A Dangerous Leap Read Free Page A

not easily forgotten…
    Kelly frowned. “Have we met before?” Maybe they’d crossed paths at a training facility. She’d heard someone mention his status as a Health Services Tech, so they’d both spent time training in Petaluma, California.
    Now it was his turn to look rattled. Holy turbine failure, did she see a blush staining the hard edges of his cheekbones? Just how many beers had she—
no, oh, God, no
. She slammed her eyes closed on the insidious vision that rapped gleefully on her pounding head.
    They’d met, all right. And not at some long-ago training facility. No, more like just last night during her almost-meltdown. She lowered her head till it rested on the cool Formica of the table. “Shoot me, or go away. But do not, I repeat, do not be sitting across from me when I raise my head from this table.”
    His deep laugh made her skin tingle and sent a ripple through her stomach and lower. God, she’d made such a fool of herself. She’d wanted him from the moment he’d sat at her table. He’d chased away that idiot friend-of-a-friend who was getting her numbingly drunk. But with his gorgeous face, she hadn’t minded the change in scenery. Heck, just because she didn’t care much for sex, she still had her fantasies. And he’d starred in a gloriously unrealistic one last night—until he dumped her in a cab, the rat-bastard.
    She lifted her head and propped her chin on crossed arms. “You’re not supposed to be here.” His chuckle turned into a laugh, his eyes sparkling with pure mischief. “You’d better not be laughing at me, mister. Remember, I’m a professional—I know how to make men suffer.”
    Yeah, right. She was a regular femme fatale if there ever was one. She bit her lip, trying to stop the twitching response to his laughter. Finally, she couldn’t control herself and giggles escaped. She laughed until tears ran. God, after her afternoon, she really needed something to laugh at, even if it was her own stupidity.
    “Feel better?” the guy asked and pushed a wad of napkins into her hand.
    “Yeah. I do. And I guess I should apologize first,” she said, avoiding his assessing look by wiping away her tears.
    “Why, whadya do?”
    Kelly looked up, surprised by his tone. Could he really be that nice? Pretend not to remember how she’d practically begged him to go home with her last night? Real tears threatened and she shook her head in disgust. No, she would not succumb to self-pity two days in a row. She only allowed herself one day a year to wallow in it, and that day had passed, just like all the others had over the last six years.
    “Okay, I made a total, absolute ass of myself last night. If you are a real gentleman, you’ll not bring it up to me, or your buddies.” She closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath. Jeez, the rumors he could spread. They’d take off like wildfire in the tight-knit community of Coasties. The feel of his hand on hers made her snap open her eyelids. He gently squeezed her fingers and his expression was soft, sincere.
    “You did not make an ass of yourself. And nothing that goes on between us is anyone’s business but ours.” He released her hand and sat back in his chair.
    His promise sent a funny little squirmy feeling through her. She could almost believe it was true. The loss of his touch made her aware of wanting it back. She would have to be on guard around this guy. Guys like him were never serious about girls like her.
    “I’m Ian Razzamenti, HS Petty Officer First Class. And I owe you an apology.”
    “Uh-huh.”
Yeah, for not going home with me last night
. A blush sent her temperature climbing again and she hastily looked away. Her only excuse was temporary insanity caused by stress and an involuntary sexual moratorium.
    “No, seriously. I told Joe you must be an Amazon.” His gaze traveled down to her chest and back to her face. “You’re definitely not.”
    Kelly laughed. No, at five four and a hundred fifteen pounds of