On The Rocks by Sawyer Bennett
Last Call, #1
Adult Contemporary Romance
Releasing February 17th, 2014
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Gabby Ward is not happy that Hunter has returned. Bitter over his rebuff years before, she’s content to stay far away from him and his dangerously charming ways.
Gabby’s well-schemed plans to ignore Hunter go up in flames when he presents an offer to her that she simply can’t refuse, throwing them together in a common quest to each reach their goals. Working together day in and day out proves to be problematic for Gabby, who soon realizes that the feelings she had for him are still very much alive. Hunter struggles to reach through to Gabby’s cold heart, all while starting a new career away from his life as a top ranked, professional surfer.
What starts out as a mutual business arrangement soon turns into a passion that neither of them can continue to deny.
Hard choices lay ahead for both of them when Hunter is offered a once in a lifetime opportunity to return to the pro surfing tour.
Choices that could destroy what they have built or take them further than they ever had dared to hope.
“What the fuck is
wrong with her?” I grumbled.
“You’re
clueless, dude,” Brody said while he placed the twenties, tens,
fives, and ones in their respective drawers. He opened up the rolls
of coins and emptied them in their slots. “Absolutely clueless.”
Walking up to the
bar, I pulled a stool out and leaned one ass cheek on it, laying my
forearms on the bar. “Want to enlighten me?”
Shutting the
register drawer, Brody turned to look at me. “You two remind me of
two kids who like each other but don’t understand it. So rather
than confronting it, you pick at each other, letting your confused
emotions come out as anger and stupid words.”
“I’m not the one
picking at her,” I pointed out.
“True, but I
expect Gabby’s feelings run in a different direction than yours.
You’re running around with your tongue hanging out, panting after
her, and she’s got her heart tied up. It’s the classic difference
between men and women.”
I stood there with
my jaw hanging open, staring in wonder at Brody. He just fucking ‘Dr.
Phil-ed’ me, and I was in awe.
“How in the fuck
do you know that?” I asked.
He shrugged his
shoulders and walked out from behind the bar, heading toward the
stockroom. “One thing in prison you have a lot of… is time. Three
things came out of it. I devoured a lot of books, I had plenty of
time to think, and I sharpened my observation skills. I see plenty of
what goes on, even if you and Gabby don’t.”
I was struck dumb.
My brother… the felon… the philosopher. I was beyond grateful
that he was actually having a conversation with me. I was blown away
at the nature of said conversation. My respect for my brother
increased tenfold, because I realized that prison might have actually
made him smarter… keener… even potentially more well-rounded.
“You amaze me,”
is all I could think to say.
Brody just snorted
at my comment and walked into the storeroom, while I stared after
him. Maybe that was a turning point for Brody, actually doling out
advice to his dumbass brother.
Now it’s Wednesday
morning and, as I pull into the parking lot of Last Call, I see
Gabby’s work truck. None of the other crew members have arrived,
but it’s only 7:30 AM and they don’t usually clock in until
around eight. I have no clue what time Gabby shows up each morning,
but I’m guessing it’s way earlier than seven thirty.
Unlocking the door,
I let myself in and relock it behind me. I’ll open it back up at
eight.
I hear sounds coming
from the back room, which leads out onto the existing deck. Gabby
said they’d be starting the deck expansion today, so I expect to
find her out there.
When I walk back
there though, I find her still inside, bent over one of the pool
tables, reviewing the design plans she has spread out before her.
She’s wearing her classic work clothes… jeans, a t-shirt, and
work boots. She has her tool belt riding low on her slim hips, and
she’s chewing on the end of a pencil while she peruses the
documents in front of her. With her hair pulled up in a ponytail, she
looks young and fresh… and it makes me want to kiss the fuck out of
her.
“Good morning,”
I say, and her head snaps up.
For a brief moment,
her face is placid and relaxed. But the moment she realizes it’s me
walking in, her lips set in a grim line and she turns her attention
back down to the plans before her.
And that just pisses
me off. Fuck what Brody said about her liking me, and that’s why
she’s so cranky. It doesn’t make any sense, and I’m getting
tired of her bratty behavior. It makes me want to be a brat in
return, so what do I do?
I walk up beside
her, getting up close and invading her personal space, and lean over
the plans. “Whatcha doin’?” I ask in a friendly voice.
I swear I can hear
her teeth gritting from my nearness, and she takes a step to the
side. “Just going over the specs on the back deck extension, so I
can get the crew started when they get here.”
I slide a step
closer to her, bending over the drawings. “Explain what you’ll be
doing today.”
She curses under her
breath, and I have to suppress a chuckle. I’m enjoying what my
bratty side is doing to her.
“I don’t have
time for this, Hunter. You either trust my work, or you don’t.”
I turn to look at
her, and she’s glaring at me. “You’re cute when you’re angry.
I particularly like the way you pout. It’s sexy.”
Flames leap out of
her eyes, I kid you not, and she takes a step in closer, while
jabbing me in the chest with her finger. “Just cut it out, Hunter.
I know you think this banter is funny but it’s not. It’s really
pissing me off. I’m trying to do a job here, and you’re not
making it—”
I’ve had
enough—enough of her rancor and PMSing or whatever the fuck her
problem is. Brody said she likes me, and I’m going to see if he’s
as smart as I think he might be.
Grabbing her
shoulders, I pull her in hard to me so her breasts mash into my
chest. She lets out a tiny gasp, her hazel eyes going wide, and her
lips full and slightly open. It’s the only invitation I need before
I bring mouth down on hers… fast and hard.
I unleash all the
pent-up frustration I have toward her cranky behavior into her mouth,
slamming my tongue up against hers, scraping my own bottom lip
against her teeth. The pleasure-pain is exquisite, and I groan at the
first contact.
She’s stiff…
just for a second, her hands hanging loosely at her side. I let it
cross my mind briefly that I could be making a very big mistake, that
this could be bordering on assault, but then her arms come up and she
clutches my hips with her fingertips.
That spurs me on,
and I tilt my head, angling for a deeper contact. She responds
tenfold, sliding a sexy whimper into my mouth, and I feel myself
starting to grow painfully hard.
All from a fucking
kiss.
A kiss that is just
like five years ago, yet so very different. Then she was forbidden,
young, innocent. It was shocking and altering, two things that fueled
my lust.
Now, it’s a desire
that’s fueled by years of wondering, fantasizing, and maybe even a
bit of regret. It’s also a flame that has recently been fanned by
anger, and let’s face it… there’s nothing hotter than being in
the middle of an argument and releasing that emotion through the
sexual channels.
My heart is slamming
inside my chest, and my dick is aching. I want to do nothing more
than take Gabby, lay her across the pool table, and fuck the meanness
out of her. I want to sink myself in her warmth, make her body mine,
and when it’s done, have her look at me with something other than
disdain.
But now is not the
time, and it’s certainly not the place. When I take her—and I
will—it’s going to be somewhere private so I can do things that
might border on depraved… but will certainly wipe that smug look
off her face. Just the thought has me smiling against her lips.
I bring one hand up
and cup the back of her head, pushing her mouth harder against mine
for just a second, taking a last swipe at her with my tongue. Then I
pull back, gripping onto her hair to hold her in place.
I stare at her
intently, watching her eyes, which are clouded with lust and longing.
Without the power of the kiss driving us, her gaze starts to clear,
and I enjoy the myriad of emotion that filters through. Desire is
replaced by confusion, which is then replaced by anger.
She pushes back
against my body, her hands still at my hips, but I hold tight to her
hair and I don’t budge an inch.
“What the hell was
that for?” she seethes.
I give her a
calculated smirk, running my eyes over her face and leaning down to
nip at her lower lip with my teeth. She shivers in my arms and I
internally gloat, because while she acts like she’s mad, she wants
me. There’s no denying it.
Pulling back
slightly, I rub my nose against hers, and then say, “It was the
only way to get you to shut up.”
She looks at me
blankly for a moment, and then it sinks in what I just said to her.
She practically screeches as she rips away from my embrace, and I
quickly release my hold on her hair so she doesn’t tear a chunk of
it out. Stepping back a foot, her eyes do a slow burn and her hand
comes up to wipe it across her lips. It’s a calculated move… to
show me that the kiss disgusted her, but she’s not fooling me. I
invented that move, used it on her five years ago in fact. I know all
about masking my true feelings.
Leaning against the
pool table with one hip, I cross my arms across my chest and give her
a lazy smile. “Don’t act affronted, Gabs. You enjoyed that just
as much as I did.”
“Oooohhh,” she
screeches again, and I wince at the sound. “You’re an asshole. If
you touch me again, I swear I’ll… I’ll…”
“What?” I taunt
her. “Kiss the fuck out of me again? You wanted it… you enjoyed
it. Accept it.”
“I did not,” she
insists, stomping her foot. “You caught me off guard.”
Laughing at her
silliness, I take a step forward, even as she takes a step back to
keep distance between us. “You may not know what’s going on here,
but I do. Brody enlightened me the other day.”
That gets her
attention because she can’t help but ask, “What do you mean?”
I decide I’m done
playing for the day. I can see she’s going to need time to process
this, and I’m fully expecting to deal with a she-devil tomorrow. So
I just turn around and head back out to the front of the bar, telling
her over my shoulder. “Ask Brody. He’ll fill you in.”
I hear her curse
behind me, dropping a few F-bombs in the process. I just laugh, and I
know she can hear me because a few more choice words follow me out
the door.
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