Second Base by Raven ShadowHawk Read Free Book Online Page A

wondering instead, when he had the time to come and plant this little ‘gift.’
    He hunched his shoulders. ‘At least look before you reject me.’
    Moonlight caught the links of her slave band as she reached for the bag. Inside fluttered the creamy pages of a thick, dusty paperback. When she pulled it out and looked at the cover her hands began to tremble. ‘Where did you get this?’
    Pete scratched the back of his neck. ‘There’s a bookshop near my workshop. They’re closing down so I went in. Not for me, but, you know . . . some of my friends like books.’
    She stroked the weathered cover, then opened it. The musty scent of aged paper billowed up on a cloud of dust. ‘This is a first edition.’
    ‘I know. The guy in the shop said that’s a good thing. I just thought you’d prefer this cover to the newer looking ones. They seem tacky.’
    Karen looked again at the battered copy of ‘Alice in Wonderland’. Her fingers trembled as she turned the delicate pages. ‘I loved this book as a child.’
    ‘I know. You told Dan, really, but I remember. We were sitting in the kitchen at Dan’s old place. You made this weird, lumpy pork thing and called it meatloaf. It looked disgusting, but tasted amazing. You’ve not made it since.’
    Karen grinned at the memory. ‘I must have used every scrap of meat left in the fridge. I can’t even remember how I did it.’
    He stared into her eyes. ‘It was gorgeous.’
    She clutched the book to her chest. ‘Thank you, Pete. This is really sweet of you.’ With a quick step forward, she hugged him. An impulsive move for sure. She’d never touched him that way in the past, but the gesture of the book and his uncertain expression brought it out of her.
    Pete relaxed beneath her touch, running his hands down her back. ‘I wanted to do something for you. I wanted to show you that I’m just as good.’
    Warning bells clanged. She tried to pull back, but his grip tightened, both hands now holding her against his body.
    ‘I’m just as good as Dan, Kaz. Why can’t you see?’ He pushed his lips to hers, fighting to part them with a thrust of his tongue. The taste of lager exploded in her mouth and she jerked her head back with a cry.
    ‘Pete, get off me.’
    He gripped tighter. ‘Just give me a chance. I can control you too. That’s what you want, isn’t it?’ Another kiss. This time he held the back of her head with one hand and pinned her arms with the other. His tongue wormed in.
    Karen squirmed, jerking her head from side to side. Nothing. She may well have punched an elephant for all the effect it had. Panic seared through her. Breathing quickened.
    ‘Get off!’
    His free hand left her arms and slipped beneath her blouse, grabbing for her breasts. She drew her leg back, ready to kick him.
    ‘Now what’s this then?’ A voice speared out of the dark.
    Pete thrust her away so hard, she stumbled and fell. The book flew from her hands and landed in the grass.
    Robert stood in the open doorway, a fat, unlit cigar hanging from the side of his mouth.
    Pete swallowed hard enough to be heard over the thud of music from within. ‘I—’
    ‘“You—” “you—”’ Robert mocked. ‘“You” what?’ He tilted his head so the brim of his hat left a thick shadow across his eyes. ‘Thought you’d manhandle mi girl while nobody was looking?’
    ‘It’s not like that,’ snapped Karen. She got as far as her knees before he thrust a hand in her direction, a silent order to shut up.
    ‘Well, I see you, boy,’ Robert continued. ‘I know a man who likes the ladies—I’m one myself. But mi girl there, she not for you. She got more class than the likes of you or I.’
    A crimson flush crept up Pete’s neck and jaw. He opened his mouth but no words came out. In the end he puffed up his chest and growled low at the back of his throat. ‘Class? Yeah, real classy giving a blow job on the kitchen floor with guests less than ten feet away.’
    Karen felt like he’d