Pinups and Possibilities Read Free

strip bar, right?”
    “Is it?”
    She nodded. “Naked girls and drinks.”
    “I hadn’t noticed.”
    She tipped her head to the side without removing her hood. “I almost believe you.”
    “Almost?”
    “Mmm-hmm. I know you didn’t come for the girls, because you’re not looking at them. And I know you didn’t come for the drinks, because you’re not having one. But you look like the kind of man who always knows exactly where he is.”
    She still hadn’t pulled off her hood, but her eyes were assessing me, curiosity plain on her face. Something about her look made me uneasy. Like she could see right through me. I brushed it off and gave her a crooked grin.
    I nodded at her glass. “So what’re you drinking?”
    “Straight-up water,” she admitted.
    “Maybe I’m here for the same reason as you, then.”
    She shot me a bemused smile. “You got your days mixed up and you didn’t realize you had the night off and you honestly couldn’t think of somewhere better to go?”
    “Okay, maybe not exactly the same reason.”
    She twirled her fingers around the top of the water bottle.
    “Which part is not exactly the same?”
    I couldn’t look away from her manicured hand as it dragged down her drink and then back up again.The simple gesture was incredibly sensual, and in spite of my sobriety, my head spun just a little.
    She lifted the bottle up and my gaze found a new place to rest. Her mouth hovered over the bottle, then closed over it as she took a delicate sip. It was as enticing as it was distracting.
    Was she doing it on purpose? I couldn’t tell. She wasn’t dressed provocatively. In fact, the black coat she wore hid any hint of her curves. The way she moved, though…she exuded a subtle sexuality. Like it was second nature for her, but not as though it was put on.
    She met my gaze, and the muted heat was there in her eyes, too. Shit. Everything about her brought to mind gauzy sheets and feather pillows.
    “Well?” she said softly.
    I struggled to remember what she had asked, searched my mind for an answer. “None of it’s the same, actually. I haven’t had a day off in months, and I’m just passing through for work. I can think of a hundred of places I’d rather be than here.”
    “Your boss lets you do your work in a strip bar?”
    I shrugged. “My boss is a son of a bitch, and I don’t care where he wants me to work.”
    She shifted in her seat, and for a moment I thought my words had offended her and that she was going to move away. Instead, she slid over so she was on the stool right beside mine.
    “If he’s such a jerk…why are you working for him?” She wanted to know.
    I took an unsteady breath. This close, I could smell her light flowery scent. Lavender.
    “We all have to do things we don’t like sometimes,” I replied.
    “That’s true.” There was real conviction in her agreement.
    Her thigh brushed my knee, and I realized for the first time that under the bulky black coat, she was wearing a dress. When she leaned in, the coat parted a little, and I saw that it was tight across her breasts and loose at her hips and it was pushed up far enough to reveal a significant amount of leg.
    A pulsating beat reverberated through the club, and the house lights dimmed. A murmured voice announced the arrival of the girl coming onto the stage. I barely noticed her.
    “What about the other part?” she asked.
    “What part?”
    “You said you can think of a hundred places you’d rather be. Name one.”
    I gave her a crooked smile. “That was before I started talking to you,” I teased.
    Two spots of colour, visible even in the dim lighting, darkened her fair cheeks. When she spoke again, it was in a voice like raw silk.
    “Fine,” she said. “Name one place you’d rather be. With me.”
    “Just one?” I joked.
    She shot me a dead-serious look. “Just one.”
    My mouth went dry. I knew what she was really asking, and I knew what I wanted to say, but I still felt the need for