The Thrill of the Chase by Lynda Chance Read Free Book Online

" he repeated in a hiss.
    Her body relaxed completely, ready to listen to the inevitable. " Fine. What do you want? "
    " I want you to lay off. Quit sending me texts --"
    " I sent you one text! " she hollered back.
    His hands bit into her. " Quit looking at me like you want to eat me --"
    She jerked against his restraining arms and interrupted him. " You ' re fucked up. " Okay, Mr. Arrogant needed his head examined. She ' d never looked at him that way. It totally had to be his imagination.
    He continued to hold her still in front of him. " Watch your mouth, little girl. "
    " My name ' s Julie. "
    " I know what your goddamn name is. " The words were clipped.
    " Yeah? " she asked on a quick breath.
    " Yeah. "
    Their eyes tangled as silence laced with sexual chemistry pulsed between them.
    Tension was high and finally he spoke again. " Ashley wouldn ' t like me messing around with you. She ' d get mad and then Ryan would be pissed at me. It can ' t happen. "
    His explanation didn ' t impress her.
    " Ashley ' s not my keeper. " Her answer was meant to challenge him.
    " It can ' t happen. " He pushed the words out, reiterating his position.
    Who was he trying to convince?
    She sucked in a breath, held it, and then let out what she was thinking. " Yeah, but you want it to. "
    There it was . Her statement that hinted he was probably right. She wanted it, and she figured he wanted it, too.
    Dead silence vibrated between them.
    His eyes glittered down into hers, his scowl ferocious.
    She pushed her chin up, the line of her jaw belligerent.
    When he opened his mouth next, she knew he wasn ' t going to give in to the chemistry that sizzled between them.
    " It won ' t work. I ' m a grown man. You can ' t trick me or goad me into something I don ' t want to do. "
    " Right. " Her tone of voice conveyed she didn ' t believe him.
    " I am right. "
    " Sure. " She answered him in a manner sure to madden him further.
    She was correct. Her concise, one word answer pissed him off even more. His body came another threatening inch toward her and his mouth closed in a tight, flat line.
    She stiffened her body against him and slammed him with the proverbial glove in the face. " Fine, Gibson. I get your message loud and clear. Let go of me. There are other guys that won ' t mind dancing with me. "
    He held tight, his expression turning sour.
    " You need to be careful, little girl. " It was a warning. He said it in a low, menacing tone, his voice vibrating from deep in his chest.
    " I ' m always careful. Not that it ' s any of your business. You ' re not my brother. " Her words were antagonistic.
    " You got that right. " His eyes ran up and down her length.
    " Good. Let me go. " Julie said.
    " In a minute. " He wouldn ' t be hurried.
    " Now, " she demanded.
    " No. I ' m telling you that you need to be careful around me. Be careful of what you say to me. Be careful about throwing shit like that in my face. You might not like the consequences. "
    " You just said you don ' t want me, so why would there be consequences? You don ' t care what I do or who I do it with. "
    " That ' s not fucking true and I never said I didn ' t want you. "
    " That ' s what this is about, isn ' t it? You warning me off ' cause you don ' t want me, you want me to leave you alone. "
    " I want you to leave me alone because of Ashley. I want you to leave me alone because you ' re only twenty-one. I want you to leave me alone because you wouldn ' t begin to know how to handle somebody like me. " In an eloquent, non-verbal statement, his hands moved up her shoulder, slid over her silky skin and wrapped all the way around her neck and squeezed softly. His eyes glittered down, his expression harsh. " You don ' t have a fucking clue how it would be between us. "
    He pressed his fingers against her neck and her eyes flared wide as hot sexual need pierced her.
    Twin feelings of curious excitement and fear crashed through her belly. " H-how would it be between us? "
    She felt the pulse