AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m the reason you’re going to turn around and leave.” Viv made a move to get up, but the woman shook her head and retreated to the table where her friends sat.
Viv blushed, feeling embarrassed by her actions. “I’m sorry, Red. I shouldn’t have done that. It’s just … I don’t like the way she was talking to you.”
Red grinned, clearly enjoying the attention. “No need to apologize. I kind of liked it.” He shook his head. “Not her but you.”
Viv rolled her eyes, feeling a smile tug at the corners of her lips. “You’re impossible.”
“So I’ve been told.”
She took a drink of her beer. “Just to be clear, I was running interference. That kiss meant nothing.”
He grinned. “That’s the first time in my life that nothing felt like something.”
It was something all right. It was a huge mistake and Red was trouble with a capital T.
CHAPTEREIGHT
Red sat there savoring that kiss for several minutes. He didn’t even want to drink his beer for fear that it would wipe away her taste from his lips, but he couldn’t waste a good beer, so he drank deeply, hoping to move the essence of her deeper inside. Only after the last drop did he allow himself to truly savor the kiss, the taste of her lips, the warmth of her skin, the softness of her touch, and the moment still lingering in the air around him.
He sighed and took a deep breath, realizing the moment had gone. But he still felt a warmth inside that was new and an ache for more. He wanted to reach out and touch her again but thought it unwise. One look at Viv and the scowl she had on her face told him if he touched her, he might have that black eye her brother had predicted earlier, so he kept his hands to himself.
The music from the jukebox changed to a soft melody, and a shadow was cast across him as Sarah stood beside him. “Can I steal you away for a dance?”
He had to give her credit. She was persistent. “Sorry, I’m just on my way out.”
Finishing his beer, he stood up to leave and glanced at Viv. Her long, blonde hair was tucked inside a ball cap. He didn’t know why she hid it because he imagined it would look lovely flowing over her shoulders. That led him to other thoughts. Her naked and on his expensive sheets, with her hair fanning out around her. Her naked and arm wrestling him at his dining room table. Her naked...
“Time for me to go.”
Viv looked up at him. “Yeah, me too.” She emptied her beer and put a twenty on the table. “I’ll walk you out.” She looked at Sarah. “Time to find another obsession.”
Sarah smiled. “There’s only one Red.”
“Thank the stars for that,” Viv said. “The world doesn’t need that much trouble.”
He wasn’t accustomed to women fighting over him. Then again, Viv wasn’t staking a claim. She was simply doing her job.
He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and led her toward the door. He would never forget that kiss nor the feeling it brought him—the taste of her lips still on his and the warmth of her touch yet in his heart. He smiled at the thought as they stepped out into the night.
At his truck, she opened his door and gestured for him to get inside. Everything seemed a bit backward—shouldn’t it be the other way around, him opening her door?
“Get home and lock the door, and set the alarm,” she said with an overdramatic flair, stretching out her arm as if she expected a tip. “Give me your phone.”
He obeyed immediately, handing over his phone without question.
“This is my number. If there’s any trouble with your stalker tonight, don’t think twice about giving me a call.” She entered her number in his contacts and handed him back his phone.
“Do you think she’ll come back?”
“Oh sure, she already did. Whatever you’ve got going on, she’s at the front of the queue to buy it.”
“I’m not selling anything.”
Viv chuckled. “I know. I hear you give more free samples than a superstore launching a new meatball.”
Red couldn’t help but feel a pang of embarrassment at Viv’s words. He had always been proud of his reputation as a ladies’ man but hearing her speak casually about it exposed him. He wondered if Viv saw him as just a playboy and nothing more. Then he remembered the way she had looked at him earlier, the way she had kissed him so briefly but so fiercely. He couldn’t deny that there was a connection between them, something that went beyond their professional relationship.
Red thanked her and slipped his phone back into his pocket. He climbed into his truck, feeling Viv’s eyes on him as he started the engine. He didn’t want to leave her, but he had to. As he pulled away, he saw her standing in the same spot, watching him go. He raised a hand in farewell, and she waved back.
