Free Slow Hands by Leslie Kelly Page B

she say?”
    The embarrassed-looking man next to him—his friend who’d made no effort to provide backup to the drunk—muttered, “I’m pretty sure she told you to shut the hell up.”
    “Yeah,” someone else said. “So please do us all a favor and do it!”
    “Oh,” the drunk said, finally glancing around and realizing what a spectacle he’d made of himself. If Maddy had railed at him, he probably wouldn’t have backed down. As it was, though, her calm, courteous reply made him look an absolute fool. And he wasn’t too drunk to realize it.
    “Sorry,” he mumbled.
    “Thank you.” Maddy smiled and nodded politely, then turned back around to face the field, putting a definite end to the interaction. It was the top of the ninth and things were getting interesting. She wasn’t going to waste another moment of the beautiful day on a blithering fool.
    She didn’t even glance over as Jake slowly dropped back into his seat beside her. “I can take care of myself, you know,” she murmured, watching the field.
    “Yeah, I noticed.” Jake leaned closer, near enough for her to feel the warmth of his breath on her hair. Not to mention the way his shoulders shook with laughter. His anger had disappeared as quickly as steam off a bathroom mirror. “Correct me if I’m wrong…did you just call him a pig?”
    “I’m certain I don’t know what you mean.”
    “Uh-huh. Sure you don’t.”
    Still chuckling, Jake casually dropped his big, solid hand onto her thigh, above her knee, and squeezed it. Not exactly the most erogenous zone on her body, but still, every molecule inside her leaped to attention. Her blood roared in her veins at the feel of that strong, warm touch, and she was completely incapable of stopping the visual images that flooded her mind.
    Maddy’s skin tingled beneath the soft fabric of her capris at the thought of him sliding that touch higher, caressing her all the way up her thigh as he kissed her again, just as he had in the car. Slow, sweet…then deeper, harder. Wetter and faster.
    She wanted him to kiss her in every way a man could kiss a woman. And in every place on her body.
    God, she was a wreck. Yet he seemed completely unaffected, still smiling that easygoing smile. “Remind me never to get on your bad side. I’m slightly more literate than our friend back there. And I do believe that tongue of yours could draw blood if the person actually understood what the hell you were saying.”
    Maddy tried to force her heart to slow its rapid pace, striving for the same nonchalance Jake obviously felt about his casually possessive touch on her leg.
    She didn’t succeed. Her pulse still raced, her breaths grew fast and uneven. She couldn’t tear her gaze away from the strong, deeply tanned fingers starkly outlined against her clothing.
    Then, thank heaven, she was saved. Because with the bases loaded, the next player at bat hit one out of the park. The entire stadium roared, rising to its feet as if one huge, sinuous being, Maddy and Jake among them.
    Whoever that player was, she could kiss him, she really could. Because somehow, during the euphoric celebrations of the home team’s victory, she managed to calm down and put all her protective gear firmly back in place.
    Almost through , she reminded herself. Their date was almost done, then she could forget about this day, forget about him. Seeing the way he’d been completely unaffected by a simple touch that had left her breathless had reminded her of just who she was dealing with her. This man dealt in intimate touches and was completely unaffected by them.
    She, however, was not, and would never be. Which meant she needed to put an end to this ridiculous date. And get back to her regularly scheduled life.

5
    S ITTING AT A GOUGED and pitted oak table at a popular downtown pub that evening, Jake watched carefully for the first sign that Maddy wasn’t enjoying herself. So far, he’d seen absolutely nothing. Not even her run-in with the