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

of the night in his hand. Julie had been a blistering ball of female retribution as she set out to make his night miserable by dancing with every fucking guy in the club and never once looking his way.
    If it was punishment, he felt it severely.
    Her curvy little body was doing shit to his head he couldn ' t even let himself think about.
    They were serving last call and he sat waiting for the two chicks that would be his ride home. Ryan, the fuckwad, had abandoned him the second he got a chance with Ashley.
    Monica had flitted up to him earlier and told him they were going to give him a ride.
    He watched the two friends on the dance floor now. Monica was slender with light brown hair. She was strikingly beautiful. Men had been hanging on her all night. Her eyes looked at them with disinterest, and had she known it, it only challenged them more.
    She was gorgeous, but he had to admit, he wasn ' t interested and his eyes slid unerringly to her little roommate. He was immediately struck again, in the gut where it hurt, by Julie ' s femininity. She was small and graceful, with slight hips and breasts that a short while ago, had been under his hands.
    He itched to feel them again.
    He ' d been jonesing for her since he ' d met her, but he ' d been so busy at work he hadn ' t had time to do anything about it. He also hadn ' t made up his mind whether or not he should do anything about it. Her age kept getting in the way, fucking up the plans he had for her in his head.
    She was only seven years younger than he was, but at twenty-one, those seven years counted for a lot. He ' d been around the block, seen a lot. He had just enough goodness left in him to realize she ' d get hurt if he fucked with her. His brain had been doing a fucked-up dance, wanting her, but at the same time, wanting to protect her from him.
    But shit, the look in her eyes when she ' d pleaded with him tonight to kiss her. It wasn ' t something that he would easily be able to forget.
    He knew he should try. Hell. He really had no choice. He ' d all but promised Ryan he ' d leave her alone.
    In retrospect, he should have asked her out the first night he met her. If he ' d asked her out then, staked a goddamn claim on her from the very beginning, then Ryan wouldn ' t have been able to pull this shit on him. But who the fuck knew there would be a damn deadline to an opening with her? He ' d had shit at work that needed his full attention. And now was Ryan pulling this crap.
    It was a fucked-up situation. He should have had her in his bed weeks ago. And now he was all but screwed.
    His hands tied.
    Jesus Christ.
    He took another pull of beer and grimaced when he realized he ' d let it go warm.
    He put the bottle on the bar in front of him and turned his full attention to the two girls. They ' d both been drinking and he was concerned about them driving. He didn ' t know whose car they were in, and he didn ' t much fucking care.
    He would drive.
    At a beer and a half, he was undoubtedly safer behind the wheel than either one of them would be.
    He sat, silently brooded, and waited until the last dance was over and the girls slid over to him. Monica spoke. " Let ' s go, Gibson. "
    He stood to his feet and glanced at Julie who was hanging back and digging a single key from her pocket.
    So, they were in her car.
    She was totally ignoring him, so he just hung back and followed the two women to the parking lot. A couple of guys looked like they wanted to move in on them, but both women were oblivious and he stood to his full height and shot them a look that told them they didn ' t want to fuck with these girls on this night.
    The late evening air was cool around them. He waited until Julie walked up to a blue compact, and he moved toward her with a casualness that took her by surprise.
    " I ' ll get the door. " He held his hand out for her key, and she reluctantly handed it to him.
    The second it was in his hand, his manner changed. He took her by the arm, and escorted her