Risk It All (Risqué #2) by Scarlett Finn Read Free Book Online Page A

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    ‘Where did you get this?’ he asked, running his finger over it.
    ‘Nowhere,’ she said, snatching her legs back and averting her eyes. The defensive anger told him not to push his luck by asking more questions.
    ‘Do you want to wear pantyhose tomorrow?’ he asked.
    ‘Isn’t that against uniform policy at Risqué?’
    ‘I’ll make an exception,’ he said. ‘We have our weekly briefing tomorrow, it’s Friday night. If anyone says anything I’ll deal with it but I’ll tell Crystal in advance.’
    In Risqué, what Crystal said went. Even the security guys bowed down to her, but that may have been more to do with her kickass figure than her service record. So if he told Crystal to accept Bri in pantyhose, then all the girls would.
    He wouldn’t broadcast it, but he was wise enough to know that Bri could pretty much get away with anything where he was concerned. Something about her had snatched hold of him when he was young and it had never let go. His brothers always warned him against getting too close to her because her family were known as no good.
    Blaser knew that they were only looking out for him, but he always thought that he knew what he was doing. As it turned out he’d fucked up the first half of his life and prison was what it took for him to get his shit together.
    Colt always judged him and jumped to conclusions about what Blaser was involved in even now. Part of that was to do with the embarrassment that Blaser caused Colt, who at the time of his arrest was a vice cop. But it went deeper than that. Ruger, the youngest of the brothers, warned him too, but Ruger’s warnings felt more genuine.
    As far as his siblings were concerned, getting involved with Bri meant getting involved with Gary and his crew again. After that, it would be a slippery slope back to his criminal heritage. So when Colt and Ruger found out that Bri was in his life again, back in every part of his life, Blaser knew that they’d have plenty to say about her being bad news.
    But Blaser didn’t see things that way. Bri was independent of Gary in his mind, she had to be a separate entity given all that they had done together naked. This woman drew him in, and he was no stranger to pretty girls. It was more than a basic sexual attraction; that spark between them had always been undeniable. No, it was more to do with the fact that she acted as though she could take on the world, even though she had no one at her back to help her out and for some reason that fact irked him.
    ‘Wait here a second,’ he said and disappeared into the bedroom to fish out the keys she would need for the apartment above his. At the same time, he grabbed a sports bag and tossed a few items into it, then he returned to her in the living room.
    ‘I think this is ok,’ she said, putting the ice pack on the table and tentatively touching her bruised cheek.
    ‘Let me see,’ he said, tossing the bag to the coffee table and slipping the apartment key into her hand. Sitting down beside her, he tipped her head toward the light. ‘I don’t think you’ll get a black eye.’
    ‘Good,’ she said, curling delicate fingers around his wrist to draw his hand away from her face. ‘Do you need me to sign something?’
    ‘Don’t you want to see the apartment first?’
    ‘I’ve lived in this block before, I think we’re fine… and no offense, but it’s not like I have a lot of options right now.’
    ‘I haven’t had the locks changed yet. But I’ll get you new keys, ok?’ he said with a strong urge to reassure her. ‘Unit six is free.’ He extended a forefinger. ‘It’s the one directly above me. So if you need me, just stamp three times.’
    ‘Ok,’ she said, trying to lower her smile. His concern seemed to amuse her, but he elevated her chin with a curled finger.
    ‘You’re still not used to people being nice to you, are you?’
    ‘Not without an ulterior motive,’ she said. ‘What is it that you want from me?’
    ‘To be a friend.