When Angels Fall Read Free Page B

up at him, and out of nowhere, the stab of jealousy was back and ripping through his gut. The sappy, doe-eyed look his uncle gave her in return didn ’ t help matters.
    “ What do you think, James? ” She started to roll her glass much like he had before she ’ d walked in and turned him upside down. Had she grown up watching Greg in his office chair, rolling his crystal glass back and forth as he had?
    His uncle placed a full bottle of his father ’ s favorite whiskey between them, was careful not to look Peter in the eye. What game was he playing? “ You ’ re a big girl, Eva, that ’ s what your dad used to always say. Use your instincts. ”
    Dad. Peter swore he heard his jaw pop. “ He wasn ’ t her father , ” he hissed.
    From the biting cold outside, to the warm temperature of the bar, Eva ’ s cheeks had taken on a rosy glow. One that looked good on her, one that he imag in ed she ’ d get on her chest and neck when she climaxed. Peter watched the color drain. A hard edge of beautiful anger filled her eyes, erased the exhaustion she emitted.
    “ You ’ re a real asshole, you know that? ” she snapped.
    He fought the immediate instinct to grin. Smiling at this point would have earned him a slap across the face.
    Holding up his hands . “ I ’ m just stating a fact. Greg never had a daughter, not one that would be your age, anyway. ”
    “ Fine, ” she seethed, leaned closer to him so when she spoke it was a few inches from his face. Her breath smelled of mint, and he savored the taste when it lingered on his tongue.
    “ He wasn ’ t my biological father. But he was the closest thing I ever had to one. In my entire life I ’ ve loved one man, and one man only. Not two hours ago, I sealed his ashes in a fucking jar. I f you ’ ll excuse me, I ’ ll be going home now. ”
    At Eva ’ s loud, heartfelt outburst, every person in the bar turned to stare at them. Chairs scraped backward on the wooden floor, boots thudded to the ground. The air shifted as one by one the patrons of Lost Isle stood. The chorus was a clear signal he was about to have the entire town converging on him in a matter of seconds.
    Bring it on , the leopard growled.
    Peter pushed his beast back, forced himself to react. He grabbed Eva ’ s wrist, stopped her from walking away from him. The moment their skin met, he jolted. Not from the shocking ice of her skin, but from the electric hot current zapping between them. The sudden, overwhelming urge to wrap her in his arms, to press her nose into his neck consumed.
    “ I ’ m sorry, Eva. If you knew me, you ’ d know how rare it is that I apologize. I should not have said that. Sit back down. ”
    “ No, ” she snapped, ripp ing her arm from his grasp.
    Did her ‘ no ’ mean she wasn ’ t sitting back down? Tension coiled, and stupidly he found himself holding his breath.

Chapter Two

    Peter blew out a breath as Eva sat back down on her stool.
    She glared at him. “ Damn right y ou shouldn ’ t have said that. What is wrong with you? ”
    “ I was raised by a pack of wild animals? ” Peter suggested, and felt so relieved she ’ d stayed he let the full impact of his boyish, sometimes charming, grin show through.
    With a huff and a backwards wave of her hand, she settled the patrons teeming for a fight. They sat, but it didn ’ t take much to guess the town wasn ’ t happy about Eva ’ s decision to handle the outsider on her own. The leopard sensed their agitation, smelled their thirst for blood. Peter made an easy target for their anger and grief.
    He held out a hand to her, one that she stared dumbly at.
    “ You ’ re joking , right? ” she said.
    He shook his head. “ You should also know, in addition to my rare apologies, and my two-naturedness, I ’ ve got zero manners. ” He picked up her hand, placed it in his much larger one in a parody of a handshake. “ Let me try this again. Hi, I ’ m Peter. I ’ m a complete and utter asshole. Now, who might