TheBurnList by Julia Devlin Read Free Book Online

fiddled with a dress that short, tight and
revealing even when they knew it looked good—but not Abby. She didn’t fidget or
fuss with the hem. “Do you like it?”
    She looked down at herself before shrugging. “It’s fine.”
    He twined a lock of hair around his finger and let the silky
strands slip through. “That’s not really an answer.”
    “Why does it matter?” She picked up her fork but made no
move to eat her salad.
    “Because I say it does.”
    She glared at him, annoyance tightening the curve of her
lips.
    He raised a brow.
    She sighed. “I’m not sure how I feel, awkward, I guess. I
put it on and refused to think about it again. It’s just clothes and it covers
all the vital parts.”
    Lukas ran a finger along the curve between her neck and
shoulder. “You look very fuckable. Every man in the room has his eyes on you.”
    “You don’t have to say that.” With her big brown eyes, she
glanced up at him and gave him a tentative little smile. “In case you haven’t
figured it out yet, I’m a sure thing.”
    He laughed. That dry, self-effacing wit was as charming as
ever, but he didn’t like that she thought so little of herself. “I think it’s
time for another experiment.”
    The smile died on her lips and her expression turned wary. “I don’t like the sound of this.”
    “It will be easy, I promise.” He gave her a slow once-over
before nodding. “I want you to get up and go to the bathroom again, but this
time you are to pay attention to the men in the room.”
    “You’re crazy.” She waved her hand.
    Of course she thought he was being polite because she had no
idea. Not that he didn’t understand. Until yesterday, he’d never paid much
attention to her appearance. She’d always seemed so conservative and reserved,
as if she wanted to melt into the background. But now he knew better, and he
was determined to get to the bottom of this.
    He gripped her jaw. When she averted her gaze, he commanded,
“Look at me.”
    She obeyed, although the corners of her lips titled down in
a frown.
    “Abby, I’m not doing you a favor.” His hand fell away and he
curled his fingers around the back of her neck. “Believe it or not you’re doing
me the favor.”
    She licked her lips. “You don’t need to bolster my self-esteem,
I’m comfortable with who I am.”
    “No you’re not. If you were, there wouldn’t be such a
contrast to how you portray yourself and the items on your list.” Before she
could speak, he flicked his tongue along the seam of her lips before dipping to
her neck to skim his mouth along the hollow. Her breath hitched and he licked
the rapid pulse beating as fast as his own. “You walking in on me last night
and your email this morning are the hottest, most exciting things I’ve
experienced in a long time. I’ve been with you less than two hours and I’ve
already enjoyed myself more than I have in my last six months of dates
combined.”
    The frown deepened. “They must have been pretty boring
dates.”
    He pressed his forehead against hers. “They were. Next to
you.”
    “I’m sure you’re being nice.” Voice soft and unsure, she
pulled back and smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “But it’s still
working.”
    He grabbed her hand and pressed her open palm to his hard,
aching cock. “Does this feel like I’m being nice?”
    Wide innocent eyes flew to his.
    “I’ve been like this since you opened your front door.” He
moved her hand up and down the length.
    “Oh!” She yanked away.
    “Now back to the experiment. You are to get up, walk across
the restaurant, paying attention to the men.” He studied her then made his
decision. “In the bathroom, slip your fingers under that killer dress, I want
you to know how wet you are.”
    Cheeks turned pink and she coughed. “But why?”
    “Because you’re an accountant and we all know the proof is
in the numbers, don’t we, Abby?”
     
    Proof was in the numbers.
    The walk through the restaurant