Free 03 Solar Flare - Spark Series by Autumn Dawn

distinctly unhappy. “Why?”
    “I’m trying to save my sanity,” she muttered.
At his sharp look, she said clearly, “Maybe I do need to do
something crazy—just to prove I’m not.”
    “That’s not crazy. It’s illegal.”
    “Fine, it’s both. Have you heard of the
guy?”
    He stared her down.
    She cast him a sly look. “You could find out
about him, I’m sure. I don’t trust you to deliver a message,
though, and I want to meet him.”
    He set his drink aside and gave her his full
attention. “How do you even know this person?”
    “I met him at the track. He called me.”
    “Have you told anyone else?”
    “No, but I will. I told you, in fact. Look,
there’s probably only one, maybe two places he could even be. I
understand he’s at work right now.”
    An indefinable tension filled him. “Then I
guess you’re not leaving my sight.”
    This conversation was making her feel better
and better. It always felt good to bait him. “There’ll be other
nights. You could follow me there, be the “backup” you once thought
I should have.”
    He leaned forward, very intent. “Being seen
there would ruin you, Brandy. You can’t afford it.”
    The reminder brought back all the tension
she’d been feeling before. He was hopeless, a humorless
perfectionist, and she didn’t need him raining on her party. She
needed this distraction.
    She stood up and gestured to his drink.
“You’re welcome to take that with you.”
    He grasped her wrist as she stalked past him,
heading for her room. His look was all business. “You’re a smart
woman. Your family trusts you to make the right choices.”
    Infuriated that he would even obliquely
accuse her of endangering her family, no matter how correct he
might be, she leaned in close and threatened, “Let go or regret
it.” She ignored the tears of rage pooling at the corners of her
eyes. She hoped he felt bad. He deserved it.
    He considered her for heavy seconds and
suddenly stood. He towered over her. “I think I know what you want
from that stripper, Red, and you don’t have to go so far from home
to get it.”
    She thought he was insulting her. That’s why
she slapped him. It wasn’t enough, didn’t put a dent in her anger
and frustration, because she didn’t seem to really hurt him. That’s
why she kept hitting him.
    He took her down to the carpet in a gentle
tumble.
    One minute she was the aggressor. The next
she was flat on her back, her hands lightly pinned above her head.
They were on the floor, and he had a leg thrown over her waist,
weighing her down. She froze in surprise.
    He looked calmly down at her. “Is this what
you wanted?”
    Her mouth went dry. “Get off.”
    He studied her. “You don’t seem afraid.”
    “I’m not!” Fear was hardly the top emotion.
His weight was doing things to her, scrambling her brains worse
than any drug. He made her breath catch. She was too aware of him.
She began to shake, and it wasn’t with fear. She was also confused.
All this, for him? She might not hate him anymore, but she hadn't
given herself permission to feel like this. She should have better
control.
    He considered her mouth. After a very long
pause, he said casually, “While you’re down here, do you have time
for a kiss?”
    Her lips parted in surprise. A kiss? Did she
have time? Time was hardly the issue. His question tricked her into
thinking about her answer, though, and the longer they held the
position, the stronger her curiosity grew. She looked at his mouth
and swallowed. “You’re probably a terrible kisser,” she said
hoarsely.
    His lips curved in a sensual smile. “Do you
want to find out?”
    “Fine,” she said breathlessly. Chills
shivered over her skin as his mouth lowered. Would it be as cold as
she’d always thought him?
    The brush of his mouth was hot. It zinged and
tingled, made her catch her breath. His weight settled more readily
over her, made her want—
    “Hey, sis! The door was open, so I thought
I’d