Free Just One Bite by Barbara Elsborg

Chapter One
     
    It wasn’t the worst day in Liv Miller’s life, that spot was
taken by the day she’d slipped her father’s brand new car into reverse instead
of park, plowed over a set of golf clubs and through the garage wall to end up
in the fishpond. Oh God. Who knew Land Rovers were so powerful and walls
so thin? And that grown men could be so attached to sporting equipment? Good
thing that she and her father were close. He eventually forgave her. Afterward,
when anyone in the family had a bad day, someone managed to bring up that day
to top it.
    But this day was coming close to that all-time low.
Liv had been late for work because her fat, balding, chauvinistic pig of a
landlord had grabbed her as she exited her apartment. His suggestion of a way
she might like to pay her next month’s rent made Liv’s stomach crawl. When his
rancid breath hit her face, she heaved, and that saved her because he thought
she was about to throw up and let her go.
    Liv had rushed out the building and hardly turned the corner
before some fuckwit attempted to mug her. They’d tussled until she’d recalled
the one surefire way to hurt a guy. A knee in the balls. He’d doubled over and
she ran.
    Less than an hour later, Liv proved that accidents in the
workplace were indeed a daily hazard when she managed to trap her hair in the
coffee machine. Her vindictive boss cut her free, no doubt snipping off far
more than she needed to. That hair wouldn’t grow back anytime soon. And now
after eight hours of grueling work checking insurance claims, the most stupid
of which was from a woman knocked out when she yanked a frozen chicken from her
freezer, Liv was being bloody stalked.
    She walked faster, certain she wasn’t mistaken. She’d caught
sight of a dark-haired guy in a leather jacket staring at her as she left work.
He’d popped up again as she got off the bus and had crossed the road after her
when she’d tried to give him the slip by dashing over on a red light. There had
been a squeal of brakes but no thump, so she guessed he’d made it.
    “Excuse me?” a man called.
    It had to be him. A stalker with manners was a novelty, but
Liv kept going. Her apartment building and safety, assuming Creepo the landlord
was out, lay around the corner.
    “Could I have a word?” the guy asked.
    The tap on her shoulder flipped her from annoyed to furious.
Liv gripped her purse tighter, ready to swing it into his face, and turned to
confront him. Then she froze, because in front of her stood the man who’d tried
to mug her that morning. He held out a bunch of flowers, and when he saw her
scowl, lowered them to cover his crotch.
    “I have no problem kicking flowers,” Liv snapped. Not when
the target lay just beyond.
    “I can explain,” he said, taking a step backward.
    She scowled harder. “You have five seconds.”
    “Name’s Cal Masterson. Not trying to rob you. Wanted to ask
for directions, but you didn’t give me the chance to speak.” He flashed a
devastating smile.
    Potential homicidal mugger slowly morphed into Mr. Tall,
Dark and Delicious.
    Still…he’d followed her to tell her that?
    “You bit me.” Liv glanced at the marks on her arm. He’d
drawn blood. She hadn’t realized until she sat down on the bus.
    “That was your fault,” he said.
    Liv’s jaw dropped. “How can you biting me, be my
fault?” She activated her death-ray glare, able to repel a normal man at thirty
paces. This one smiled more broadly.
    “Your arm got in the way of my mouth.”
    “I was trying to defend myself. I thought you were attacking
me.”
    He rolled his eyes. “You flung your arm into my face. My
mouth was open. I was trying to speak when your knee unexpectedly made contact
with parts of me I feel particularly fond of, and I bit you. Sorry.”
    He pushed the flowers into her hand. Liv sagged. She’d
reacted because of Creepo’s earlier grope and maybe she hadn’t given this guy a
chance to explain. If he’d wanted to mug her, he