Laws of Attraction Read Free Page A

expectancy.
    But all things considered, he preferred chess, where he could strategically plan every move to his advantage.
    Mia’s delicate heart-shaped face had a pixie’s impish smile, but the eyes of an old soul—someone on intimate terms with pain. Her appearance so close to the scene of the latest assassination attempt on his new boss might be a coincidence.
    His chest tightened. He’d learned—the worst way possible—that life rarely slotted into neat coincidences.
    Mia stirring against him scattered his thoughts before they could wind down the familiar torturous path. Her silky thigh glided along his, her soft cotton panties brushing his hard-on. His dick twitched in response, and she jolted. Her eyelids shot open, instant terror striking her lovely features.
    He swallowed the sudden lump in his throat. He was well aware she’d slept clutching a canister of mace. Someone had mistreated Mia very badly.
    “Morning.” Dallas offered a reassuring smile as he eased back to give her space. Those wide, deep amber eyes caught and held him spellbound. Intoxicating. Beguiling. Tempting a man to drink her up in one long swallow, until he forgot all the sorrow. Forgot the pain.
    He licked his lower lip, almost imagining he could taste her there. “Your eyes are the exact color of Southern Comfort.”
    She scrambled out of bed like the blankets were on fire. “I’m leaving in ten minutes.” Her voice was husky with fatigue … and fear. “If you’re not ready, you can thumb it home.” Then she stalked into the bathroom and slammed the door.
    Dallas wanted to kick his own ass clear back to Portland. Why the fuck had he blurted that ? Smooth, McQuade .
    He got up as fast as his injuries allowed—and headed straight for Mia’s bulging purse.
    Expensive, professional field glasses. Digital camera with a zoom lens, and dozens of pictures of a certain ski lodge he recognized. A long-distance listening device disguised as a laser pointer. Small notebook detailing way too much of Esteban Montoya’s personal information and whereabouts the past few weeks. Interesting . Dallas frowned. If he searched her car, would he find guns and ammo? Explosives?
    He’d already nearly bought the farm on this new job protecting Montoya from an unknown assassin, and he wanted answers.
    The driver’s license was issued to Mia Elaine Linden. He noted her last name and memorized the license number and address. One credit card, debit card, library card, discount warehouse membership. No social security number, but he could find that easily enough and run a thorough background check when he reached the city. Dallas quickly assessed the remaining contents. Nothing but the usual female paraphernalia. The lone prescription was a plastic compact containing birth-control pills.
    For inexplicable reasons he didn’t care to question, the image of his sloe-eyed rescuer cuddled up with another man made the chilled ache return … and he felt more alone than ever.
    Do not go there .
    He limped to the fireplace and laboriously dressed, remembering the long-ago morning he’d stabbed a needle through his left earlobe, wiped away the blood and thrust in the antique ruby. The sting in his ear had been minor compared to the agony in his heart.
    Even after all this time, not a day went by without acid failure gnawing at his guts. Not a night passed that he didn’t climb from his sleepless bed to pour his anguish into hours of mind-numbing Jeet Kune Do. He rolled his shoulders, relishing the sharp stab of discomfort in his ribs.
    Stay on target .
    If everything went according to plan, his ten years on the warpath would pay off soon. Very soon.
    Dallas clenched his jaw. And if Mia Linden got in his way … he’d just have to deal with her.

Chapter 2
     
     
    Six days later, Mia propped her hip against the lighted-mirror in the dressing room of the Pegasus nightclub and watched her best friend since first grade prepare to go on stage. Valerie Willis sang at