Read Online Retribution Boxed Set (Books One and Two) by Cindy Stark - Free Book Online Page A

reached up and
undid the first button on his shirt. She was sure he hadn’t meant anything by
it, probably didn’t realize how removing his tie, undoing his buttons affected
her, but his casual moves sent her mind in motion. She tried to hold her gaze
to his face, but failed and couldn’t resist peeking at what he’d uncovered.
    “If you’re okay for a few minutes, I’ll be right
back.”
    She nodded, not exactly meeting his gaze as she
picked up her wine glass and sipped. As he headed out of the room, she eyed him
from head to toe. Nice. Very nice.
    Wow. Life could sure throw some curve balls. One
minute she was being questioned by the police. Next she was sitting in Xander’s
house, and her legal issues were definitely not the first thing on her mind. Perhaps
she should have her head examined.
    When he returned a few minutes later with Stormy
trotting after him, it was as though he’d morphed into a different person. Gone
was the button-down shirt and sexy tie. His professional clothes had been
replaced by jeans and a tight-fitting gray t-shirt that outlined his chest and
an oh-so-very-nice set of biceps. She probably stared longer than was
acceptable, but she was quite fine blaming her behavior on the wine she’d
consumed.
    She’d downed the contents of her glass while
she’d been lost in thoughts of him and of the disaster hanging over her head. While
she didn’t use alcohol as a way to hide from life, she had to admit she was
feeling a whole lot better.
    “Change of plans,” he said, refilling her wine
glass and filling his. He extended a hand toward her.
    She took his offering and stood, feeling the
tiniest bit wobbly. “Oh?”
    He guided her to a back door that led from the
kitchen to a shady garden patio outside. Stormy dashed between them, and began
her investigation of his yard. The trees and his house blocked most of the
wind, leaving a mild breeze to swirl a few dead leaves on the bricks. “I hope
you’ll forgive me. I decided not to cook. Instead, I ordered pasta from a
little Italian restaurant down the street.”
    “Oh, I see. Bait-and-switch.”
    He dragged two wrought-iron chairs with
leaf-patterned cushions away from a ring of chairs that circled a fire pit and
placed them next to a table, indicating she should sit. “How do you mean? He
claimed the seat next to her, keeping his golden tiger eyes trained on her.
    She took a sip of wine before placing her glass
on the table. “You bring me here under the guise of a home-cooked meal. Once
I’m settled, you pull the old bait-and-switch routine.” If he didn’t stop
looking at her like that, she was positive she’d melt.
    “Trust me. When you taste Mama Maria’s linguini
with chicken piccata, you won’t know the difference. Besides, can you blame me
for wanting to focus more on you than cooking? I’d much rather be staring into
your beautiful green eyes than garlic cloves and pasta.”
    A feeling of lighthearted happiness bubbled
inside until it spilled onto her lips. “A deceiver and a charmer. I imagine a
lot of women would fall for that one.”
    His eyes zeroed in on hers. “Would you?”
    She inhaled, trying to keep her concentration. “I
don’t know. I guess we’ll see.”
    “I guess we will.” He watched her over the top of
the rim of his glass as he took a sip of wine.
    Her heart stuttered before dashing into overdrive.
She knew he was flirting, knew these were probably pick-up lines he’d used on
many unsuspecting women before, but she didn’t care. His words, the sexy way he
spoke, left her feeling more alive than she had in a long time. “Thank you.”
    He arched his brows. “For what?”
    “For inviting me here. For letting me escape into
your haven of solitude. For flirting with me so outrageously so I can forget my
problems for a while.”
    He snorted then. “What? You think I’m doing this
for you? A spark of attraction flared in his eyes. “Believe me. Having you here
is purely selfish on my