Read Online Turn Up the Heat by Kimberly Kincaid - Free Book Online

through the belt loops on his jeans. She paused by way of a tiny stutter step, then straightened her shoulders and promptly ignored him even though they were the only two people in the alcove.
    Typical. Man, girls who did shots from fifty-dollar bottles of tequila were so not in his best interest, no matter how sweet the curve of their hips looked.
    Goddamn designer jeans.
    Of course, he knew about the tequila because he’d been watching her carefully, even though it was a bad idea. Chalk it up to the fact he was pretty bored, and that, contrary to his hopes, none of Samantha Kane’s friends was the least bit interesting. Kind of tough to work up a whole lot of appeal if you had the IQ of a doorknocker, even if you had the other kind of knockers to make up for it. As far as Shane was concerned, the trade-off wasn’t worth it, not even for a night.
    And the pinnacle of his so-so evening was going to be the cold shoulder routine from a girl he didn’t even like? Thanks, but no thanks. Bellamy’s emerald-green eyes were focused squarely on the path back to the bar, and she looked as if she was going to breeze right past him even though he knew she’d seen him. Shane scoffed and pushed off of the wall with disgust, ready to beat her to the punch and let her watch his back for a change.
    But before he could turn all the way around, she stumbled off course and walked smack into the support pole in the dimly lit alcove.
    Shane swung back toward her, his legs giving up an impressive response time to cover the space between them. “Whoa! Bellamy, are you okay?”
    Both of her hands flew up to her right cheek, and without thinking, he covered them with his own. “I’m fine. It’s fine,” she insisted, but her voice betrayed her hurt.
    â€œIt’s not fine. Christ, let me look at you.” Shane guided her beneath the one decent overhead light in the back of the alcove, and she didn’t fight him. “Here, lean against the wall.”
    â€œDon’t be stupid, I told you I’m—ow!” She winced and yanked her head away from his gentle touch, smacking it into the wall behind her.
    Shane raked a hand through his hair and sighed. “Could you knock that off please, before you give yourself a concussion?” Maybe if he made light of it, Bellamy would ease up and at least let him take a look. God, she was tough.
    â€œOh, that’s nice. Go ahead. Make fun.” She scowled, but her voice was tenuous.
    â€œI’m not trying to make fun of you. I’m trying to look at your face.” She couldn’t lose the bravado for the ten seconds it would take for him to make sure she was okay? Jeez!
    Shane took two fingers and very gently lifted her stubborn-as-hell chin so he could get a better look at the angry welt on her cheekbone. “You need to get some ice on this,” he murmured, frowning. He’d had a few shiners in his day, and he wouldn’t be surprised if the mark on her face bloomed into a nasty bruise before morning.
    Bellamy closed her eyes and slumped against the wall. “I don’t want any ice,” she whispered, chin trembling beneath his fingers.
    Something inside his gut went completely soft, and his lips parted in surprise. “You’re going to have a bruise, Bellamy. Plus, you hit your head kind of hard. Maybe you should go to the emergency room or something.” He turned to see if one of the bouncers was milling around near the back hallway.
    â€œShane.” The tone of her voice made him turn back around, mid-movement. “Please don’t get anyone, okay? I promise I’m fine. I just . . .” She broke off, her green eyes flashing with tears that she seemed to be fighting with every ounce of her willpower. “I’ve had a really, really bad week. The whole walking into a pole thing? Let’s just say a trip to the ER would be the miserable icing on the cake of my issues right now,