JINXED: (Karma Series, Book Two) Read Free Page A

opportunity he could to stand on something and attain more vertical leverage.
    “He’s got a crow in here.” Kitty pointed to the bird sitting on Crow’s shoulder. “If the crow stays, my cats stay.”
    And of course, even though my best friend was Lady Luck, I was running on very short supply of it myself. I was up close and personal with Fate, the very person I was avoiding. It was hard to pretend to not see someone who was standing almost on top of you, so I focused my eyes on his chest. Maybe not a good idea, since I became slightly fascinated by the way the shirt mounded and hollowed as it followed the line of his pectorals.
    Now here’s someone who was naturally lucky in life. No one got to look like that without a little helping hand. He smelled almost better than he looked. It was an indescribable scent that reminded me of walking through a forest on a beautiful fall day, and he threw off a comforting heat like standing next to a toasty fire after you’d spent hours in a blizzard. Everything about him was a lure, and I didn’t want to be the catch of the day.
    He moved in closer, forcing me further into the corner and shielding me as more people jostled about. I tried to resist the urge to take in a good whiff of him but failed. I wondered if he ever smelled bad. Maybe if he got all sweaty.
    No, that wasn’t a good thing to think of either; I’d seen him all sweaty, as he covered my body with his. There was good sex, and then there was that night. It had been something different altogether. It hadn’t been long, or with any crazy foreplay, or anything else I could put my finger on. And yet, it had been more intense than anything I’d ever experienced. Like he’d fit me perfectly, moved at just the right pace and the most perfect angle. He’d felt so damn good that it must have been Cupid’s love spell pitching in. Nothing else made sense.
    It made me wonder why we were hiding from Cupid when he could produce those types of results. Shouldn’t we be greeting him with tea and cookies? Come on in and hand me over a blissful night of sexcapades?
    I knew what my problem was; I couldn’t think of that night without remembering the rest. We’d both still been winded when he’d so callously asked about my plans, wanting to know if I’d be hanging around.
    I wasn’t stupid. I knew why he’d asked, and that perhaps he’d had some noble notion behind it, or thought he did. He was telling himself he was doing the right thing by pushing me out the door, but it wasn’t his call. When you truly care about someone, don’t you spend even a minute thinking about alternatives? Now, I wasn’t saying I wanted to stay, but it was a big insult to get past. No, I’d be remaining right here, in this cramped office, with the rest of them.
    “We need to talk.” His voice was barely louder than a whisper.
    “Sure,” I replied, as causally as I could. 
    “After we get out of here, we’ll go back to my place.”
    His place? Oh no, that would not be happening.
    “No good. I’ve got a job in about an hour.” I needed to stop smelling him.
    “Then you have time.” His hand came and rested on my back like it belonged there. My spine seemed to agree since it arched as if trying to make his hand more comfortable in its spot. My reflexes and baser self were clearly happy to please. Unfortunately for him, my pride didn’t feel as accommodating.
    I jutted out the arm closest to him, which dislodged his hand. He retaliated by pushing his hand through the opening my now bent arm made and splaying it on my lower back again and tugging me closer.
    “Why do you keep touching me?” My words were stilted. So much for casual.
    “Why are you getting so touchy about me touching you? I just didn’t want anyone to hear us.” His voice was husky and did funny things to my nerve endings.
    I was thwarted. If I continued to say anything about him touching me, it would look like I was being overly sensitive. The only thing left