Where There's a Will (Whiskey River Book 1) Read Free Page B

them. Only the sound of the wind continued and the creaking of the building as it moved with the gusts.
    Heck, if he did that she’d think he was lying. Or crazy. Or maybe just willing to say anything to get into her pants…except he said he wanted to do this right.
    “Never mind,” she said. “Can I have Tuesday off for my interview?”
    He nodded. “Let me talk to Fiona and Johnny as well about a possible position here,” he said, mentioning his partners.
    “Okay,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest as the wind continued howling outside.
    She hated the way it kept blowing. The noise seemed to get inside of her mind and push away all the doubts and clutter that she’d been using to keep herself from looking at Ryder as a man and not just as her boss.
    But promises she’d made to herself kept her from reaching out to him. No matter what the wind blew into her mind, she couldn’t forget that she could only depend on herself. And women in love made stupid choices.
    She’d seen the evidence of that more than once. First in her mom who’d loved unwisely and now herself toying with the idea of giving her boss another kiss and putting paid to his self-control.
    She was smarter than that. Really she was. So instead of letting the wind blow away her inhibitions, she pulled it around her like the past. Remembered the walls of that poorly constructed house she’d grown up in. She huddled smaller into herself until she heard Ryder curse.
    “What?”
    “Come over here,” he said. He held up one arm and gestured for her to move over next to him.
    There was so much strength in Ryder. She freely admitted that was one of the reasons she was attracted to him. That strength wasn’t just physical but also part of his core. He had a strong moral fibre that was hard to shake.
    “Why?” she asked.
    “I hate seeing you look as if you are trying to disappear into the wall,” he said.
    “I’m fine,” she said. She’d been weak earlier and look where it had gotten her.
    Where had it gotten her? More confused than ever. Afraid of Ryder?
    “Am I really scarier than the storm?” he asked. That whiskey smooth voice of his brushing over her senses and making her want to forget her gut instincts which said getting closer to him was a dumb idea.
    But she did it anyway. She’d grown up in the Barrels which, let’s face it, had seemed like one big dare to make it to adulthood. And she never backed down. Maybe she could just brazen her way through the next few minutes or hours until the storm abated and they got out of here.
    She tipped her head to the side to study him. His face was strong—there it was again—strength. It was hard to see him as the kind of man who wasn’t trustworthy. And she’d never really trusted anyone.
    But she’d kissed him twice. That had to mean something. She never let her guard down twice. And even allowing for the storm that still meant that he was different.
    “I’m not scared of you, Ryder.”
    “Really? Sure seems that way to me,” he said. “I offer you comfort and you stay huddled in the corner. Looks like you’re scared…maybe it’s not me you’re scared of but yourself. Your lack of willpower.”
    Damn he was good. Turning the tables back on her. “I was thinking of you.”
    “Do tell,” he said dryly.
    “Just trying to help keep you from giving in to temptation. You did seem pretty adamant about doing things right,” she said.
    She watched him carefully but he was too good a lawyer to give anything away. She knew that once they were out of this closet reality would intrude and she’d remember that she was leaving. And Ryder wasn’t going anywhere.
    And she wanted him.
    His kisses were hotter than most of the other embraces she’d experienced. He made her laugh with his dry wit, and he was smart. All the things she liked in a man.
    “What are you implying?”
    “That this closet and the storm are throwing you off your game.”
    “Off my game?” he asked,