ARROGANT BRIT (A BRITISH BAD BOY ROMANCE) Read Online Free PDF

throat, blinded by the hot, unforgiving sun as a foreign voice
shouted indecipherable taunts. I could feel the hard rubber of the hilt in my
hand, and knew what I had to do…

 
    “Well, I was in combat zones for a few years, so that’s fairly accurate,” I replied
angrily. “Thank you for reminding me of my wonderful, feel-good time in the bloody , blistering desert. Now then,
ladies, if you’ll excuse me…”

 
    I stepped away from them, swallowing the fury
that curled up in my throat like encroaching flames. What was THAT? I’d never really experienced any heavy flashbacks
like that before, and to do so now of
all times…?

 
    Warm skin fleetingly brushed against my arm.
Turning on my heel, Clara was at my side, looking at me with eyes filled with
concern.

 
    “Are you ok?”

 
    I snapped out of it, shaking my head and
looking down at her sparkling eyes.

 
    “Look, that might have been a bit far. I’m
really sorry… You just came off like a dick earlier tonight, and I was giving
it back... You’re not going to give up on me now, are you?”

 
    “You’re gorgeous when you open up like this,
Clara.”

 
    Clara blushed briefly, clearly caught
off-guard. I could see her friend back at the counter, ordering a drink and
looking over at us with confusion.

 
    “I’m sorry… look, your name was Dalton,
right? It’s been a frustrating night, and you had me a little off center… I was
trying to forget you existed.”

 
    “Well, I exist, and you got my name right,” I
answered mechanically, trying to gauge where this was going. “I’m Dalton
Cparlyle, of the 165th Steel Division in Afghanistan. Youngest member of the
Carlyle Family of Southern England.”

 
    “Sounds very distinguished,” she smiled.
“Listen, would you like to get out of here, maybe? I could use some air.”

 
    Ah, she’s remorseful now. Now she
feels like she needs to overcompensate. I didn’t mind this particular trajectory
anymore. Still, there’s the small matter
of…

 
    “Your friend,” I reminded, glancing over her
shoulder again. Nat, likely short for Natalie , had affixed her attention
onto flirting with the bartender as he mixed her up a cocktail.

 
    “Oh, she’s probably fine,” Clara clarified,
following my gaze. “Natalie knows I’m in a bit of a vulnerable position, so
she’s always on the defensive for me… I mean… wait. Don’t read into that.”

 
    “Don’t worry,” I reassured Clara. “I’m
English and a former Marine. It’s not
really in either code of ethics for
me to be anything less than a cordial gentleman… Tonight notwithstanding, at
any rate.”

 
    “What, do you get a manual or something?”
Clara teased playfully.

 
    “With the Marines, yes, something of a field
handbook. For the British side, it’s more of an ancient, leather-bound tome,
really…”

 
    “Kept in some dusty old monastery?”

 
    “You’ve seen it, then,” I chuckled.
“Surprised the Elders let you through, usually you have to submit to a
thumb-prick to establish proof of your bloodline…”

 
    We shared a brief laugh, redirecting
ourselves to a nearby bar top. While making brief small talk, Clara drank over
half her beverage and I finished off my whiskey.

 
    “So, what do you do? Besides the banquet
serving, I mean,” I asked her.

 
    “That’s pretty much it. Thrilling stuff,”
Clara answered with a noncommittal shrug. “I start school back up Monday
morning, and that’s going to suck away all of my free time.”

 
    “The university here in town?”

 
    “None other than.”

 
    “I see. I’m enrolled for the semester, too.”

 
    “No kidding,” Clara raised an eyebrow.

 
    I noted that she was going through her drink
kind of quickly... an interesting observation.

 
    “Would have figured you to be already done. I
mean, you’ve gotta be twenty-four, twenty-five, right?”

 
    “I’m twenty-six,” I replied with