Breathe [Running to Love 3] (Siren Publishing Classic) Read Online Free Page A

tee. When she looked at a person it was as if she saw all their secrets. Rowan could understand why Jackie had been drawn to her. Jackie was dressed in swirls of yellow silky fabric that suited her bright personality and set off her blonde hair. It was hard not to look at her, although she had grown quieter for some reason. Rowan wondered if she rethinking this whole thing. She hoped her friend would last through the evening, because she herself was very curious and hoped to see it all.
    Rowan felt less certain of her choice of apparel. She had asked Jackie what she should wear but hadn’t really believed her friend when she suggested a simple cocktail dress. Rowan had sorted through her closet and ended up with an outfit that could be perceived as a trifle provocative. The dress was really more suited for standing and dancing, and rose alarmingly high on her thighs when she sank down on the chair across from Jackie and Ashley. And it was red. Not a flashy, candy-apple red, but a dark, deep crimson that fairly screamed class with an undertone of slut. Rowan took comfort in the fact that it wasn’t skintight and that she hadn’t worn the matching shoes, choosing a black pair with modest heels instead, and that her jewelry was understated.
    “What kind of security check?” she asked.
    “I ran your names to see if there was anything in your history that would compromise the club. Alistair would have done the same thing.” Ashley smiled at Rowan’s involuntary start of surprise. “Don’t worry, Rowan. It’s procedure. And conversely, no matter whom you meet here tonight, they won’t know any more about you than you choose to share. Not from me. Not from Alistair. Rules work. We all honor them, or we’re not welcome here.”
    The area began to fill up with assorted individuals. A large blond man walked past with a lovely little brunette on his arm, and Rowan could actually see and feel the electricity and connection between the two. They sat together on a larger couch on the other side of the room and the man took the woman’s face between his big hands and pressed a kiss on her lips that made Rowan’s thighs clench. A tall, attractive, redheaded woman came in behind a massive, handsome individual, and Rowan noted his presence, something that verged upon arrogance, and how the redhead kept her eyes lowered and walked just behind him and to his left. The woman wore a scrap of black fabric that barely covered her bottom and the tops of her breasts, and it didn’t look like she had anything under it. Rowan looked away, not wanting to stare like the veritable newbie. Ashley tensed and bent a nasty look on the redhead, but Rowan chose not to speculate. Instead, she became aware of music, a jazz piece, playing softly from hidden speakers and for a moment could believe that she was at a friend’s home, meeting new friends, enjoying a drink and quiet conversation. Except there was an undercurrent of heat, of sexuality and hormones, much like that of the nightclubs she attended. It just wasn’t as overt. So why did it feel so powerful?
    “Oh my,” Jackie said.
    Rowan looked up to observe newcomers, two men joshing with the guy on the door. They were both tall and broad, but the one nearest the door took her total attention. He wasn’t movie star handsome, although he did resemble some cowboy pinup whose name she couldn’t remember, a villain of the piece, from her childhood memory. His face was rugged, all juts and hard planes and anchored with a strong chin. As if feeling her gaze on him, he turned to scan the room, and their eyes locked. Rowan’s lungs seized. Breathe. He sauntered toward them, long muscular legs in dress pants moving fluidly beneath trim hips and a flat belly, a button-down shirt doing nothing to hide his muscled torso. His hazel eyes, framed by thick black lashes, never left hers, and Rowan wondered if it was possible to hyperventilate while being unable to make her lungs work. Her fingers