Falling Into You Read Free Page A

down?” he suggested,
gently redirecting her toward the seating area with a hand on her back that turned
her bones to liquid.
    As they sat down on the plush sectional, Rebecca
wondered how on earth she was supposed to spend the next twenty minutes with a
complete stranger who wreaked such havoc on her senses. It wasn’t fair. There
ought to be laws against unleashing men like Vince Gray on the female populace.
    He’d sat too close to her, so close she could
smell him, soap and an intoxicating scent that was uniquely male. She could
feel his heat and his vitality, and it shook her. She resisted the temptation
to scoot a few inches away from him. No point in letting him know how much he
affected her, right?
    She strove for aloofness. “So tell me, Vince.
Do you make a habit of cruising strip joints to pick up waitresses?”
    He laughed, and damn if it wasn’t the sexiest
sound she’d ever heard in her life. His hot, bold gaze met hers. “I only ‘pick
up’ the ones who take my breath away,” he drawled, “and you’re the only one
who’s ever done that.”
    His words sent a thrill of pleasure through Rebecca,
which she squelched at once. The man was obviously a shameless womanizer. If
she wasn’t careful, she’d end up doing something really stupid.
    “I was hoping you would come,” Vince said
huskily.
    Rebecca felt a shiver of warmth puddle in her
groin. She knew what he was referring to. But when spokenin that deep, dark voice of his, anything he said took on a sexual connotation. And considering how
sinfully gorgeous he was, it was only natural for her mind to wander to
forbidden territory. God, but he had the most penetrating eyes she’d ever seen.
And those lips. They looked like the lips of a man who knew his way around a
woman’s—
    Dragging her mind back to the conversation, Rebecca
murmured, “I didn’t really have much of a choice about meeting you here.”
    Vince looked vaguely amused. “I find that
hard to believe. Something tells me you’re a woman who makes her own choices
and dares anyone to defy her.” Those probing eyes narrowed on hers with an
intuitiveness that unnerved her. “What are you hiding behind that mask, Rebecca?”
    She frowned. “I’m not hiding anything. I wore
it for Halloween—all of the waitresses are wearing masks, in case you
hadn’t noticed. It’s an annual tradition.”
    He flicked his wrist to glance at the watch
peeking from beneath the white cuff of his shirt. “It’s after midnight.
Halloween is officially over.”
    “I’m aware of that.”
    “So take off the mask.” When she hesitated,
he softly cajoled, “I want to see you. All of you.”
    Heat rushed into her belly as a mental image
of herself standing naked before him flashed through her mind. Remembering her
erotic fantasy, she blushed, and was glad he couldn’t detect it. No way was she
parting with the mask.  
    “I’ll take it off when my shift ends,” she
told him firmly.  
    He smiled indolently. “Ah, a woman of
mystery. I love a good mystery.”
    Rebecca cleared her throat and crossed her
legs, then wished she hadn’t as Vince’s heavy-lidded gaze followed the gesture
and lingered on the curve of her thighs. She tugged discreetly at the
abbreviated length of her shorts. She would have given anything for a pair of
pants, or a floor-length muumuu.
    “What do you do for a living, Vince?” she
blurted, eager to divert his attention from her exposed body parts.  
    He leaned back, lazily spreading his arms
over the back of the overstuffed cushions behind him. “I’m an investment
broker.”
    “Really?” That surprised her. A man like Vince
Gray seemed too edgy, too dangerous, to be confined to such a tame profession.
But then again, what did she really know about him? Zilch, obviously.
    “Do you enjoy your work?”
    “Sure. It pays the bills.”
    Rebecca grinned wryly. “Pays for a few
extras, too,” she pointed out, gesturing around the luxurious room. “Only ballers
can