UNEXPECTED compile by Jeana Read Free Book Online Page B

crowd. She stared in astonishment at the spot where he’d been until Ally sidled up next to her and broke the spell.
    “Somebody’s got the hots for you,” Ally chided.
    "You’re one to talk." Karly jerked her head in the direction of Jack. From the end of the bar, he looked up and winked at Ally. A dimpled grin full of wicked promise lit his handsome features. He crooked a finger, beckoning her to him. “Go on.” Karly winked and nudged her friend in the side with an elbow. “If you don’t go to that guy, I’m going to steal him for myself.”
     
     
    "I see you made it home okay." Randy’s deep voice rumbled in Karly’s ear. “Another drink?” He trailed a hand across her waist as he passed behind her. The contact jolted through her skin, firing her nerve endings into overdrive. If that kept happening every time he touched her, it was going to be a long night.
    "Uh, yes. Please." She slid her glass across the smooth oak countertop as he walked behind the bar. “What you did the other night? That was really nice. I appreciate it.”
    “No big deal.” He shrugged and slid the refilled glass back to her. She raised it to her lips and took a gulp.
    “Did you really walk all the way home? The Scotsman is a long way from here.”
    A fleeting blush of color crossed his cheeks then disappeared. Like her, he carried the curse of a redhead, his skin flushing with telltale signs of emotion. She’d always hated the way her fair skin betrayed her. His complexion was less fair but just as traitorous.
    “No. My car was in the parking lot.” He looked guiltily away. “I knew you wouldn’t let me drive you home so I walked with you.”
    “I thought maybe you were some kind of kissing bandit. Kissing random women at bus stops,” she teased. This remark brought his gaze back to hers with alacrity and a fleeting redness to the tips of his ears.
    “Nope. You would be the first.” Despite his gruff tone, a smile quirked his lips. After grabbing a towel from beneath the counter, he wiped away the ring of moisture left by her drink. “And I believe you were the one who kissed me.” The smile on his face turned to the pretty girl in skinny jeans and a sequined halter-top standing next to Karly. He took the girl’s order with quiet efficiency and poured up two shots of Wild Turkey for her. An unexpected twinge of jealousy swept over Karly as his eyes lit up for the other girl.
    “I think you’re a little confused. You definitely kissed me first,” she continued when his attention returned to her.
    “I know you kissed me.” His eyes, long-lashed and deep charcoal gray, dipped to her mouth and held for a beat before flashing up to meet hers. “Believe me, when I kiss you, you’ll definitely know it.”
    When I kiss you? Butterflies unfurled in her stomach. What did that mean? Her toes curled in her strappy sandals at the thought of his strong arms wrapped around her waist and his lips parting hers. The taste of his cherry tongue…that sensitive upper lip…
    He turned his back to her and moved to the opposite end of the bar to talk to two girls dressed in fishnet stockings and denim cut-off shorts. Was that the kind of girl he liked? She cast a glance down at her strapless knit dress and triple strand of fake pearls. Most of her clothes came from a secondhand store near her apartment. The dress was a bit on the conservative side, but the hemline showed a good stretch of thigh, and the tight knit emphasized her tiny waist.
    “You want to dance?” A cute guy with warm brown eyes touched her elbow, saving her from her thoughts.
    “Sure,” she said and slid from her barstool with a grateful smile. The more distance she put between Randy Mackenzie and herself, the better. She had no place in her life for distractions right now.
     
     
     

 
     
    CHAPTER 8
     

     
    Four metal cages stood on platforms around the perimeter of the dance floor. Longhaired, long-legged hotties teased and swayed to the band’s cover