her mouth as a piece of glass sliced into Rhee’s foot, stopping her in her tracks.
    “Rhiannon…” She recognized that tone.
    “No! Stop right there, Dax. Please. Just-just leave me alone!” Rhee panicked as the man who haunted her dreams stalked ever closer, a look of possessive determination on his chiseled face. She was barely holding herself in check, using an old trick of letting anger cover up her true emotions. Her mind raced through all the things that had just gone horribly wrong in her life.
    Darren deserved to be put in his place, but Rhee needed the meager income that job had provided. Now, she knew she should consider herself fired. Maybe the source of her anger wasn’t really Darren, anyway, but rather…herself. Given her past, she had been stupid as hell to let him walk her to her car, knowing his intentions. She just hadn’t expected the anger or aggression with which her boss had come on to her. That was her fatal flaw, perhaps. Despite all she had been through, Rhee still gave people like Darren the benefit of the doubt and she wasn’t sure why.
    Underneath the useful anger she wrapped herself in, Rhee was scared. She was so very scared. Dax couldn’t find out. There was no telling what he would do. And if he put his hands on her right now…well, there was no telling what she would do either. He took another step, grim determination on his face, a storm of intensity in his eyes. Rhee glanced nervously at her car, seeking an escape.
    Fuck! The car seemed so far away, now that her mode of getting to it required her to hop like a drunken, one-legged bunny. She ventured a glance at Dax. His intense blue gaze swept from her face, down her body, to rest for several seconds on her bleeding heel. Dax had a protective streak, and from that look, Rhee knew he was about two seconds from pulling her into his arms to get her off of her foot. Although her head resisted, her body was already humming with a sweet-hot, fiery feeling that had become foreign to her over the last three years.
    Don’t, don’t, don’t….Oh, God don’t let him put his hands on me…
    “Let me help you, Rhiannon.” His voice was deceptively calm and soft, but she knew he was royally pissed.
    Shit! Rhee hesitated as old memories flooded her brain. Meeting Dax, waking up half-naked in his house…he had asked her