Half Blood Read Free Page A

order, placing it onto a saucer on the counter. Indi looked up to find him staring down at her with his usual concern.
    ‘Are you sure you’re alright?’ he asked while placing a warm hand on hers.
    Mustering up a small smile, she replied, ‘Peachy.’ Indi picked up the saucer carefully and walked back over to table number three.
    ‘So when do you get off, Nancy?’ the guy asked as she put his coffee down. She looked at him from under her lashes and knew what an epic mistake that was the minute she did it. Fuck it.
    ‘Late,’ she replied sourly.
    ‘How late?’
    She watched him turn the coffee cup on the saucer and levelled her gaze on him once more. ‘Won’t your wife wonder where you are?’ she asked in a quiet snarl.
    His eyes darted down to the tan mark left from his wedding band. ‘We’ve come to an agreement, me and her. She only does vanilla sex and I … don’t,’ he smiled, his lip curling up in the corner again. ‘So, what time?’ he asked, running his index finger over her hand. She flinched away from his touch, folding her arms under her breasts and stopping herself from going for her knife. She felt the beast of her anger raking at her ribs, demanding retribution for being held back; for being trapped.
    ‘Touch me again and I swear to you I’ll remove your hand with my knife,’ she said in a low, threatening voice. ‘And I’ve never made a promise I haven’t kept.’
    He never even batted an eyelid. ‘I’ve got an apartment over in Waterside that we can use. I’m a very successful businessman,’ he preened.
    ‘You disgust me,’ she spat.
    He gave her a sly smile, but the heat in his eyes didn’t match. He was hungry for something more than just flirting. ‘I like wildcats.’ He grabbed her wrist, wrapping his fingers tighter and tighter until she felt her circulation cut.
    ‘Let go of me,’ she hissed. He manoeuvred her around the front of his body, blocking what they were doing from the rest of the café.
    ‘Or what, hmm? Are you going to attack me? Are you going to scream for me to let you go? I’d like that, you know.’ He jerked her a little closer until they were sharing a breath. ‘Fight back,’ he suggested.
    The beast within her growled low and fast. Her arm moved faster than he was able to track because she’d pulled the knife from her right boot with her left hand and held it against his skin. ‘Let. Me. Go,’ she breathed.
    He released her wrist, laughing at her—a gentle, rolling rumble of a sound—and pressed his neck into the tip of the blade until a small bead of blood rose from his skin. God, she was tempted to just run the blade across the front of his throat, to let his life force spill out of his body from a five-inch wound. She would have done it too if she hadn’t felt Rhett come to stand behind her. With a warm hand on her upper arm, he let her feel the strength he possessed.
    ‘Indi? Drop the knife. Now isn’t the time for this.’ He spoke the words calmly and softly into her ear until she loosened her grip on the handle. She stared into the asshole’s dark eyes as Rhett talked her down. She wanted to hurt him, but she also knew that she couldn’t shed any blood in her brother’s café after he was good enough to give her a job. ‘That’s it. Give me the knife.’ Rhett’s huge hand curled around hers and tugged to get her to let go of the handle, but she resisted. She wouldn’t be left unarmed.
    With a jerking motion, she pulled the knife from his neck and held it against her thigh. She turned to look at Rhett and shock made her take a step away from him.
    ‘What?’ he asked softly, dropping his gaze to the floor. She could have sworn that his eyes were two totally different shades of green and blue for half a second.
    ‘Nothing,’ she replied when she could talk. She fixed her gaze back on the man.
    ‘I’ll see you later, Kitten,’ the man said. Indi’s rage exploded. Her movements were fast, her hand curling into a fist and