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Gabriella Ross s tineck in her hand to her full cherry-red lips

For a split second, he wasthose lips encircle theon him…and then he snapped out of it "Hey, there Yeah, it’s been all of, what, five hours?" He checked his watch out of soave two shits what ti-shaped brohat he took as sardonic acknowledges-old pickup line

"Not really Got off a little early, thought I’d unwind for a bit What about you?"

She indicated the beer in her hand "I thought I would try to dull the fla on my back"

"Oh" He winced on her behalf "Yeah, that’s all part of it Sorry"

"It’s all right It’ll be worth it"

"It will be, but in the er than that"

"Is that your way of saying you want to buy nificently shiny hair, and her come-hither look damn near drowned hio In her place was…Satan He stared at her ahis way back fro hi through his head He took another long pull on his beer and set it down hard, getting off his stool "No, it’s not"

"Oh, really?"

"Really" He avoided her eyes as he pulled his wallet from his back pocket and threw so?" Still with that da around her was here for her enjoyive a shit if he shot her down, because there was any number of other poor bastards in here for her to prey on

"Coht tone "Let’s notahead of ourselves, aren’t we? Okay, I can buy ht it was nice to see a friendly face" She turned away frolis, shown to their best advantage on the barstool

Yeah, and if he left her here, any one of these other poor bastards was going to take his seat For reasons he didn’t care to evaluate, thathimself for a damn fool, he reclaiet it I don’t mean to be rude I’ll buy you whatever you want" He waved for the bartender

"Oh, hell no Not if I have to practically beg for it" She intercepted the girl behind the bar before he could open his noring hi withthe TV screen in front of theroans from the other patrons

"I’m not pissed You’d know if I were pissed"

Souely annoyed?"

She cut hih his hair and began to wonder if he was starting to see what the guys at Der about Even Ghost had been wary of this woirlfriend was a little scary in her own right

"Look, I didn’t mean to offend you It would be my pleasure to buy you a drink, but…I work for your brother and--"

"Please Do not worry about my little brother"

"Your little brother is my boss You’re my client And--"

"You never mix business with pleasure," she supplied "Got it"

The way she purred that sentence in between sips of her drink, focusing on the "pleasure"… Oh goddamn, he wanted to mix it He wanted to "