Walking the Line Read Free Page B

don’t.”
    “Liar,” he said, so softly my skin rippled
with goose-bumps. “You love my charm.”
    I snorted and reluctantly took a seat beside
him, only because my new three-inch heels had murdered my feet.
“You can turn it off now. Your audience has left.”
    “Why don’t I turn it on instead?”
    Before I could blink he’d placed his hands
either side of my barstool, effectively pinning me between the bar
and his all-too-close body.
    Bamboozled by his nearness, the lust in his
eyes and the intoxicating scent of hard-working male sweat and
woodsy aftershave, I blurted the first thing that popped into my
head.
    “I’m thirty-four.”
    “You look twenty-four.” He smiled and I
resisted the urge to dip my finger into that captivating dimple.
“My age, in case you needed more ammunition to keep me at arm’s
length.”
    He was a decade younger than me? Jeez. Not
that I had any intention of robbing a cradle, even a cute Irish
one, but the fact we were ten years apart merely accentuated the
divide between us.
    I dragged in a deep breath, immediately
wishing I hadn’t when my lungs filled with him. “Move.”
    He leaned in closer. “Only if you ask
nicely.”
    “Don’t make me hurt you.”
    It sounded childish, an empty threat that
made him laugh.
    “Like to see you try, babe.”
    “I just bet you would.” I glanced away,
irritated by the heat flooding my body and rising into my cheeks.
“It’s been a long day, so could you please just shut up and—”
    “I’m staying.”
    “Excuse me?”
    There was ballsy and charming, and then there
was certifiably insane. No way would I have a one-night stand with
a guy I’d only just met; who happened to be my employee.
    “Kye said you had a room upstairs you
occasionally rent?” To my relief, he leaned back, releasing me from
my not-totally-unwelcome prison. “I’m low on funds and have a
feeling any cash I earn from here will disappear as fast in that
hostel where I’m staying, so…” He tried one of his signature smiles
and damn if it didn’t melt me a little. “I was hoping you’d help me
out.”
    If working alongside Finn had been hell,
having him across the hall from me upstairs would be madness. But
the longer he stared at me with those guileless eyes filled with
hope, the harder it was to say no.
    Steeling my resolve against Irish charmers, I
shook my head. “No.”
    His mouth quirked into a wry grin. “Need some
time to think about that?”
    I paused and tapped my temple pretending to
think. “Uh…the answer’s still no.”
    “It could be fun…” He leaned forward again
and this time I laid a hand on his chest and shoved him backwards.
“Or not.” He laughed, the deep reverberations reaching down to my
soul. Where no man would ever touch again.
    “Come into the office, I’ll pay you, and you
can go.” I tried to stand, desperate to escape our nearness, but
his knees bumped mine and I ended up almost on the floor.
    “Okay, but not before this.”
    His arms shot out to steady me, then he
hauled me closer. Close enough I could see his stubble was a shade
lighter than his auburn-blonde hair. Close enough I could see
indigo flecks in his green eyes. Close enough I could see a tiny
scar on the outer corner of his right eyebrow.
    “Let me go—”
    He kissed me. Snatching my breath. Stealing
my sanity. Sealing my fate.
    Because as Finn’s lips moved against mine and
his tongue demanded entrance I was foolishly willing to give, I
could think of nothing but the heat, the pleasure, the desire to
experience this and so much more.
    Our teeth clashed a little. Our noses bumped.
It didn’t matter. What Finn lacked in finesse he more than made up
for with enthusiasm. I’d never been ravaged like this before, as if
he couldn’t get enough. It was pretty damn intoxicating for a
hardened cynic.
    I started to pull away but he wouldn’t let
me, deepening the kiss until I was consumed. Unable to think of
anything else but being in this moment,