Read Online Simon Says by Lori Foster - Free Book Online

didn’t give the young fool enough attention, he tried to steal the show by brazenly copping a feel of her ass. She was facing Simon at the time, so he witnessed the shifting expressions of shock, fury, and finally malice that overtook her smile.
    Simon saw red.
    Then he saw Dakota backhand the guy right in the balls.
    She didn’t turn to face Mallet for the attack. Nope, she took him off guard by striking without looking at him. And she hit the nail on the…head.
    Mallet’s face froze for a horrified instant before twisting into awful pain. He cupped his jewels and dropped hard to his knees.
    The gym room went silent, partly in shock, partly in amusement, and partly in anticipation of what would happen next.
    As Dakota turned to Mallet, everyone watched. She put her hands on her hips. She even looked a little sorry for him.
    Bending down, she made sure to have Mallet’s attention. “Oh, quit the bellyaching. That wasn’t much more than a tap. But let me warn you, if you paw me again, next time it’ll be a punch.” She straightened, dusted off her hands, and went back to chatting as if it hadn’t happened.
    Simon didn’t realize that he’d headed toward her until he reached her. Once there, he wasn’t quite sure what to do. Mallet remained on his knees, still wincing in pain, so it’d be pointless to deck him—as he wanted to.
    And Dakota didn’t seem the least bit upset by the incident, so he couldn’t comfort her or defend her, or anything lame like that.
    He didn’t know what the hell to do.
    Dakota saved him by asking, “All done?”
    Unable to lighten his mood or his expression, Simon nodded. “Yeah. I just need to shower.”
    â€œGreat. Are you a ten-minute kind of guy, or one who lingers?”
    Everything she said had sexual connotations to Simon’s lust-inspired brain. “That depends on what I’m doing, Dakota.”
    â€œOh?”
    Damn, but he couldn’t keep from looking at her mouth. She didn’t wear lipstick, and her mouth looked soft and full, always ready to smile. His voice dropped. “Sometimes lingering is just the right move.”
    Those sweet lips parted, then closed tight. “Well, now isn’t a good time to linger. I’m starving. And if you don’t mind, do you think you could take that one with you?” She nodded toward Mallet. “I think I swatted him a little harder than I meant to.”
    The hell he would! “He can damn well crawl in on his own.”
    Dakota frowned. “He’s carrying on so, I’m starting to feel a little guilty, even though he had it coming.”
    â€œYeah, he did.” But on second thought, Simon didn’t want to leave Mallet alone with Dakota while he showered. He caught Mallet’s upper arm and hauled him to his feet. Training mode kicked in, and Simon said, “Let’s go, son. I think you could use a cold shower. And no, don’t complain to me. You’re lucky she got to you before I did, because I’d have broken your hand.”
    To his credit, Mallet kept his mouth shut, but his expression was enough to make most women shudder in fear.
    Not Dakota.
    She laughed.
    Beyond the obvious ideas of bedding her a half dozen times until he got her out of his system, Simon wondered what he was supposed to do with a woman like her. She’d made herself at home in the gym, when few women would even venture inside, much less linger.
    Simon cleared the floor with Mallet in tow, and then used a forearm to pin the much younger man to the wall. “I warned you, Mallet.”
    â€œShe was flirting with everyone!” he strangled out.
    â€œNo, she was visiting while waiting for me . If you’re too stupid to know the difference, that’s your problem. But this is the last time I’m going to tell you: hands off.”
    Mallet tried to pry Simon’s forearm away from his throat, but he couldn’t.