The Harder They Fall Read Online Free Page A

women to meet me somewhere. It’s not gentlemanly. Text me
your address and I’ll pick you up at six.”
    He
swore she laughed softly. “All right then. I’ll see you at six.”
    She
disconnected the call, and Blaine stared at his phone, waiting for the text,
wondering if he’d have made the call if he’d been sober. After the text came
through, he saved her address and went in search of his laughing friend to tell
him he was leaving. It was time to call it a night before he made an even
bigger ass of himself.
     

Chapter
Three
     
    Colleen
woke up Saturday afternoon feeling like she hadn’t slept in days. She had
almost texted Blaine at least ten times during the night to tell him she’d changed
her mind. When she did sleep, those eyes chased her down in dreams to the point
she woke up with a wet pussy and her clit throbbing.
    What the hell? Okay, so she hadn’t had sex in a
really long time. And the last guy she’d dated for longer than a month had been
during her undergrad years. The point is ?
Blaine Parker wasn’t the only hot man in NorthCentral. He was one of the
richest, but that didn’t matter to Colleen. Her mother’s family had money, and
it didn’t impress her.
    She
wasn’t working because she had to. She wanted to make her own way in the world,
not rely on her mother’s family name or their money. She wasn’t any more
impressed with Blaine’s wealth than she was with the trust fund her maternal
grandmother had set up for her when she turned eighteen. It would make a nice
retirement fund. Either that, or she’d donate it to charity.
    She
liked her new job, and she was committed to working hard doing it. Right now,
Blaine Parker stood in the way of her plan to do that.
    So why are you having dinner with
him?
    Good
question. Colleen had no answers, even as she stood in front of her full length
mirror to assess the outfit she’d chosen. Short skirt, but not slutty short.
Cute shoes, top cut low enough to show her cleavage but not so low he’d take it
as an invitation.
    Who are you kidding? This is Blaine
Parker. Making eye contact is an invitation as far as he’s concerned.
    Which
brought her full circle again. Why was she doing this? Raging hormones? Rabid
curiosity? A morbid desire to see exactly how much he’d beg her to bend the
rules for him? It was intoxicating to have that kind of power over one of the
infamous Weathermen. Now if only she could keep her lust at bay, this evening
might turn out all right.
    The
downstairs buzzer sounded at five to six, and Colleen pushed the button to tell
Blaine she’d be down in a moment. No way was he coming up here. Her willpower
wasn’t that solid.
    He
was dressed in casual slacks and a very expensive shirt. The sports jacket was
dressy enough that he didn’t look too informal, but not so stiff that she
wanted to ask to him to wait while she changed into a cocktail dress.
    His
gazed traveled over her slowly, sending unwanted shivers down her spine. “You
look wonderful.”
    So do you . “Thank you. Where are we going?”
    “Tiffani’s.
Do you know it?”
    “Yes.”
She knew it. It was one of those super expensive, super trendy places where
people went to be seen.
    He
frowned. “Uh-oh. Not a fan?”
    “I
don’t eat there very often.”
    “We
can go somewhere else.”
    “Tell
me first why you want to eat there.” If this was a ploy to be photographed with
her, she’d be very disappointed.
    “They
have the most delicious swordfish I’ve ever tasted. I haven’t found another
restaurant in any city that makes it the same way.”
    She
couldn’t suppress a smile in time as relief flooded through her. “Does that
mean you’re not going there to be photographed having dinner with me?”
    He
gave her an intense stare that threw her off balance for a few seconds.
“Colleen, no matter where we go, we’ll be seen and photographed. So unless you
want to go back to my apartment, where I’ll have my chef whip us up anything
you’d like for