Misbehaving by Abbi Glines Read Free Book Online Page A

the cop snarled.
    I had foiled his plans and made an enemy. Grinning, I lifted my eyes to meet his angry ones. “Jason Stone. I’m staying on the island in my brother’s vacation house.”
    Normally, I didn’t use my brother’s name as a way to influence people. But right now I was pretty damn sure that was the only way I was keeping Jess from getting hauled in by the creep.
    Understanding lit the cop’s eyes, and he looked back at Jess, who was still staring at me as if she couldn’t believe I was doing this. “You telling me you’re Jax Stone’s brother?”
    “You want ID?” I asked, mimicking his annoyed tone from earlier.
    He shook his head and stepped back from Jess. “No, that won’t be necessary. I’ll, uh, let the two of you go, but be wise and stay clear of this one. She’s full of trouble.”
    My blood heated and I clenched my fist at my side. The son of a bitch had been molesting her with his eyes only seconds before. Now he was warning me off her. “I’m a big boy,” I replied, disgusted.
    The cop turned to leave, then stopped. “Go ahead and get your clothes on. Then get out of here. I need to lock this back up.”
    I tried hard not to watch Jess as she wiggled her wet body back into that little leather skirt, but damn, it was hard. She pulled her shirt back on and grinned at me. The amusement in her eyes made it hard not to return her smile.
    “So you do this a lot,” I said, once I had my shirt back on.
    Jess shrugged. “I do a lot of things.”
    I didn’t miss the tone in her voice. She was doing it again. Throwing bait out there for me to snatch up. Normally, when a girl looked like Jess I didn’t turn her down. But the emptiness in her eyes bothered me too much. I liked it when her eyes were sparkling with excitement.
    “I bet you do” was all I said in reply. Then I turned and headed out the private gate. The cop was sitting in his car, watching us, and I nodded to him as I passed. Once I got to the road, I glanced back at Jess, who was walking behind me. Her gaze was fixed on my back. She was thinking. I had confused her. It was all over her face.
    I held my hand out. “Come on.”
    She glanced at my hand, then at me, and frowned.
    “Take my hand,” I said.
    She raised her eyebrows. “You think I can’t cross a street by myself?” she asked. The edginess in her voice was hard to miss. She was ready to go off on me.
    “I’m sure you can. But maybe I don’t want you to. Hold my hand, please.” I wasn’t sure why I was pushing this. It wasn’t like I thought she was going to get hit by a car. I just wanted to hold her hand. The lost, unsure look in her eyes got to me. I didn’t want it there.
    “Why?” she asked, stepping up beside me. Her skeptical expression told me more than I needed to know. Jess wasn’t used to guys making small gestures. She was used to being used. It pissed me off more than I wanted to admit.
    “Because I like having you close,” I replied, wishing I hadn’t said it quite like that. She didn’t need to get the wrong idea. Hurting her was something I wasn’t going to do, but I sure as hell wanted to teach her what to expect from a man.
    “Oh,” she said, then dropped her eyes to stare at my outstretched hand. I watched her as she slowly lifted her hand and slipped it in mine.
    “That wasn’t so hard, was it?” I asked with a grin, to ease her tense expression. Jess could easily offer up her body to drive me crazy, but this simple touch made her nervous and unsure.
    “No, it’s . . . nice,” she replied.
    I wanted to say more but I decided against it. Instead I squeezed her hand gently, then led us back over to the parking lot of Live Bay and to the Hummer. It was enough for tonight. I needed to take her home.
    We didn’t say much on the way back to her house. When we pulled into her driveway, I finally looked over at her. She had been sneaking peeks at me during the short ride here. “I’ll get your door,” I told her, then