LITMIR.BIZ

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have dealt with plenty of drunken idiots.” True. Sort of. “And believe me, after a man’s been swung at enough times, he’d better be smart enough to learn how to duck. Or how to fight back.”

      She rolled her eyes. “Now you sound like Jack.”

      Jack Martin, the police chief brother. And, according to the information Dean had from the cute redhead who worked the desk at the motel, the first Martin sibling to run back to Serenity Springs from New York.

      “Jack must be a smart man then,” Dean said, picking up the dustpan.

      “He is. He’s great.” She took the broom and swept the dirt into the dustpan he held. “But if he asks, I’ll deny I ever said that. As a younger sister, it’s my duty to bug, tease and annoy him mercilessly.”

      “I’ll have to call my mother and thank her for not having any daughters.”

      “You don’t know what you’re missing.”

      He dumped the dirt into the trash can. “I have two younger brothers, Ryan and Sam.”

      “You’re from Dallas, right? Is that where they live?”

      “Yeah.”

      “You must miss them.”

      His fingers tightened on the dustpan’s handle. He did miss his brothers. Missed his entire family. It’d been almost two years since he’d walked away from them. But he still couldn’t forgive them. Not yet.

      And he’d never be able to trust them again. Especially Ryan.

      “Looks like we’re about finished here.” Hey, he could change the subject just as easily as she could. Yes, the best way to get someone to trust you was to pretend to open up to them yourself. But damn, he didn’t want to have this particular conversation now.

      Or ever.

      Besides, the bar was too small, too intimate when they were the only people there, to talk about family. It was too easy to forget he was working.

      “Oh. Right. Hold on.” She opened the cash register, counted out some money and handed it to him. “I can’t thank you enough for helping me.”

      “Something tells me you would’ve handled things on your own.” He tucked the bills into his pocket.

      She stepped closer to him. “What would it take to convince you to give up that job in Saranac Lake and work here instead?”

      His heart picked up speed. He loved it when a plan came together.

      “Why would I want to do that?”

      “Saranac Lake is farther north. It’s much colder up there than Serenity Springs.” She laid her hand on his arm as she spoke, her fingers warm on his skin. He stood stock-still, his pulse drumming in his ears. His scheme was working almost too well. “Plus, I’ve been up to the Valley Brook. It’s very fancy. You’d have to wear some dorky uniform.”

      “For what they’re going to pay me, I’d wear a clown suit.”

      She inhaled sharply, as if bracing herself, and took her hand off his arm. “How much did they offer you?”

      Since he really didn’t have a job offer, he made up a figure he thought was reasonable. But when he told her, she winced. Then she swallowed and lifted her chin. “I’ll match it. So what do you say?” she asked hopefully.

      When she smiled at him like that, his head buzzed. His hands itched to dive into her thick mass of hair.

      Ah, hell. What he was going to do next could lead him into a whole mess of trouble.

      It’s for the job, he assured himself. To convince her he was just an easygoing cowboy with nothing more on his mind than his next paycheck.

      Which was total crap, but he’d hold on to that justification for as long as possible. Because he wanted to touch her, to kiss her before they went any further.

      Before there were too many secrets and lies between them.

      “I’ll accept the job,” he said gruffly, “in approximately five minutes.”

      She laughed. “What? That makes no sense.”

      “It makes perfect sense.” He edged closer to her. She took a step back. Then another, until she was pressed up against the bar. “You see, after I accept the job, you’ll be my boss.”

      “You have a problem with me being your boss?”

      “Not at all.” He settled his hands on her waist. She tensed, her palms going to his chest. “But once you’re my boss, certain…actions on my part would be inappropriate.”

      “They might be inappropriate even if I’m not your boss.”

      But she hadn’t pushed him away—or hauled off and slapped him.

      So he was still in the game.

      “They might be.” He tugged her warm, lithe body against his, crushing her hands between them. “I need those five minutes.” He ignored how true that statement was—and how much it endangered his job—as he pressed his mouth against the rapidly beating pulse at her neck. She gasped. He rubbed his cheek against hers and leaned back so he could look into her eyes. His voice barely a whisper, his mouth hovering over hers, he asked, “What do you say?”

      CHAPTER FOUR

      ALLIE WANTED TO SET DEAN straight on how things worked at her bar. She was the boss and she didn’t go around letting her employees put their hands on her. Or kiss her neck.

      Her fingers curled into his chest. He was so warm. Solid.

      He slowly lowered his head, but she pushed against him.

      His eyes met hers. She blamed her lack of willpower on the intensity in his gaze. How could she worry about mistakes when he seemed so…sexy, yes…but more importantly, so steady?

      She slid her palms up to his shoulders. “Okay,” she breathed, linking her hands behind his neck and pressing against him.

      Finally, his mouth brushed against hers, a featherlight kiss that drove a tingle of awareness and sharp, aching need through her body.

      He pulled back and stared down at her. Okay, so curiosity had got the better of them.

      No harm done.

      She smiled up at him as she stroked the back of his neck, the silky ends of his just-this-side-of-too-long hair. “We still have at least four minutes left. I think you can do much better than that.”

      Humor lit his eyes even as they darkened with desire.

      And she knew that his desire was real—even while she suspected it was as unwanted for him as it was for her.

      Then he kissed her again. He kissed like he’d done everything else so far this evening. Slow. Easy. And with great skill. As if he had all the time in the world to learn the texture of her lips, the taste of her, the way she fit against his body. His tongue swept across the seam of her lips. But not even the rasp of his tongue against hers could break the spell he’d put her under.

      She groaned and pressed her breasts against the solid planes of his chest.

      He wrapped one arm around her waist and lifted her so that her high heels came off the floor. He slid his other hand into the hair at the nape of her neck, his fingers loosening the knot she’d tied it in as he massaged her scalp, tilted her head and deepened the kiss.

      Dear Lord, she hadn’t realized one simple kiss could be so…dangerous. To her peace of mind. Her sense of what she could and could not control.

      And most importantly, to her willpower.

      Then, as if a switch had been flipped, the danger passed. Though he still held her flush against him, she had the sensation of him pulling away. While she would’ve sworn his earlier kisses had been driven

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