Read Online The Harder He Falls: 2 (So Inked) by Sidney Bristol - Free Book Online

across from her, had her muscles too tense and her nerves strung too tight.
    Quin jerked his face away from his cup. “What? No. That’s not what I meant. You’re attractive and exotic-looking. You look more like a doll than a real person.”
    Heat crawled up her neck and she was thankful the parking light was their only illumination. It was the most convoluted compliment anyone had ever paid her, and it turned her on even more. She folded her taco wrapper into a neat square.
    “You realize the term china doll is what men called Asian prostitutes and war brides?”
    “The fuck—no. No, that’s definitely not what I meant. Hey, guys probably hit on you all the time. I figured I had to be a little creative.”
    She rolled her eyes. “At least you don’t talk to my boobs.”
    His gaze dipped to her chest and her nipples perked up at his inspection. She squeezed her thighs together. This was ridiculous. She was not an animal in heat ready to throw herself at some random guy.
    “Well, in their defense, most guys probably only come up to your chest, so it’s not entirely their fault.” One side of his mouth kicked up in a roguish smile.
    She chuckled and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, blame it on me because I’m tall.”
    “It’s not your fault you’re tall. It’s their fault they’re short.”
    Her phone buzzed against her hip. Conversation forgotten, Kellie dug it out of her pocket and unlocked the screen. The home-care provider always texted her when Grandma finally went to bed. She breathed a sigh of relief when nothing else was mentioned, which meant the day had passed without incident. She had all night before she would need to go home and face those troubles. For now she was her own woman.
    “Everything okay?”
    She glanced up from the phone. “Yeah.”
    “Good.”
    “So you moved here for family. Wife? Girlfriend?”
    “None of the above.”
    He was unattached and available. She went very still, the possibilities running through her head.
    Quin cleared his throat. “My schedule right now doesn’t lend itself to dating.”
    Even better. She laid her palms on the rough wooden surface of the table. “Neither does mine.”
    His stillness echoed hers. A predatory awareness came over him, but she wasn’t prey. “That’s a shame.”
    She looked him over, even as he did the same. He wouldn’t be the first client she slept with, she wasn’t a saint. But neither did she know him.
    “Excuse me.” The food truck cook had walked up on them without either noticing. “I need to load the table, sorry.” He smiled and wiped his hands on the dirty apron.
    Kellie swiped the napkin across her face. Had she really inhaled the burrito? Judging by the sad remnants left, yes she had. “That’s fine. Thanks for the food.”
    She rose, gathered up her trash and tossed it in a recycling bin, then leaned against the front of Quin’s truck, out of the way while Quin lent a hand to their cook and helped load the table. Too many thoughts spun around in her head, she needed a minute to get her head screwed on straight, but she wasted those watching Quin’s arms and the way his t-shirt stretched across his back. She pretended she hadn’t been staring when he headed for her, perching her elbows on the hood and leaning back. The truck’s grille pressed into her back but with her elbows perched on the edge, it thrust her breasts out. As if she needed to draw any more attention to them.
    Quin’s gaze roved freely over her body and she could already anticipate his strong touch. He would be an energetic lover, but would he be gentle? Or rough? Did he always have to stay in control? Because sometimes she liked to put a man through his paces.
    “I can’t tell what you’re thinking and I’m dying to know.” He stopped less than a foot away.
    She smiled slowly, already having a pretty good idea what his answer to her question would be. “I was wondering if you would like to get a room.”

Chapter Four
    Bamboo—As an