When It Hooks You (It #1) Read Online Free Page B

because I’m part Belgian.”
    The adorable dimple was back—along with a soft chuckle that rolled out in a pleasantly deep rumble. “You know what they say about Belgian girls, don’t you?” Josh asked.
    “What?” She took sultry sip of her ancestral beer, keeping her light brown eyes locked on the deep blue of his.
    “No idea, but I can’t wait find out.”
    Right when Trish was about to giggle, JoAnne let out a false retching sound. Trish’s gaze snapped toward her friend. With a tilt of her eyebrow, JoJo confirmed the rude sounds had been directed at Trish’s flirtation. JoAnne swigged the last of her drink and announced, “This has been a hoot and a half, but I’ve got to boogie.”
    “I should probably go, too. Want to share a cab back to Lincoln Park?” Lyssa asked Trish.
    Trish flicked her gaze back on Josh, who pressed his full lips into a slight pout. “I think I’ll stay for a bit,” she said. “I want to see if this guy can nail another portion of my heritage with the next beer he buys me.”
    His lips twisted into a teasing grin. “You sure I’m going to stick around?”
    “Yes.” She raised an eyebrow in a dare and held his gaze. By the time the two of them peeled their eyes off one another, their friends were gone, including Tim. Josh looked over his shoulder, and Trish followed his gaze to see Tim approaching another girl.
    “Then there were two,” Josh said.
    “Sorry I scared your friend away.”
    “He’s not scared. He simply knows when the chemistry isn’t in his favor.”
    “Oh, and it’s in yours?”
    “I hope so.”
    “We’ll see.” She winked, and he went on to guess wrong with the next round of Irish beers.
    During their continued flirtation, he tricked her into telling him she had a touch of French blood in her family tree. He immediately ordered two Grey Goose lemon drops—with the sugar in a small dish on the side. By then they’d moved to a dark corner at the end of the bar.
    “What are you doing?” she asked when he pushed one side of her long, blond waves over her shoulder.
    “I’m going to call this one a French toast.” He dipped the tip of his finger into his shot glass and tickled a wet line over the corner of her jaw. Then he pinched sugar between his fingers and asked. “Do you mind?”
    She saw what he was up to and shook her head in a shy no, tilting her exposed jaw slightly upward. He grinned in response, but there was no dimple this time—there was something more sedate about this smile. Slowly, he rubbed the sugar onto her moistened skin. Lifting his glass with one hand, he wrapped his other around the back of her neck to hold her steady while he softly traced the tip of his tongue along the trail of sugar.
    Trish closed her eyes and held completely still, relishing the stolen moment of tenderness in the middle of the bustling bar. He finished with a kiss to her earlobe, and when he pulled away, she held her breath. Gradually, she lifted her heavy lids to watch him set his emptied shot glass on the bar and take a quick taste of the lemon.
    “Your turn,” he murmured. His eyes burned on her, seeming to proudly take note of the dizzying effect he had on her.
    She cleared her throat and tried to shake her head into focus as she picked up the dish of sugar. “Where do you want it?”
    “Hmm,” he half-growled, pulling his plump lower lip into his mouth, wetting it, and then pointing to it as is fell back into place. He most definitely had chemistry working in his cocky favor. With a trembling finger she glided a pinch of sugar across his warm, wet mouth. It didn’t matter how many sets of sweet lips moved into and out of her life—there would always be another pair waiting to be explored. With its glittery shimmer, this particular pair of lips promised to be even more delectable than the last.
    She leaned in and worked her way across the heavenly bit of slippery flesh, licking and sucking. When the sweetness disappeared, she didn’t want