Free A Shot of Sin by Eden Summers Page A

himself while she stormed to the front of her Ashwood home and began searching for her keys. The keys Glenn had picked up from the parking-lot asphalt and were now firmly sitting in Leo’s trouser pocket.
    After a few seconds of searching, she straightened and swung around to glare at him.
    With a grin, he climbed from the car and jogged to her side.
    “My keys?” she grated, thrusting out her palm. “Please.”
    He retrieved them from his pocket and placed them in her hand, touching her for longer than necessary. Her skin was soft, warm and too damn inviting after the anger he’d received from her earlier. As much as he liked teasing her, he hated her ire. Her lips were meant for smiling, not snarling. And he never wanted to see those light-brown irises peering up at him with anything other than lust and affection.
    “Thank you,” she muttered and then turned to open the door.
    He followed her down a pitch-black hall and squinted when she flicked on a light to reveal an open kitchen, dining and living room area. She went to the fridge, retrieved a bottle of water and spun to him as she cracked open the lid.
    “So…can we get this chat over with?” she asked, raising a haughty brow. She was flustered, still the frightened lioness backed into a corner.
    “No need to be aggressive. All I want to do is talk.”
    “Aggressive? No. I’m in shock. I’m disappointed. I’m probably overreacting a little, but I’m not aggressive. I just want to go to bed.”
    He quirked a brow, arrogantly suggesting he join her.
    “Alone, Leo.”
    He held in a chuckle, yet he couldn’t keep the side of his lips from tilting. Her vulnerability warmed his heart, made him yearn more to protect her. “Don’t worry about next week. I’ll find someone else to work the shift.”
    “Are you kidding?” She pushed from the counter and straightened her shoulders. “Working down there isn’t the problem. I don’t give a flying hoot what nameless, faceless people do in their spare time. This is about you blindsiding me when I’d made it clear I had feelings for you.”
    “I’m sorry.” Even though her reactions had sparked an avalanche of bickering, this mess between them was his fault. He should’ve put his foot down when T.J. suggested she work in the Vault.
    “You should’ve told me I had no chance.”
    “I tried.” He moved forward slowly, not wanting to spook her into running. “After the time in the storeroom, I backed away.”
    She slumped against the counter and stared at the floor. “You know how women play hard to get because men like a challenge?”
    He frowned. “Yeah.”
    “It works for women too.” She shrugged. “You only made me want you more.”
    “I should’ve known.” He walked into the kitchen and rested his lower back against the counter opposite her. “I’m kinda irresistible. Sometimes I forget the effect I have on people.”
    She glanced at him under thick eyelashes and released a huff of laughter. “You’re a dickhead,” she muttered, shaking her head and lowering her gaze back to the floor.
    Silence fell between them, giving him the time to relive the mistakes he’d made. He never should’ve reciprocated her flirting. He sure as hell shouldn’t have succumbed to temptation and followed her into the storeroom that day. In truth, he probably shouldn’t have hired her when he realized he desired her the first day they met. Now she was fractured—her skin pale, her eyes empty, her smile hiding under layers of betrayal.
    She raised her hands and stared blankly at her palms.
    “You’re shaking.” He bridged the space between them in two strides and clasped her hands in his, ignoring the way she stiffened.
    “It’s been a long night.”
    She straightened the closer he inched forward, trying to maintain space between them. After a long shift at the club, she smelled like sin. Like hot, sweaty, entirely delectable sin.
    Fuck his proclivities. Why couldn’t he be happy to settle down in a