Free TRAGIC: Rook and Ronin, #1 by J. A. Huss Page A

don't look at that shit at all. Now her body, that's something else. I look at her body. But I work with girls every day. Beautiful girls. The most beautiful girls in the world, actually. And I know that when they wear pretty things, they feel pretty.
    So I get Rook just about every pretty thing I can find, whether she needs it or not. I flip through the rack of jeans for some soft ones and grab several pairs. She must like jeans because that's the only thing I've seen her in, and besides, I like her in jeans and I'm the one choosing. If she doesn't like what I get, she can come shop for herself.
    I grab some t-shirts like she's been wearing, but also some other stuff. Frilly things, tailored things, a few skirts, some shorts, tank tops, I grab all of it.
    I catch myself grinning as I round the corner and come out of the circular closet behind her. "Here you go."
    She spins around from the drawer of underwear, startled, like I scared the ever-loving shit out of her. And it hits me. Something very bad happened to this girl, and it wasn't that long ago from the way she acts.
    Slow down, Ronin.
    "Here, try these on."
    She takes the handful of clothes out of my arms and I back away. "I'll be out in the studio if you need anything, OK?"
    To my surprise she comments to me on everything I brought, yelling out as she tries them on one at a time.
    "How'd you know what size jeans I wear?"
    We only have three sizes, and if she wasn't one of those sizes, she wouldn't have gotten past the door. She's not all bones like some girls, so the small size is out, and she's bigger up top than any of the models I've seen come through here, so I figure the larger of the three sizes is safe.
    I say none of this out loud, I ignore that question altogether. That's a trap if ever there was one.
    "Nice try with the nightie!"
    Now this topic is safe. "I picked it because it's blue and I thought to myself, Ronin, that girl out there has the prettiest blue eyes, wouldn't she look spectacular in this little slip of see-through fabric that is a shade or two lighter."
    She walks out of the dressing room as the last few words are coming out of my mouth.
    Wearing the nightie.
    I'm speechless and I'm pretty fucking sure my mouth is hanging open.
    "I thought since you went to the trouble and put all that thought into it, you at least deserved to see it on."
    "You are very bad, Rook. Very, very bad."
    She laughs all the way up to her eyes and my heart is filled with… something. Something weird. Heat flushes through my body and I almost lose my train of thought when she begins to turn away.
    "Hey!" I call. "Come back here a minute, you distracted me and I missed some parts."
    To my surprise she turns back around and stands there, her hip jutting out, one hand practically caressing the wall and an unreadable expression on her face.
    She's not flaunting it, not modeling, or twirling around to hide her embarrassment. She just stands there and allows me to look at her. I almost feel guilty as my eyes travel down her body and then stop at the bottom and make their way up again. Half of her long black hair is flowing over one shoulder, but the rest of it peeks out from behind her back like a cape. "Miss Walsh," I whisper, "you've wiped my mind of everything right now."
    I walk up to her and she averts her eyes but when I get closer she fights hard to meet my gaze. "I'm glad you're here," I tell her honestly. I want to take her face in my hands and kiss her so bad, but I make myself behave. "I hope you understand that. I'm a flirt and I joke a lot but—" I lose my train of thought as she starts breathing a little harder, making her chest rise and fall under the very sheer pale blue fabric that barely covers her breasts. "—but you stun me."
    I finally find her face again and she's watching me closely, leaning in a little maybe—like she wants me to kiss her.
    But then the moment passes and she turns away slowly. I watch her body move down the short hallway until she