THOR Read Free Page B

want a little peace and quiet.”
    She’s twirling her hair. I want to swat her hand or maybe her ass. She’s messing with me in a big way.
    “You’re not barging, Olivia. Even if you were, I wouldn’t mind. Plus, I’m supposed to help you with this deal you have going, and figure out who’s fucking with you.”
    My voice is deep, rough. Women love it and I’m turning it on for her, but she’s not interested. At all. If anything, she looks bored. This is some sort of serious, high-stakes poker we’re playing here. I’m not sure when the conversation changed exactly, but I’m enjoying the back and forth.
    The whole prospect of having her here is going to be torture, but I’m not asking her to leave and I’m sure as hell not going anywhere. She’d be in her room and I’d be in mine, of course, but she might wander down to the kitchen in some skimpy nightgown.
    My body hardens at the thought. The girl has a thing for underwear and that type always have fine sleepwear. As my blood heats, I imagine her nightie, something soft and translucent, and something that would skim over her perfect, teardrop breasts.
    She waves a dismissive hand. “Everything’s fine. I just need to sign on the dotted line in a few days.” She sighs heavily and steps out of her shoes.
    Without her heels she’s short, maybe five foot two. My gaze drifts down to her bare feet. They’re small and delicate, like the rest of her.
    Leaning against the counter, she continues. “The problem is, I have nowhere else to go. I could find some other arrangements but it might take a few days.”
    “Stay here.”
    Shit. If my buddies could hear me now they’d have a good laugh. For the last six months, they’ve been listening to me bitch about my father’s new wife and her stripper daughter. Now, I’m practically offering to tuck Olivia in. My mind goes there. Tucking her in. Just as quickly, I try to banish the thought.
    “I’ll give it some thought,” she says.
    Something about the way she said that makes me think how Dad keeps bragging about her. Three different times he’s mentioned how she took a sleaze ball strip joint and turned it into a classy gentleman’s club. Now, she’s got an offer for three million, she’ll net a million or two easy after she pays off her debts. Dad’s right, not bad at all.
    Some dickhead is harassing her. If I find him I’ll break his fucking fingers and then he can send texts with his nose. Dad says it’s someone who doesn’t want her to sell. A competitor. I’m not so sure. I’m betting it’s an admirer, a sugar daddy she cut off.
    I just figure her problems have something to do with sex because she’s so fucking hot, and she derails my thinking. It’s like the moment I first met her in the club, she’s all I want. I’m obsessed and need to kiss her, bite her, claim her. Maybe if I had one night with her, I could work her out of my system. Move on.
    Maybe, though, one night wouldn’t be enough. I might need her even more.
    She grabs her shoes and her beer and gazes at me with a look just shy of indecent. “Thanks for the nachos, Luke. You’re bad for a girl’s willpower. That’s for sure.”
    And then she winks. Fucking winks at me and strolls out of the kitchen bare-footed carrying her fuck-me high heels.

Chapter Three
    Olivia
    The morning sun beats down on my head and I wonder why I didn’t get up a little earlier to run. I’m four miles into a five-mile run with my friend and office manager Charlotte. I’ve known her since middle school. She’s kind and smart, and, most importantly, she believes in me. Not a lot of people do, but Charlotte does. When she looks at me, she doesn’t see a high-school dropout, even though she knew me back then. She just sees me, so I run with her every chance I get.
    This morning she’s getting an earful.
    “He doesn’t know that I know who he is,” I snarl.
    We climb a hill. Everything is wet from the storm. The air feels like water. Sweat