Free More Than One Night by Marie Tuhart

shouldn’t be able to affect her like this.
    “Right.” She stepped forward. “Let me take you in back and get you cleaned up.” She kept her voice low and soft.
    The patrons went back to their football game and she placed her fingers on his forearm. Muscles bunched beneath her touch. With her free hand, she dug into her apron and pulled out a clean tissue.
    Jake started to lean back.
    “Be still,” she ordered as she wiped away the blood from his chin.
    Their gazes collided, his pupils dilated and she could see the desire in his eyes. She shivered in awareness.
    “For you, darling, I’ll do anything.”
    “Yeah right.” She turned her head. “Angelo, get Ramon to cover the bar.” She didn’t wait for an answer. Instead she grabbed Jake by the wrist and tugged him to a small back room filled with liquor and supplies. A single light bulb provided a yellowish light.
    Releasing his arm, she took the first aid kit off a shelf as the door shut. Jake was leaning against it, regarding her with a gaze that reminded her of the lion at the zoo. Watching its prey.
    Her stomach clenched. “Sit down and let me see how much damage was done.” She gestured to the small metal chair. With shaking hands, she opened the first aid kit. What was it about men and fighting? Taking out a small alcohol pad and some gauze, she turned back to Jake.
    His hands encircled her waist, tugging her between his open legs. He tilted his head up as he rested his fingers at the bottom of her spine, but not before caressing her hips ever so lightly.
    “Jake.”
    “What?” He gazed at her with those twinkling green eyes, his fingers doing a dance over her spine, causing spirals of excitement to each nerve.
    “Stop doing that.” She shifted on her feet trying to dislodge his hands.
    “I’m just trying to help.”
    She puffed out a breath. Then raised her hand and gently swiped at his lip.
    He flinched. “Sorry,” she whispered. “I should have warned you about the sting.” The cut wasn’t very deep and it only took her a minute to clean it up. By the time she was done, her hands were trembling uncontrollably.
    “All finished.” She tossed the pad and gauze into the trash and tried to step back.
    “Not yet.” Jake tightened his hold as he stood.
    Beth swallowed, he had a predatory gleam in his eyes and her body quaked. “I need to get back to work.” She brought her hands up to push him away, but instead they rested lightly on his chest. His firm, warm chest.
    “Someone is covering for you.”
    “What do you think you’ll accomplish by keeping me here?” She tried to stay calm as Jake maneuvered her back against the wall. Her heart began to pound and her stomach tightened with excitement.
    He released her waist, only to place his palms flat against the wall, trapping her between his hot, unyielding body and the hard wall.
    “Maybe I can finally get some answers as to why you left my bed Saturday morning. The truth, not the crap you tried to feed me earlier.”
    She drew her lower lip between her teeth. She couldn’t give him the truth. It would mean giving voice to her own desires and wants. She wouldn’t do that. She couldn’t.
    “It was time for me to go.”
    “And if I didn’t want you to go?” The fingers of his right hand drew a light path of fire down her cheek. A shiver of anticipation shot through her body.
    “Jake, please.” There was no escaping him, he had her trapped. And his touch was so darn seductive she had no defenses.
    “Please what?” His lips caressed her temple. “Please touch you?” His fingers trailed down her neck to the collar of her blouse. “Please kiss you?” His mouth brushed over hers so briefly she craved more. “Please make love to you?” His hips brushed hers. His erection pressed into her stomach and her breath caught in her throat.
    Beth’s lashes drifted shut and pure unchecked arousal flowed through her entire body. Her core tightened, her stomach clenched and her nipples