Read Online Outside The Lines by Kimberly Kincaid - Free Book Online

percussion section in a marching band, and Garrett shifted his attention back in Blake’s direction. “I don’t want to keep you, Dr. Cross. I just needed to know if you’re in for the bachelor auction at the carnival.”
    Garrett paused, and Jules tried not to choke on the cloud of uncut testosterone filling the small room. “With ladies like Ms. Shaw planning to be in attendance, how can I say no?”
    “Great.” Blake delivered the word with all the enthusiasm of some one who had just been served with a tax audit. “I’ll go ahead and put you on the list.”
    “Looking forward to it.”
    Garrett tossed a quick wink in Jules’s direction before making his exit, and she swiveled her gaze at Blake, brows upturned.
    “Are you okay? Or do you need a second to beat on your chest to get the rest of it out of your system?”
    Blake’s sandy brown lashes went wide as he returned her surprised laugh, the tension of a few minutes ago gone. “Oh, come on! Don’t tell me you actually fell for that pseudo-charming bullshit? The guy is a territorial asshat.”
    “Why Blake Fisher,” Jules drawled, leaning forward in her chair to nudge his knee with her own. “Is that a bit of professional jealousy I detect in your voice?”
    “Please,” he scoffed, nudging her right back. “There’s nothing professional about it. Cross can’t even hit on you properly.”
    Jules came dangerously close to snorting. “What, is there some sort of man credo for that stuff? What’s the proper way to hit on a woman?”
    But t he second the sarcastic question breached the confines of her lips, she wanted it back, because Blake shifted his weight to deliver the full force of his smoky green stare. “You have to be sincere about it. It’s not enough to tell a woman she’s beautiful, even if she is.” He coasted his fingers over her forearm, and the move sent sparks all the way to her shoulder even through the barrier of her sleeve.
    “So what are you supposed to tell her, then?” Jules’s voice came out thick and velvety, like honey from a jar, and even though her protective instinct told her to look away, something deep beneath the surface guided her closer.
    “You’re supposed to say that she’s exquisite.” Blake’s hand follow ed the trail of heat blazing up her arm until he reached the collar of her shirt, rubbing the material against her skin with just enough friction to make her breath hitch. “And stubborn and pure and strong.”
    He pressed forward, his lips just shy of hers as he cupped her face in a set of firm, capable hands.
    “You’re supposed to tell her that you’ve wanted her for eight long years, and you’re done waiting.”
    #
    Even though he knew it was reckless as hell, Blake lowered his mouth over Jules’s in one fluid sweep. The heady taste of her surprise swirled hot on his tongue, and suddenly, reckless became the word of the day.
    Christ, this woman was an addiction. The more Blake was around her, the harder she pushed at his seams, daring him outside the lines with her throaty words and tough demeanor.
    And the harder she pushed, the more he wanted to have her.
    Sliding his fingers into her hair, Blake deepened the kiss even more, re-learning the nuances of her mouth as his hands found the pins holding her curls captive in their tidy, professional twist.
    “You are so hot dressed up like this.” The streak of want that had rolled down his spine when he first saw her standing at the triage desk in that sheer white blouse and three-inch heels made a repeat performance, becoming more insistent as it shot through him again. In an instant, the pins hit the floor, her flame-colored hair uncoiling in a riot over both of their faces as she kissed him back with equal measure.
    “Really?” Jules wrapped her arms around his neck, rising with him as he stood from his chair to gain better access to her body.
    “Yes. All this propriety makes me want to undo you, piece by piece.”
    The glint in her eye s