Love on the Boardwalk Read Free Page B

fries and a soda.”
    Brad turned sideways to avoid a collision with a string of three very topless, oiled-up and glittery dancers. “We can decide the menu later. It’s hard for me to think about food with all this nakedness around me.”
    “Shucks.” She paused in the doorway, the ceiling gels putting a pink glow all around her. Gave him a sly, knowing smile. “There goes my fantasy of having you lick a hot fudge sundae off of various naked parts of me.”

Chapter Two
    As soon as they cleared the always-sticky threshold of Club Eden, Brad threw an arm around Trina’s waist and hustled her down the sidewalk. Not that Trina objected. Being leered at and “accidentally” groped for hours on end wasn’t her idea of a good time. Getting away from the smoke and the stench of alcohol, the music and the strobe lighting would do wonders for the headache she developed each night at this point in her shift. Her mood, now, that had picked up to somewhere just this side of awesome once she spotted Brad. She’d harbored a crush on the detective since the moment they met last summer. Fate dumping her almost into his lap tonight must be a reward for...well, something.
    “How about we get some air before dinner?” he asked after they’d gone a block in complete silence.
    “Sounds good.” Although food could wait. She’d far rather keep walking, tucked against Brad’s side. Feeling his warmth as their thighs brushed. The strength of his biceps against her back. It was all kinds of wonderful. It had been way too long since she’d gotten this close to a man. And she couldn’t think of a better way to end her dry spell than Brad Hudson.
    At the end of the next block, he steered them onto the wide, weathered boards of the iconic Boardwalk. Early October meant it was still warm enough for shorts some days, but at night a determinedly cool breeze came off the water. A gaggle of teenaged girls giggled their way past, all clutching plates of golden brown funnel cake covered in a thick layer of powdered sugar. Two lazy sea gulls sat on the edge of an overflowing trash can. Aside from that, she and Brad were alone.
    Garish lights of the Boardwalk behind them were as bright as midday. It was about as romantic as the cat food aisle in a grocery store. But in front of them, from the dunes onward, was nothing but the unrelieved darkness of the ocean and the evening sky. And darkness had great romantic potential.
    “Are you rescuing me?” she asked breathlessly. Because that would be wonderful. Sexy as all get out. Romantic, albeit totally unnecessary. Trina could take care of herself.
    Without hesitation, Brad said, “If you need rescuing, then sure, I’m your guy.”
    Excellent. A real-life hero at the ready. Her very own white knight for the night. “I don’t, actually, but thanks for the offer.”
    He glared down at her. “Maybe I think you do need to be rescued. Does Darcy know you’re here? In AC? Working in a strip joint?”
    If that was his interrogation-room voice—and it was more than scary and hard-edged enough to be—then the criminals of Baltimore didn’t stand a chance. Still, she’d done nothing wrong and refused to be steam-rolled by someone clearly in a mood. Throwing attitude around was not a one-sided game. So Trina jutted her chin out a little. Cricked her head waaaay back to look up at him. And put a little extra sway in her hips to make sure to bump against him every time she thrust out her leg.
    “Yes to the first. Both parts. No to the second.” Trust a cop to make a big deal out of a perfectly legitimate job. So lots of her co-workers spent their shifts mostly naked. So what? Were Brad’s questions fueled by his protect-and-serve mentality? Or was he that much of a stick-in-the-mud? Because she didn’t want to waste her time trying to break her dry spell with somebody using their police badge as a chastity belt.
    He leaned against the railing to the dune crossing. Crossed his arms over that big,