One Kiss More by Mandy Baxter Read Free Book Online Page A

with his scent, clean and masculine with a hint of expensive cologne. She trembled in his arms, but whether from fear or excitement, she had no idea. Wait a sec. . . . What in the hell was she doing . . . ?
    “What in the hell are you doing, McCabe?” Emma pushed at Landon’s chest, stumbling backward. “Why are you here? Are you following me?” Panic flooded her at the realization. What if Cesar had noticed? Oh, God. Dad . . .
    “I’m saving your ass, that’s what I’m doing!” McCabe said as though Emma had lost her mind. As if . She wasn’t the one grabbing people and tossing them around. “Do you want to explain what in God’s name you were doing on that ledge?”
    Had he actually thought she was about to jump? His eyes were alight with blue fire and his forehead creased right above the bridge of his nose where his brows were drawn tight. Despite the fact that she’d pushed him away, he closed the space between them, giving Emma nowhere to go but backward. Her back pressed against the cold brick of a tall air vent, and she shivered from the cold. Damn it. It was pretty tough to be enraged with McCabe when his anger made him look so freaking good .
    “It’s none of your damned business what I do, McCabe.” Emma infused her voice with as much indignation as she could muster. No way would she give him any clue how his proximity affected her. Already, she found it hard to take a deep breath. “I haven’t done anything wrong. You have no right to follow me. Stay out of my life!” The last words left her mouth in a strangled shout. If he didn’t back off, he’d ruin everything she was working to fix.
    “Who is he, Emma?” Landon demanded, wrapping his hands around her upper arms.
    She bucked her chin in the air. “Who?”
    His grip tightened, but not with the same painful bite of Cesar’s grip. Rather, he was careful to keep his strength in check, restraining her while not hurting her. His touch set Emma’s skin on fire, every nerve ending awakened to the sensation. Little pants of breath sped in her chest and she averted her eyes from the intensity of his stare. “Don’t play games with me,” he said, low. “Tell me who he is.”
    With the building at her back and Landon’s chest a wall of unyielding muscle in front of her, Emma was effectively trapped. She couldn’t deny that she found her helpless state—being at McCabe’s mercy—a little exciting, but this wasn’t a game she could afford to play with him. Too much was at stake. “Go to hell, McCabe.”
    One strong arm came up to rest on the wall behind her. Emma was caged in, pinned by his accusing stare and the sheer size of him. A muscle twitched at his jaw and his nostrils flared. “Are you in trouble, Emma? I can help you, but you’ve got to stop being so goddamned stubborn and trust me .”
    Trust him? He was the enemy. The man who’d put her father in prison without even blinking an eye. How could she possibly trust him? Still, her resolve crumbled under the sincerity of his tone. The words cut through her like a blade, and the guilt of her actions was a bitter gall Emma forced herself to swallow down. If she let him continue to press her, she’d confess everything, including the time she’d shoplifted a tube of lipstick when she was fifteen. Damn him.
    Without thinking, Emma pressed her body tight against his chest and put her lips to his. It seemed the best way to silence his persistent questions, and she knew of no better way to throw a man off track.
    Dios mio! Her brain went fuzzy as his mouth moved over hers, his lips firm and demanding. She hadn’t expected him to answer to her kiss, but holy crap, he wasn’t holding anything back. He shifted his weight against her, pushing her flush against the wall. His free hand wound around the back of her neck, his mouth parted, and his tongue flicked out at her bottom lip. Talk about the mother of all backfires.
    Emma was officially thrown.

Chapter Five
    “McCabe? We’ve lost