Whipped by Sabrina York Read Free Book Online Page B

Who shrugged.
    “It’s true son. Do you know where I met your mother?”
    Dane sighed. Not this story again. “At the kissing booth of the county fair.”
    “At the kissing booth of the county fair. She was the prettiest girl in the state.”
    “Yeah. I know. I know. One kiss and that was it.”
    “One kiss and I knew.”
    Right. “It doesn’t happen that way anymore, Dad.”
    “Oh. Did they change the laws of nature when I wasn’t looking? I must have missed that memo.” His father lanced him with a glare through a squinted eye. That thing colonels did to make recruits crap their pants. But Dane was used to it. He stiffened his spine.
    “You don’t just…see someone and fall in love,” he said. Just then, his gaze snagged on a silky fall of dark hair, an annoyingly adorable dress spattered with cherries and filled with maddening curves.
    She was sitting with Ennis. Ennis. Smiling at him. He said something, touched her cheek, and she laughed. Dane’s vision blurred.
    “Not if you’re haring around the world, rescuing political prisoners and bombing bridges.”
    “Mom, I’m not—”
    “I just don’t want you to marry one of them .”
    He ripped his glower from the table on the other side of the coffee shop and settled it on his mother. “What? One of them…who?”
    She leaned in and hissed, as though they might hear, “You know. Terrorists .”
    Just then, Tina whipped her ponytail in a saucy flick. He longed to grab it and give it a yank, as he had when he was a boy. But this yank would lead elsewhere.
    Dane forced a laugh, though it caught in his throat. “Mom. I’m not going to marry a terrorist.” He might spank one, though. Might tie her to the bed and—
    Oh. Holy. Fuck. What was Ennis doing? Scooting closer and draping his arm around her shoulders and whispering in her ear? Whispering for fuck’s sake? That growl rose again in his throat.
    His mother’s flinch stole his attention. She put her palm on his forehead. “Honey, are you feeling all right? You seem a little hot.”
    Hot? Oh, he was. Hot and bothered. And pissed.
    “Can we talk later?” he asked, not waiting for an answer. “There’s someone I need to talk to.” He leapt to his feet.
    “Why, sure…” His father trailed off, or maybe not. Dane hardly noticed. All of his attention was riveted on the bacchanal at the table across the room, where Tina and Ennis were talking and laughing . He stormed over, in a mood to rip them apart. In a mood to knock his buddy flat.
    “I want to talk to you,” he snarled with no preface. He grabbed Tina’s arm and yanked her behind him.
    “Hey!” Ennis protested, but Dane ignored him. Let Ennis find his own terrorist. This one was taken.
    With a squawked, “See you later,” to Ennis, Tina followed, but only because Dane gave her no choice. He needed to talk to her. Now. And he needed somewhere private. He scanned the lobby of the hotel, quickly dismissing the potted palm. That had not worked out so well earlier. His gaze lit on the escalator to the second floor, which held conference rooms. Excellent. There had to be some private space there where they would not be interrupted while he tore into her.
    Gawd’s sake. Flirting with Ennis? What the hell had she been thinking?
    And damn it all anyway. There were people. People crawling all over the conference space with blue folders and name badges. He towed her along as he headed for a less crowded spot and then, to his relief, found an empty cloak closet at the end of the long hallway.
    He pushed her in before him and slammed the door, sealing them in. Then he crossed his arms and glared at her. “Well?”
    She mimicked his stance. Fluttered her lashes. “Well?”
    “What were you doing?” he hissed. “Were you flirting with Ennis?”
    She grinned at him. Cracked her gum.
    “Don’t flirt with him. You have no idea what kind of man he is.”
    “Oooh. What kind of man is he?”
    “Hard, cold. He eats little girls like you for