Free Deadly Ties by Vicki Hinze Page A

dust.”
“Not hardly. Not yet, anyway.” Lisa had no idea he was romantically interested. With the demands on her and her schedule, it had to be that way.
“Well, well.” Tim studied her image a bit longer. “I’ve wondered for years what kind of woman it’d take to captivate you.”
“Enough have tried.” Nick pulled out his wallet and pushed a fifty toward Tim. “You cost me, Mark. I bet you were immune.”
“Sucker bet. No man is immune.” Tim shoved the fifty into his money clip, then put it back into his pocket. “I have to say, she is stunning. You’ve got great taste.”
“I wish I could take the credit, but my tastes have nothing to do with it. If they did, I’d have nixed my feelings for her a long time ago.”
Tim’s eyes gleamed. “Now that’s interesting.”
Sam agreed. “Nix her? You nuts? She’s a knockout.”
“Ordinarily, I prefer brunettes,” Joe said. “But for her, I’d make an exception.”
Mark slid Joe a killer glare.
“Easy, bro. I picked up on your claim.” Joe sent Mark a lazy smile, then told the guys, “She talks straight too. I like that. You won’t believe the things she gets away with.”
Sam turned to look back at Joe. “Like what?”
“She touches him unexpectedly, and he doesn’t swing first and ask questions later.”
Sam’s jaw dropped. Nick’s brows shot up. Tim cocked his head and softly chuckled. “Imagine that.”
Mark shifted uneasily on his feet. “We were demonstrating self-defense techniques.”
“Not after class. They were just talking.” Joe glanced at the guys. “She touched him. Repeatedly.”
“Impressive.” Nick fanned an arm on the back of the sofa.
“Wow.” Sam stared at Mark. “You’re finally getting over the first-strike thing, then.”
“It’s just with her,” Joe said.
“It’s a start,” Nick said. “Mark’s taking control.”
“Control?” Joe strutted to the fridge, then back to the table. “He was a total yes-man. She wanted, and he fell in line. I wasn’t sure the guy standing next to me was Mark. ’Course, she is seriously hot. I might be tempted to say yes a lot to her myself.”
Sam rolled back his eyes. “Sure. I can just see it. Mr. Cool sacrificing himself at a woman’s feet.” Sam cracked up. “When pigs fly.”
“I’m not sacrificing anything anywhere.” They’d had their fun and Mark’d had enough.
Tim sniggered. “That’s how it goes. They steal our hearts and then lead us around by the nose.”
“Not true.” The tips of Mark’s ears warmed.
“I saw it, bro.” Joe pointed two fingers at his eyes, signaling eyes-on.
“What you saw was her leading me by the nose because I let her. It’s still my nose. I choose.” The problem was, Lisa was just too cute to resist. He loved seeing her being playful, and between her work and studies, she seldom was. For more playful moments, Mark probably would let her lead him anywhere that didn’t get them killed. And just how she’d made that happen, he had no idea. He didn’t totally like it. “Look, she’s different.”
“Different?” Tim flicked at a speck of lint on his slacks.
Mark struggled. “She has every reason to be hard and jaded, but she’s not. She’s kind and compassionate, and there’s something pure about her that just gets to me.” Why didn’t he shut up? He should shut up. “She’s subtle too.”
Joe choked on a drink. “About as subtle as a sledgehammer.”
“To others, yeah. But nobody sees her like I do.”
Nick grunted. “You mean through the stars in your eyes?”
“No, Grim Reaper, I mean she doesn’t show anyone else what she shows me. To her, I’m different.”
“I always said that about you, bro.” Joe faked a toothy grin. “You see me through stars too?”
“Another crack and you’ll be seeing stars.”
“Touchy, touchy.” Tim leaned forward, clasped his hands atop his knees.
“I’m trying to be serious here.” Mark’s take on Lisa rattled him enough that he wanted to get their insight