Waking Eden (The Eden Series Book 3) Read Free Page B

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Chapter 2
    T rinity dropped to her knees beside Ramsay and checked the pulse at his neck. Smooth and strong, unlike the frantic flutter of her own heart.
    She smoothed a wayward strand of dark hair off his handsome face. Not just any man could pull off long hair without coming off girly, but this guy did it easily. Kind of a sexy barbarian who’d traded his leather armor for a skin-hugging T-shirt and jeans.
    Ramsay’s giant friend crouched opposite her and gripped his shoulder. What was his name? John? No. Jagger. That was it. Golden hair and eyes to match. Heck, the guy looked like he’d been created by Midas. “What happened?”
    “I don’t know.” She checked the back of Ramsay’s head. No blood, but she’d bet he’d sport a nasty goose egg come morning. God, his hair felt sinful. Thick and smooth. “He grabbed my hand and pulled me up. The next thing I knew, his eyes rolled back and he fell.”
    Jagger lifted Ramsay’s head, clasped it at the back, and gripped his chin with the other. He scowled down at his friend. Or was he concentrating?
    “I tried to break his fall, but he’s, well…” She motioned toward Jagger’s torso. “Huge, like you.”
    Ramsay’s eyes popped open and he shook his head.
    Jagger eased back on his heels and smiled. “You realize you passing out when you’re coming onto a woman is gonna make for killer blackmail.”
    Ramsay studied his friend, then her, then her hand on his chest.
    Her hand. On his chest. Not just touching him, but stroking. Small, comforting motions against hard, hot muscle.
    She jerked her hand away and stood so fast, she nearly clattered onto the coffee table behind her.
    Not one vision. Not before or after his fall. That alone should be enough to crow and dance around for days, but mixed with a good solid feel of those muscles, all she could think about was adding both hands to the mix. Minus his T-shirt.
    Ramsay stood and narrowed his eyes.
    Prey. Beneath his stare, she felt like a gazelle entranced by a black panther.
    Jagger stepped closer to him, as though he meant to intercept. “You want to tell me what’s going on?”
    The question snapped Ramsay’s focus. “Must’ve been the trip here. My head went fuzzy and that’s all I remember.”
    Odd. His words made sense, but the tone and the way he eyeballed his friend made it sound like code for something else.
    Jagger’s gaze raked her head to toe before he nodded and ambled back to his seat.
    Ramsay prowled closer, not quite as frightening as seconds before, but still on edge. Predatory. He offered his hand. “Let’s try that again. I’m Ramsay.”
    Eye candy. The guy was pure unadulterated, grade-A eye candy. She sucked with height estimations, but her lips were on a direct line with the rock hard pecs she’d shamelessly fondled and there were scattered light streaks in his dark hair. Not much. Only enough to imply her panther spent time lazing in the sun.
    His voice rumbled, even more tempting than the rest of him. “I can wait all night.” He held his outstretched hand steady, tanned skin tempting her as strongly as his words. Definitely a sun-prone panther.
    She’d touched him twice already. Surely another wouldn’t hurt. “Trinity Blair.”
    Their palms met, his hand encompassing hers in a delicious heat that radiated out in all directions and made her want to snuggle up so tight no space was left between them. The world stopped. The bar ceased to exist. No images. No fearsome emotions. Just perfect, addictive touch.
    Tessa’s voice cut through the cocoon of her thoughts. “Oh, my God. Did you just touch him?”
    Trinity snatched her hand away and stepped back.
    “Well, well, well,” Naomi’s sultry voice sounded from the loveseat as she reclined and draped one arm along the cushions. “This is turning into an interesting night.”
    Margo stood, jerked her head at Naomi to move, and motioned at Ramsay to sit. “Why don’t you two take a load off? Me and Naomi are headed