Read Online One Touch More by Mandy Baxter - Free Book Online

Damien.
    â€œBuy a can of pepper spray,” Damien said. “If you’re leaving work this late all the time, you should have the canister in your hand before you even walk out the door.”
    Tabitha wondered at his concern. “You’re probably right. Especially with Joey’s asshole low-life friends hanging around.”
    Damien looked like he wanted to say something, but he kept his mouth shut. A car pulled into the far end of the parking lot and cut the engine. No doubt another of Joey’s customers after their score. His gaze followed hers and a scowl marred his expression. “Does that asshole know where you live?”
    â€œTony? No. No one knows where I live.” Not even Joey. After they’d broken up, she moved from her apartment so he wouldn’t be able to drop by unannounced, and it made her feel a little safer.
    His brow arched with curiosity “Not even Joey?”
    What did he care? She barely knew Damien. “I think you have a customer.” She indicated the car that was sitting in the parking lot with the engine running. “Thanks for handling Tony for me. I appreciate it.”
    Damien took two steps toward her, the bulk of his large frame towering over her. She didn’t feel crowded or intimidated in his presence, though God knows she should have. Instead, a jolt of excitement shot through her bloodstream as her heart beat wildly in her chest. He reached up, the motion abrupt, and brushed her hair away from her face as though he couldn’t resist. A riot of butterflies took flight in Tabitha’s stomach, swirling and soaring at the simple contact.
    And just as abruptly, he turned away. Stalking across the parking lot with an angry stride that prompted the pleasant butterflies in her stomach to duck for cover. Was he angry? With her? What in the hell just happened?
    â€œWho’s Seth?” He turned to face her, not ten feet from her car.
    Suspicion crept up her spine like an early morning frost. “My brother,” she said. “Why?”
    â€œGo straight home, Tabitha. And if Tony gives you any more trouble, I want to know about it.”
    Without waiting for her response, he turned and took off toward the hotel, his body rolling with the cautious gait of a skilled predator. In the distance, a door slammed as whatever nasty drug dealer Joey sent over there got out of his car to follow Damien inside the hotel. Tabitha let out the breath she’d been holding in an attempt to calm her trembling limbs.
    Her skull tingled from the brief contact of Damien’s fingers in her hair. The warmth of his body still occupied the space where he’d stood, close enough for her to touch. She reached for the door handle and pulled against the weight of the door. Tony had scared the shit out of her. She’d played it off for Damien’s benefit, unwilling for him to see any weakness in her. But the truth was that he’d always scared her, and despite Joey’s warnings, she knew he’d sampled some of whatever was in his backpack before making his way to her car.
    If Damien hadn’t stepped in . . . God, she didn’t even want to think about what might have happened. Tabitha was still shaking when she fastened her seat belt. It took two tries to get the key in the ignition and she didn’t know what had her more rattled: her encounter with Tony or the effect of Damien’s close proximity.
    By the time she pulled out of the parking lot, Tabitha was fairly sure she could drive home without getting in a wreck. If Damien could shake a woman up by touching her hair, she could only imagine what skin-on-skin contact would do. A quick ten minutes—thanks to the streetlight gods—saw her home, parked, and ready to call it a night.
    â€œHey, I saved you some pizza.” Seth was sitting on her couch, flipping through channels with a can of soda balanced on his knee. “What took you so long? Didn’t you get off work