Turn Me On Read Online Free Page A

didn’t bolt, Reed reached out and brushed the tips of his
fingers against hers. She looked down at his hand, but said nothing. “Unless
I’m completely losing my instincts, I think you’re attracted to me. You want to
know how it would be between us.” He leaned in. “Shall I tell you, princess?”
The scent of her, citrus and flowers, whispered through his senses. “Or shall I
just show you?”
    Her throat contracted as she swallowed, but then she looked up and
straight at him. “You’re behaving inappropriately.”
    Encouraged by the fact she hadn’t yet moved, Reed leaned closer and
touched his mouth to hers. Her lips were warm, but stayed rigidly closed. He
drew away, not wanting to push too far, too soon. “Sometimes inappropriately is
the best way to behave.”
    She glanced away. Beneath his hand her fingers tightened.
    “Sometimes, it’s not.” She nudged his hand away, opened her notebook,
and straightened her shoulders. “How about we get back to business?”
    Folding his arms across his chest, so he didn’t do something stupid and
reach out to her and beg, Reed sat back. The more she shoved him away, the more
he seemed to want to push things forward. For the life of him he couldn’t work
out what it was about her that made him so resolute in his pursuit. “You still
owe me a drink,” he pressed. “After your disappearing act at the reception.”
    “It wasn’t a disappearing act. I had another job booked.”
    “Meet me tonight.” Reed stood and walked back to his desk. “We’ll talk
more about my requirements over that drink. Papa Niko’s.”
    In the act of popping her notebook back into her bag, she looked up at
him with something akin to shock on her face. “Papa Niko’s?”
    Reed selected a folder on his desk and walked back to her. “You know
it?” She swallowed, nodded, and he held out the folder. “Take a look at this
before tonight. We’ll discuss it further when we meet.”
    Since she’d turned pale again, he took a moment to think back over what
he’d said that had caused her reaction. The only thing he could think of was
mentioning Marco’s place. “Something wrong?” he asked when she didn’t respond.
    She shook her head, but her eyes didn’t meet his. “I just wondered if we
could meet somewhere closer to town.”
    Seeing as Papa Niko’s was less than a mile from town, Reed frowned. He
didn’t have to search far into his memory banks to recall her reaction to Marco
Zutini at the wedding reception. Add that to his old lover theory and her
reluctance to meet at the trendy wine bar…it didn’t take an Einstein to connect
the dots.
    Zutini was the ex-lover.
    Heat flared in his chest. Marco was a player, or had been until he’d met
Beth. His reputation with women was almost legendary along the south coast.
Reed wasn’t sure how he felt about Lissa being one of Marco’s hits.
    Which was a fucking lie. He knew damn well how he felt about it.
    He wanted to cut Zutini’s balls off.
    “Has to be Papa Niko’s,” Reed decided, tamping down the irritation that
shot tension into his shoulders. “I’ve got business with the owner and can kill
two birds with one stone. I need to get moving on this. Construction’s starting
soon, and I don’t want any more delays.”
    Lissa stood and stepped forward, her eyes large as she tapped the
brochure in her hand. “Then why not talk me through this now?”
    His irritation at the knowledge of Lissa having had a thing with Marco, coupled
with the edgy feeling that had plagued him since his phone call with Jack, made
his hands fist.
    Did she still have feelings for Marco? Had she been the lover Marco had
jilted when Beth came into his life? Was she still harboring a hope that they would
get back together?
    While the questions spun in his head, Reed’s chest began to burn. “Papa
Niko’s. Seven.” He moved to the door. “If you have a problem with that, I’ll
find someone who doesn’t.”
    As he opened the door for her,