Free Hard Knocks: An Ultimate Novella by Lori Foster Page A

she’d stay around only long enough to sell both properties, give Cannon his share, and then move on.
    But before she did that, she wanted him to know that she would no longer chase after him like a lost puppy begging for affection—especially when she couldn’t do anything about it even if she got his attention.
    Which she knew she wouldn’t. Other than that one sympathy-inspired moment after the threat against her had been removed, he’d made his disinterest well-known.
    Little by little, Cannon cleared the table. With only the cue ball and two others remaining, he chalked his stick, walked around for a better position, bent for a shot—and froze when his attention zeroed in on her body.
    Yvette held her breath, especially when that electric blue gaze deliberately tracked up in minute detail, from her thighs to her stomach, her breasts—and finally her face.
    Their gazes locked.
    Her heartbeat rocked into overtime when, with an arrested expression, he slowly straightened to his impressive height. No smile, just those intense blue eyes consuming her.
    Breathless from his potent stare, Yvette lifted a hand to wiggle her fingers in a small wave.
    Suddenly he went into motion. Saying something to the guy next to him, Cannon handed him the pool stick. The other men—some of them fighters, by the looks of them—jokingly protested. One of the women, smiling too widely, grabbed his arm with playful arguments.
    After a whisper in her ear and a kiss to her cheek, Cannon disengaged from her. He pulled a roll of bills out of his pocket, tossed them on the table to appease everyone and walked away.
    Knowing she’d caused a scene, heat rushed into Yvette’s face. She could feel everyone staring at her now. In order to cope, she kept her gaze only on Cannon. Breathing harder, she tracked his stride around the tables, around human bottlenecks and displaced chairs on a path to reach her.
    God, she thought she’d remembered, but the powerful way he affected her felt entirely new. She bit her bottom lip hard, fighting the urge to flee—or launch herself at him.
    And suddenly it was too late to do, either. Cannon reached her, still said nothing as his attention moved over her again, this time with more familiarity. The reality of him was so much better than the memory, his height, how his wide shoulders blocked out the view of the rest of the room—sometimes the rest of the world.
    She saw how deepened breathing swelled his chest, the loose-limbed way he held his long muscular arms, the intent way he watched her.
    Being this near to him wrecked her poise. The silence made her more jittery still, so she licked her lips and whispered, “Cannon...”
    One corner of his mouth curled as he touched her cheek, smoothed his fingertips along her jaw. Then, as if it happened all the time, he drew her into his chest and hugged her right off her feet...
    Copyright © 2014 by Lori Foster

ISBN-13: 9781459256224
    HARD KNOCKS
    Copyright © 2014 by Lori Foster

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