Free EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE by Debby Conrad Page A

didn’t look offended, or even shocked that she’d asked.
    “I need to eat, pay rent. Can’t go to school all day and work enough hours to keep a roof over my head.” He shrugged. “Mr. Whitaker had a full time opening at the hardware store, and I took it.”
    “But what about college? Did you plan to go?”
    “Hadn’t thought about it much.”
    She clasped her hands together. “I’m sorry, it’s really none of my business.”
    “Don’t apologize for being real. Honest.”
    She smiled sadly, and he returned her smile. Okay, so maybe he wasn’t so bad after all. He was tall, lean, muscular, his jeans hanging dangerously low on his hips where his black T-shirt barely met the waistband. His arms were covered with crisp, dark hair all the way to his wrists.
    His face was tan, rugged, and he had one tooth that was slightly crooked, giving him a boyish look when he smiled. A cowlick poked at weird angles from his dark hair, the wind ruffling it when it blew.
    While she was checking him out, he seemed to be assessing her at the same time. Feeling uneasy with his scrutiny, she walked over to the tire swing and tried to climb in. It was a challenge with her jeans so tight, but she finally managed to stick her legs through the hole. She pushed off with her sandals, losing one in the process. But she kept going, picking up a little momentum.
    Griffin continued to keep his gaze on her, resting his booted foot on a huge rock near where he’d parked his motorcycle. “Mr. Whitaker hooked up that contraption when I was about eight years old.”
    “Your boss?”
    “He’s also my landlord. He used to look out for me when I was a kid. When my mom would go on a drinking binge and take off for days at a time, he and Mrs. Whitaker would bring food over, make sure I had lunch money for school. Stuff like that.”
    Hollin let the swing slow, and then stop. “Why didn’t they report your mom to the authorities?”
    “The Whitakers knew I’d run away if they sent me to a foster home, and then I would have ended up in some juvenile detention center. They didn’t want that, and neither did I.”
    He came toward her, bent, picked her sandal off the ground, and placed it on her foot. Little tingles ran up her leg with his touch.
    “Nice toenails,” he said, and Hollin couldn’t help but grin. She’d have to remember to thank Rachel later.
    She tried to get free from the swing, and instead, landed on her butt in the dirt. Her breath quickened and her cheeks grew warm with embarrassment. Not to mention her behind hurt like heck.
    He shook his head, smiling. “Here, let me help.” He scooped her up and carried her across the yard.
    She had no choice but to wrap her arms around his neck. The hair at his nape brushed her bare arm, tickled it. His skin was warm, his scent all male.
    He set her on the trunk of Rachel’s car. Then he simply stared at her as if he was mesmerized with her face.
    Hollin swallowed nervously. “Rachel says when a guy stares at you like that it means he wants to kiss you.”
    He raised a brow. “That’s not always true.”
    “Are you saying you don’t want to kiss me?”
    Griffin didn’t answer. He simply stepped between her legs and pressed his lips to hers, then gently covered her mouth. She’d never been kissed before, had no idea what to do, what to expect. And when he used his tongue to part her lips, she first moaned in protest, then decided she liked it a little. She could taste the beer and cigarettes, although she didn’t find either offensive. But just as she was getting used to his tongue inside her mouth, he pulled away.
    “Christ, you have no idea how to kiss a man,” he said, sounding almost out of breath. “How old are you?”
    “Sixteen,” she fibbed. He raised a brow again, this time in disbelief. “Okay, fifteen, but I’ll be sixteen in seven more months.”
    He let out a loud harrumph sound, ran a hand through his hair and stepped back. As if she had some contagious