Read Online Slow and Steady Rush by Laura Trentham - Free Book Online Page A

throaty growl to the already dark undertones. Her gaze bounced between them.
    “Stand down,” he said to Avery, accompanied by a hand signal. The dog sat, but the reverberating rumble continued. Robbie switched his attention back to Darcy. “Are you trying to get me fired?”
    Her bottom lip trembled ever so slightly, drawing his eye. “Of course not. It was a total misunderstanding. Logan told me you were a ‘man’s man,’ and when I asked if Avery was your girlfriend, you said no. You talked about him like he’s your best friend or something. Like you love him.”
    “I do love him. He is my best friend.” Christ, why had he admitted that ? Next, she’d be telling everyone he was into bestiality.
    “I’m so sorry. I’d had a bit too much to drink and wasn’t thinking … straight.” Her eyes widened, and she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, but he couldn’t tell if the Freudian slip amused or embarrassed her. “It’s just that, normally someone like you wouldn’t, you know, be into someone like me. When I thought you were gay and being neighborly, everything made more sense.”
    Her words dented his ego. “What? A dumb jock couldn’t be interested in an intelligent, beautiful woman?”
    Her face shot to his on a quick, indrawn breath. She tucked hair behind an ear before rubbing the ends in a nervous gesture. “That’s not what I meant at all.”
    He closed the distance between them, close enough to see every freckle dotting the bridge of her nose. “How are you going to make this right?”
    “I made you a banana pudding,” she lilted, pointing to the casserole dish on the counter.
    “A banana pudding? Seriously?”
    Her hunched shoulders and the fingernail between her teeth transmitted her nerves in waves. Her gaze was stuck on Avery, and Robbie realized the dog had stepped forward with him, his stance protective, teeth bared. A short whistle had Avery retreating to the door with a whine.
    “I could tell everyone you were the best lay of my life and when you blew me off in the morning, I got jealous?” she suggested.
    The uncertainty in her voice was in stark contrast to the woman he’d sparred with at the river or flirted with at The Tavern. He relaxed his stance and propped one hand on the counter, leaning in. She pulled back as if afraid. Finally, he had the upper hand. A smile wanted to curl his lips, but he forced his face to stay bland.
    “Gee, that makes me sound like a real Boy Scout, doesn’t it? While there’s something appealing about your humiliation—unlike you, lying goes against what I stand for.”
    “I didn’t lie exactly.”
    He ignored her weak defense and wagged his finger in her face. “Not that I wouldn’t be the best lay of your life, I would. But still, as I didn’t close the deal—”
    “Close the deal?” Her shoulders dropped, and her chin jutted forward. The fire he’d sensed yesterday flared between them. “You’re not recruiting me to your football team. And, if you wanted to ‘close the deal,’” she said with air quotes, “why didn’t you make a move?”
    “Because you were blitzed, and excuse me for being gentlemanly, but I didn’t want you puking your guts up while I screwed you.” He kept his words intentionally crude.
    “Yeah, you sound like a real gentleman.” Her drawl dripped sarcasm. “And, I wasn’t drunk enough for a one-night stand with you, Coach Dalton. You overestimate your appeal.” With a flip of her hair and an exaggerated eye roll, she shoved his arm away and started to the hall door.
    Honeysuckle shampoo assailed him on his huge, annoyed inhale. He circled her wrist with reflexes honed on football fields and battlefields and jerked her around, ignoring her huff of surprise.
    “What are you doing?” she whispered.
    He kept her wrist in a vise, while his other hand settled on the small of her back. The same frisson of desire from the night before seeped into his fingers and gentled his touch. Her face tipped