On the Ropes by Holley Trent Read Free Book Online

didn’t allow herself to think too much about the fact she’d given that much of a care about any man.
    “Don’t let him harass you,” Stephen said. “He’s like an annoying cat. Squirt him with a little cold water and he’ll probably shut up and go away.”
    “He’s not that bad.”
    “That’s because he’s just getting warmed up. Sit here long enough, and he might invite you home for a fucking orgy.”
    She looked at Derrick, incredulous.
    His thick eyebrows danced.
    That was so not a denial.
    “Oh, boy,” she whispered, and wrung her hands. She didn’t know what had gotten into her, but she thought the big man would probably show her the kind of good time it’d take days to recover from. Her gaze fell to his large hands on the bar, and she swallowed. They were longshoreman hands, not chef’s hands.
    She pulled in a sharp inhale at Stephen’s touch on her back.
    “I take it you don’t want to share?” Derrick whispered to Stephen.
    “Jan? Not especially.”
    Share? Were they talking about what she thought they were talking about?
    “You know where I am if you change your mind.” Derrick leaned in closer and whispered to her, “I’d be gentle.”
    “Sure you would,” she said weakly.
    Yeah, they were definitely talking about what she thought. She really needed to find out exactly what kind of deviant Stephen was just so she wasn’t taken off-guard. Two gorgeous men wanting her at once? She just might keel over at the sight of them naked. Side effect of growing up in a puritanical household. They’d blow out every one of her circuits.
    “You all done?” Stephen asked, rubbing the small of her back.
    Her ass clenched as his fingertips lingered at the base of her spine. She forced down an indulgent little moan, took one final look at her plate, and nodded. She’d eaten so quickly. She regretted that now, and not because of the probable indigestion. There were no more stops between the restaurant and the house. No more people around to buffer them, to stave off the uncomfortable conversations. It’d be just her and Stephen, and that scared her more now than the prospect of visiting her invalid mother. She’d been doing all the rejecting before. What if it was his turn now…now that she found him so intriguing?
    “So, you’ll come back on Wednesday?” Derrick’s shark-like grin returned as he looked from Stephen to Janette and back.
    “Not a chance,” Stephen said. He stood and grabbed his phone from the bar top.
    “But, what’s happening on Wednesday?” she asked. “I really do want to know.”
    “It’s the most fun you’ll have all summer aside from coming home with me,” Derrick said. “I’d say no offense to Stephen, but I wouldn’t mean it.”
    Groaning, Stephen held out his hand to her. She stared dumbly at it for a few beats. He was offering , not taking. He could have just picked up her hand and pulled her along, but he was giving her choices. The choice to be touched or not touched. The choice to leave or stay.
    Choice was an intoxicating thing. She put her hand in his and gave Derrick a small wave. “It was a pleasure meeting you.”
    “We haven’t met yet , honey. We should be properly introduced in case I need to swoop in and pick up the pieces of your broken heart.”
    “Fuck you, Derrick,” Stephen said. “Don’t be a stranger. I’m sure Meg would love to see you sometime next week.”
    Derrick waved them off. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll bring beer.”
    She and Stephen maneuvered through the tight-packed tables to the door and out to the parking lot.
    She took in a deep breath of fresh, sea air upon stepping on the gravel and indulged in the utter perfectness of the scenario. The situation would have made a fabulous end to a getting-to-know you first date, minus the threesome proposition.
    But then Stephen dropped her hand and parted from her. He raised his key fob. His SUV beeped and its lights flashed as the doors unlocked.
    “We gotta figure out where