Free Blazed by Corri Lee Page A

around mine for just a second too long. "Tha—"  Holy shit.  When my glasses revealed exactly who it was I'd stumbled into, I couldn't help but simper. 
    Super-urbane and well-groomed, the man still holding onto my hand shot me a smouldering smile that made the corners of his ice blue eyes crinkle joyously. Dimples burrowed deep into his cheeks, adding youth to the age added by a flawless black suit embellished with a shirt that matched his eyes and a black tie.  
    "Are you alright?"   American!  My stomach back-flipped. Of all the men for me to collide with, it had to be the single-most man in London who might just be scrummier than Blaze.
    "Better now," I breathed, falling victim to my raging libido, "I don't remember falling, I'm very sorry."
    "You were mugged?" He glanced up at Blaze for his answer but turned his eyes back to me expectantly. "You and your boyfriend?"
    I blurted out, "he's not my boyfriend," and bit down hard on my lip. The insatiable harpy in me wouldn't be happy unless that man was crawling out of my bed in the early hours of the morning.  
    "Uh, yeah." The snarl in Blaze's tone surprised me enough to look up at him and raise an eyebrow. What the hell was his problem? "I was trying to talk this beautiful lady into accepting my business card so she can look me up next time she's in the city, but a guy jumped out of nowhere and snatched her handbag and my wallet. I tried to chase him down but the fucker was fast."
    "Quite." The stranger spoke with enough apathy for it to be obvious that he was ignoring Blaze. I could feel his gaze raking me, mentally undressing me. "You're not from London?"
    I opened my mouth but Blaze answered for me. " Cardiff." Hiding my irritation, I nodded and fiddled impatiently with my own fingers. Being spoken for like a child was more annoying than being cock-blocked.
    "How will you get back?" The man's eyes glinted when I shrugged and his hand delved into the pocket of his crisp blazer. "Here," he passed me a money clip engraved with a lavish 'R' holding an  indiscernible amount of money wrapped up in a business card.
    "You just happen to carry this around?"
    "No, I just woke up feeling lucky, actually. With good reason apparently. You call me. I'll come running to that Cardiff of yours for my money clip." 
    I was as aware of the man smiling as he walked away as I was of Blaze seething next to me, practically vibrating with cataclysmic ire next to me. Waving the money clip in his face, I elbowed him in the ribs, still watching my new 'friend' slink down the street with almost feline grace.
    "What's your problem? You get your free lunch— I did what you asked."
    "What?" I glanced up at him and rolled my eyes at his denial. "What the hell was that, Emmeline?"
    "I believe  that  was a pick up line. And it's going to work on me. See?" My fingertip tapped the business card. "You get free food and he gets laid tonight. My good deeds for today and tomorrow are covered."
    "I meant you." Blaze pulled my hair free of the elastic tie and tried to restore some order to the straggled locks with his fingers. "One minute you're running like the Grim Reaper is on your heels, collapsing into a heap into some New York stiff, then you turn into Miss Sex Appeal."
    "What?"
    He glanced down at me in disbelief and shook his head wistfully. "You don't even realise, do you? Your posture completely changes— you straighten out and swagger, and your voice goes all husky. That guy didn't stand a chance against you." 
    Me, swagger? That was hard to believe. I'd never really questioned how I'd managed to coerce so many men into bed before, presuming it was more to do with a bad reputation of being a sure thing than genuine attraction. Miss Sex Appeal? No, that wasn't me. If that was me, I'd have Hunter.
    "So where do you want to eat?" I grunted downwards and shoved the money clip into Blaze's pocket. The rush of snagging the hunk in the suit had quickly faded and left me back where I was