Love Is the Drug by K. E. Saxon Read Free Book Online Page A

to—well, as best she could without her better clothes, which had finally arrived earlier— and doing everything in her power to not let on how attracted she was to him, she was wiped out.
    But dancing! No way.
    First of all, she wasn’t very good at it, but second of all—she’d no doubt end up acting just like every other woman who ever met him, clinging to him like a vine. And not only would she embarrass herself, but she’d mess up the great business opportunity this partnership was affording her.
    His hands settled on her shoulders. She started, but then she forced herself to relax.
    “Look, it would be a big favor to me if you would go. I really need to get out for awhile. But, you see, there’s this, ahem, woman, Nora Lee Blum—do you know her?
    Julie stopped washing the mug and shook her head.
    “Well, she’s a divorcée—real recent—and, well…it would just be a whole lot easier if you were there, kind of as a buffer.” He turned her around to face him again and that hopeful, eager-little-boy look on his face sealed the deal.
    She heaved a really big sigh. It came out as a groan. “All right. I’ll go with you.”
    Jason leaned down and gave her a buss on the cheek, jetting a thrill of euphoria down to her toes. “Thanks, Julie. I owe you one.”
    She gave him a half smile and shook her head. “Yeah, yeah.” And then her eyes widened. “Hey, what am I supposed to wear to go dancing there, anyway?”
    * * *
    Jason did a quick scan of her attire. He knew he should tell her to put something less sexy on—for his own peace of mind—but the words just would not form. Instead he said, “Oh, what you have on is just fine for Jimmy’s honky tonk.”
    * * *

CHAPTER 4
     
     
     
     
    Two hours later, Jason was regretting those words. Not only had he been in a state of semi-arousal since their first slow dance together a half-hour ago, but now, he was feeling a very unfamiliar need to keep the other hounds at bay. He’d been kind of enjoying this bizarre almost-attraction he was feeling for Julie, which he attested to the sense of déjà vu he got when he was with her.
    And he was pretty sure she wanted him, too—even if she was trying to hide it. He thought that was real cute. He’d catch her looking at him when she thought he wasn’t aware. And he’d definitely noticed that the hair-fidgeting thing happened more when she was with him than when she talked to other people.
    Hell, if she wasn’t Connie’s sister—and his dad’s pet project—he might even go for it.
    Which brought him back to the problem at hand: Mike Magnusen, of Magnusen Construction—the guy he’d just hired to build the lodge once the designs were complete. He and Julie were out on the dance floor, where they’d been for the last three dances, and Jason could tell by the leer in Mike’s eyes that he was having the same kind of reaction to her that he, himself, had just had. Clearly, Julie conjured that same déjà vu vibe in Mike. From the look of him, he’d probably been a linebacker in high school—maybe even college, too.
    He shoved the bottle of beer further back on the table and got to his feet. Then he strode up to the couple on the dance floor. Tapping Mike on the shoulder, he said, “Hey, guy, mind if I cut in? Julie’s my date, remember?”
    Mike gave him a sheepish grin and conceded his prize. “Sorry, Jason. I guess I forgot about that.”
    Jason cocked a brow at Mike, letting him know he didn’t believe that piece of horse shit for one second, and then he took Julie in his arms and swept her down the dance floor. He kind of liked how she would stumble against him every once in awhile when she missed a step.
    ‘Course, those two beers he practically had to force down her gullet to get her to even consider dancing in the first place probably weren’t helping her coordination any. “You look flushed—are you hot? Wanna sit a couple out? Or—maybe you’d like to take a walk outside and get some