Free His Kind of Perfect (Sugar Bay #1) by Kinsley Gibb Page A

understatement. His transition from their scorching hot kiss to business
as usual was lightning fast while her pace was more like a dehydrated turtle
lumbering along, sort of pathetic.
    The moment she slid off the table her legs
wobbled. Not good. She corrected herself and reached for the pool chalk. Two
could play at this.
    The game had taken on additional meaning. For
her, the stakes were high. If she lost, the temptation to kiss him again may be
too much and if she ended up throwing herself at him and became the source of pity,
it would change the dynamics between them.
    If he lost, he’d donate to a worthy cause.
    She had more to lose so she had to win. Their
single kiss had singed all her working brain cells to the point she was still
off balanced. There was no way she’d survive another. She’d go down in a blaze
of unadulterated lustful glory, which wouldn’t do at all.
    Gone was the charmer with an easy smile and
warm gaze; in his place was a man clearly focused on his mission. From the hard
look in his eyes, his forfeit may be more than a single kiss.
    She shivered and he shot her a glance.
    His carnal look scorched her and she inhaled
sharply. A quiet and watchful Derek was new. His desire to win was evident in
his every move, efficient, purposeful. He didn’t plan on losing.
    Too
darn bad.
    He wouldn’t get an easy victory from her.
Game on.
    She stalked to the edge and searched for
any and all angles of attack.
    Silence ruled their corner of Finn’s.
    He was still ahead so he took his aim,
pocketing an easy one. The next shot was more difficult. As he took aim,
Anabelle tripped.
    “Oops.”
    He gave her a narrow eyed glare after he
missed his target.
    She shrugged. “Sue me, I’m clumsy.”
    Regardless of the cheating, it was her turn
and she moved into play, lining up her shot. Two more and she’d win. The first sank
in quickly ; the soft thunk , music to her ears. She grinned and heard him growl.
    One more and all that was left was the black
eight ball. Easy peasy. She’d done it a million times.
    She leaned into position, being careful to
line up her shot. Just like her daddy taught her, she inhaled, pulling the pool
cue back, the movement nice and easy. As she was about to exhale and follow
through, an eyelash fell into her eye and she jerked, blinking hard to clear
the sting. The pool cue, already in motion, misfired and sent the cue ball off
course, slamming into the black eight ball. Anabelle watched in horrified
silence as the black eight ball rolled with unerring accuracy straight into the
corner pocked with a resounding clunk.
    Son
of a bitch.

Chapter 6

 
    Son
of a bitch .
    He’d won.
    He’d been certain he was done for, she’d been fierce in her desire to win. That she’d
reverted to cheating because she didn’t want to lose was ego busting but he
preferred to think she was passionate about her charity rather than not want to
pay him a forfeit.
    He snuck a glance at her and almost laughed
at the horror on her beautiful face.
    Yep. Ego busting.
    True, it was a crappy way to lose and if
there hadn’t been a forfeit at stake, one he wanted badly, he’d have
commiserated with her. Instead, he had a hard time keeping a goofy grin off his
face.
    Yep. Losing sucked, no doubt about it, but
winning with a possibility of seeing more of Anabelle…priceless and he’d take any
win, any way.
    “Good game.” She stuck her hand out to
shake his hand. He grinned because the lines of her body and the scowl on her
face were the antithesis of her actions.
    Good
sportsmanship his ass .
    He took her small hand in his and she
pumped once before she stalked away to put the cues back on the wall rack. She
looked ready to break a pool stick over her knee yet she lined the cues, spun
each so the brand name lined up front and center, bless her little OCD heart.
    Who knew his little Anabelle was so
competitive. His smile widened at the thought of that single mindedness in bed.
He whistled tunelessly and