Free Hurts So Good by Mallory Rush Page A

swallowed it. Found out too late that lust and love are two different animals. At least, I hope so. Never been in love, so I can't say fo' sho'." He shook his head and laughed that grainy sandpaper sound that stirred her on some primal level. "Listen to me. You'd think travelin' the world would've taught me some proper diction. I try real hard, but my roots won't let loose."
    She felt as if he'd let her in, through a secret passage that led to a vulnerable part of him she never would have guessed existed. Before he could shut the door, she seized the opportunity.
    "I like how you talk. I guess you could say I feel about it the same way you feel about my teeth. I can't change them, and I've always hated them because they weren't perfect. But after you kissed me, I didn't mind my spaces at all. I wish you felt that way about your speech. It's special. Like you."
    "Hmmm. Never thought about it in them there terms." He smiled crookedly. Then, as if in a hurry to say what he wouldn't if he paused, he added quickly, "Christine hated how I talked. Said to keep my mouth on my sax so I wouldn't embarrass her by opening it. Course, I only talked louder and cruder then, just to make her mad. We were married six years, but it seemed like sixty. Hell had nothin' on her. Or me."
    Andrea had never met Christine, but she nevertheless despised her. Not only for putting Neil down, but for sharing six years of his life.
    "Will you tell me about her?" Andrea hesitated. She wasn't a quitter or a coward. Neither had she been much of a gambler before taking the train to New Orleans. But what did she have to lose by going double or nothing? "And about your mother?"
    Neil looked her over as he appeared to weigh his answer. "If you really want to know, you'll have to catch me in a weaker moment. Could make for some interesting pillow talk, I suppose. That is, should I be foolish enough to get inside that pretty head of yours. Oh yes, and you did mention something else about a heart. Best I give some thought as to whether getting you into bed's worth all that."
    His deft fingertips slid up her spine and lifted her hair to expose the dampness of her neck to a muggy breeze.
    Andrea traced the two-day stubble of beard shadowing his jaw. "If you're feeling dangerous, why not sneak a peek into my mind right now? Tell me what I'm thinking, and you just might make it to first base after a string of strikeouts."
    His lips pursed into a pout, then formed a sly smile.
    "Why, Andrea, I do believe you've reconsidered my invitation to Lou's party. What-say I pick you up around one on Sunday? Dress with a hot, laid-back afternoon in mind, and leave the table manners behind. Maybe we'll even do body shots and end the night with a kick."
    "Body shots?" The way he'd said it promised a lethal sensuality.
    "Don't tell me you haven't traded a few."
    "I don't think so. Guns aren't involved, are they?"
    "Not unless you count a bang." He laughed then, an indulgent, satisfied laugh. "Did I make it to first base or strike out again?"
    "You could make it to second by not insulting me with another offer to pay me for being where I want to be."
    "You mean Lou's party."
    "Lou's party. Work. Wherever. I just want to be with you."
    He regarded her for a full minute, his gaze somber. But then he quirked a brow. "So tell me, chere, does this mean I still have a snowball's chance in hell to score a home run?"
    "You have to pass third base before you get there. You could up your chances by walking me home."
    "But no frisky business, right?"
    Her only answer was a smile.
    They walked in companionable silence, his arm protectively about her shoulders. Hers moved from his lean waist to scratch his broad back as they climbed the stairs to her apartment.
    "Nothing better than a good back scratch, chere. What's that about you scratch mine and I'll scratch yours?"
    "Stop that, Neil!" She laughed uncontrollably when he rubbed two sets of knuckles up and down her spine before goosing her ribs.