Devil's Punch Read Online Free PDF Page A

I
wanted
jewelry with such strings attached.
    â€œAre you bored yet?” I asked Chance one night.
    He shook his head. “I’m considering my options.”
    â€œDo you want to work in the shop with me?”
    â€œDoing what?”
    â€œAppraising items? Customer service? Inventory? Bookkeeping? Financial—”
    â€œBookkeeping,” he said at once. “I can handle that for you, and I’ll probably do some online trading. Advise you on good investments.”
    I wasn’t averse to increasing my nest egg, and Chance had a knack. “Of course.”
    â€œI won’t be at the store full-time, though. Just as needed to keep the books balanced.”
    At some point I needed to replace Señor Alvarez, who perished when the Montoyas firebombed the pawnshop, but that was a raw spot, and I couldn’t bear to consider it yet. There would be time once the workers finished the new building. Assembling the pieces of a broken life couldn’t happen overnight.
    â€œThen I should ask a different question, a more important one. Are you happy here?”
    Chance considered, delving into his pocket for his silver coin as he always did when he was thinking. He spun it along his knuckles until he decided what to say. The silence didn’t worry me. I’d rather have the truth than a polite lie.
    â€œI’d be happier with you,” he admitted finally. “
Really
with you. Because that would mean you trust me. But I enjoy figuring things out. It’s an adventure, though I do feel a bit
Stranger in a Strange Land
at times.”
    â€œIt took me a year to acclimate. You’d do better if you took some Spanish classes.”
    â€œCan’t you tutor me?” He arched his elegant brows. “The fringe benefits are exceptional.”
    â€œI’ll take a class with you,” I offered.
    My Spanish was good, but not perfect. It couldn’t hurt to learn more. Gratification spilled through me when Chance nodded. His willingness to try made me believe, more than anything, that he wasn’t just screwing with me, trying to even the scales or something so he could be the one to leave me this time. Yeah, my ego was fragile enough to wonder, but only a lunatic would uproot his life this way for such a petty revenge. Chance was many things—obsessive among them—but I didn’t believe he was nuts.
    â€œHow much longer are you going to live with Tia?” he asked, nuzzling my neck. “It makes sense for you to move in here.”
    Mmm.
He remembered perfectly what to do with the side of my neck—wandering lips, gentle scrape of teeth. I contemplated his soft bed and tried to recall why I wanted to go slow.
    â€œDoes it?” I breathed.
    â€œMm-hmm. Even after your property’s rebuilt you still have to furnish the upstairs apartment. Whereas mine’s ready for you, and you helped decorate it.” He pressed a trail of kisses down my throat, nuzzled my collarbone. “It’s a smart business decision. You could rent the flat above the shop. That’s more income.”
    â€œSo you’re only thinking of my financial future?”
    He flashed me a wicked grin. “Well, I didn’t say I had no personal stake in the matter.”
    The kisses grew more heated. Chance drew me down on top of him, so I could feel how much he wanted me. I teased him a little, and he groaned.
    Eventually I said, “If things are still…this way between us when construction’s complete, I’ll give your proposal serious thought.”
    It wouldn’t be as convenient, living here, but it wouldn’t hurt me to walk six blocks to work instead ofrunning downstairs with my hair wet. At the least, the sun and the wind would dry it a little by the time I arrived. And the exercise would be good for me.
    â€œUntil then, you’ll go back to Tia’s every night?” His disappointment rang like cathedral bells.
    â€œIt seems