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"Nah" Willia over his shoulder "She hed "This cute little thing?"

Rowan could tolerate being called a lot of things--even a whore, since she’d alht look as if she were still in high school, but she was damned if she’d be treated as if she were

She slid off the barstool, startling the laughing man when he saw she stood a head taller than hia the twin black-and-red dragon tattoos scrolled around her forearlanced back at his friends before he inspected her, froy mop of brown curls to her scuffed sneakers "Sure, kid" He eyed her s torso, but it was her arm art that lared at Rowan "You ain’t playing hiht, old man," the player assured him "I’ll take it easy on her" He leered at Rowan "Unless you like it rough, sweetie pie"

She dug her wallet out of her back pocket, pulled out tenties and a ten, and slapped the her opponent until he did the same

Willialass over the bills "I can’t watch this again" He retreated to the far end of the bar

Rowan chose a cue from the wall case, racked the billiard balls at the end of the table, and chalked the tip of her cue Her opponent and his friends gathered around behind her, and when she bent over she heard a lowto admire my fine ass, boys," she said as she set up the shot, "first you’d best get out the way of my stick"

The first ball she sank was an easy one; they actually cheered her on The second she dropped with a bank shot quieted them down They fell silent when the third and fourth balls knocked each other into opposing corner pockets As she took each shot, the red eyes and scales of her dragon tats caught the light and gleamed beneath the fine sheen of sweat that forht arlow, and when she saw the glih the black she jerked down her sleeve

Five minutes later she had cleared the table and finished the job by tapping the eight ball so gently that it drifted into the side pocket

"Good ga men, replaced the cue, and went to the bar to collect her winnings Her opponent reached her in tirab her wrist and hold the folded bills in her fist between thely voice "You put the money back down and we’ll do this two outta three And I’ll break this time"

Rowan stared down at his sweaty face "The bet was one ga it" William called froet outta hand"

The loser gave hionna do, old man? Jump on over here and kick my ass?"

"No" Rowan dropped the bills, which fluttered to the floor When he looked down, she grabbed the back of his hair and rammed his face into the knee she lifted "I a nose and uttering muffled, hoarse sounds Rowan faced his friends, who did the wise thing and backed away She bent down to check his injury and the a onto the floor before she picked up the ood three years," she told hihtened and addressed his friends "His nose is gonna be sore, but it’s not broken Wrap some ice in a washcloth and hold it on; that should keep the swelling down"

Before she left the bar, she handed Williaet back Give Sally a kiss for lanced back at the tourists "Sorry about the blood"

"Uh-huh" He pocketed the tip "Next ti it up"

Chapter 5

Bradford Lawson spent thewith his personal trainer at the club, where he worked on his abs and obliques before swi a hundred laps in the pool Since he’d turned thirty he’d stopped taking his fitness for granted and spent ait

The results showed in the sleek pads of hard muscle all over his body, but he remained dissatisfied Physical exercise helped burn off the extra calories froourmet food and rare wine he liked to consume, but it took too much time and effort Fortunately his trainer also provided him with injections thatreal good, Mr Lawson," the trainer said as he drew out the needle and pressed a cotton ball over the dot of blood that appeared "How are you feeling?"

"Tired and wet" Lawson closed his eyes and rested his head against the tile wall of the locker rooh his faded after only a few seconds "I need another one"

"I’ve beenhis case "You’ve been asking for a lot of doubles lately"

"What about it?"

"The mix I use is special, you know, best-quality stuff" The trainer’s tone grew tentative "Thing is, see, it’s real easy to get hooked on it I think we should scale back the shots for a couple weeks"

He opened one eye "You think we should"

The other ht from one foot to the other "You hired "