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“Finn!” she squeaked.
Flashbacks of the nakedness, of the wild woman, he’d seen on stage came rushing back. It was unlike any behavior he’d have expected from her. And didn’t that just fuck up his decision to keep far, far away from the woman he’d known since childhood, the woman who was the sister of a man he loved like a brother.
“Does your brother know you get naked on stage?” he asked.
Her trepidation washed away quickly with his words, and she jammed one hand on her hip. “First of all, this is a one-time thing. I took a class, and tonight was my graduation.” She squared her shoulders, straightening, as if she’d gotten an influx of confidence. “And second, what I do in my personal life is none of my brother’s business.”
If only that were true. Mark Whitfield was an overprotective brother and Finn knew it. He had been ever since the day the two siblings were separated as kids and put into different foster homes. Mark had blamed himself for not being there to take care of Veronica even though he was only a child himself.
“I would disagree. Why don’t we call him?” Finn reached into the inner pocket of his jacket.
He had no intention of calling, but he couldn’t resist having a little fun.
“Over my dead body, Finn O’Reilly.” She lunged forward and grabbed for his hand as it went to his pocket. Their fingers touched. Immediately a rush of heat spread through his entire body.
She gasped and jerked away. The book she’d been holding fell to the floor. Had she felt it too? The heat—the spark that had ignited as soon as they touched?
Finn shook it off. That spark needed to be contained—doused with water to keep from spreading. To keep from morphing into something the two of them could never recover from.
Before she had the chance to pick up the book, he bent forward and grabbed it.
“No, Finn, I’ll—”
“What do we have here?”
He smiled. Tonight was shaping up to be the most eye-opening, the most intriguing evening he’d had in a long time. Ever.
“How to Seduce a Man.” He read the title out loud then looked up and met her gaze. Her mouth hung open in shock. “What’s going on with you?” he demanded.
“None of your business.”
He leafed through the pages. “Do you have a special someone you’re trying to impress?”
He’d kill him. Whoever he was. There was no way little Veronica was going to try any of these things with some jerk-off who’d only use her to play out a few fantasies and then take off.
“What do you need this book for, little one?”
“Stop calling me that. I’ve just gotten naked on stage in front of a room full of people.” She pulled open her red jacket and flashed her sexy lingerie. “And in case you haven’t noticed, I am not little anymore.”
“Damn it, V. Close it up.” He reached out and tugged on the edges of the fabric.
Veronica ripped the book away and whirled around, walking out the back door of the club into the warm evening air.
“Speaking of getting naked…” He followed her outside into the alley. “This class you took. So, you’re stripping now?”
She stopped and turned, her hip cocking out to the right, as she glared at him from the alley. “It’s not stripping, it’s burlesque.”
Tomato. Tom-ah-to. “There’s a difference? Naked is naked.”
“Burlesque is an art form. A tease. A formulaic routine of magic…or so Miss Trixie likes to say.”
What kind of people was she hanging out with? “Miss Trixie?”
“My instructor.” She hugged the book against her body, covering the swell of her deliciously sinful breasts. “What did you think of the show, anyway?”
What did he think? He thought she was the most sexy thing he’d ever laid his eyes on. The others didn’t hold a candle to her talent. And boy, did she have talent. The way she moved her hips. The tiny glimmer of naughtiness in her beautiful brown eyes…
A shivered raced up his spine. “The show was…interesting.”
