Good with His Hands Read Online Free PDF Page B

in fantastic shape.
    â€œYou’re up,” he said, drawing her attention back to the game.
    She scanned the table. He’d pocketed the seven, so she was stripes. She called the eleven and leaned down to take her shot. Recalling the appreciative way she’d watched
him
shoot, she stole an involuntary glance toward the mirrored wall at the last second. His reflected gaze locked on hers—avid and hungry—and she fumbled her shot. The eleven rolled in right where it was supposed to, but the cue ball followed.
    Annoyed with herself for the undisciplined lapse in concentration, she let loose a stream of profanity.
    Behind her, Gray laughed. “You kiss your mother with that mouth?”
    â€œActually, she died when I was a baby.”
    He paled. “Oh, God. I’m—”
    â€œYou didn’t know.” Whenever she told someone about her mom, she felt as if she should be sadder, but she didn’t remember the woman at all. The deepest sorrow she’d experienced was for her father’s loss. “My dad raised me and, incidentally, taught me most of the bad words I know. He wasn’t above swearing at soldiers if it motivated them, and sometimes he forgot to turn it off at home.”
    â€œMilitary, huh?”
    She nodded. “Army.”
    â€œMy father had his own roofing company and took on a lot of small construction jobs for extra income. He was careful, but anyone who works with tools that often is gonna catch his thumb with a hammer from time to time or run afoul of a circular saw.” He smiled. “Colorful words abounded. Of course, he swore me to secrecy. Mom would’ve had a fit if she’d known the vocabulary I was picking up in the garage.”
    He surveyed the table, nostalgia fading as he immersed himself in the game. Using the conveniently positioned stripes, he knocked in two easy shots before having to stop and think about what he wanted to do next.
    â€œIf I were a show-off,” he said, “this is where I’d impress you with some fancy trick shot.”
    She smirked over the rim of her beer. “In my experience, guys who really know how to handle their sticks don’t need to compensate with trick moves.”
    â€œNeed? No. But nothing wrong with spicing things up every now and then, right?” Giving her a suggestive smile, he executed a perfect behind-the-back shot.
    She bit back her own smile. “I refuse to contribute to your ego by applauding that.”
    â€œYou can admit I make you weak in the knees. I won’t lose respect for you.”
    She snorted. He sank a fourth ball before finally missing. Dani used the opportunity to reclaim her dignity with a great stop shot. The waitress brought another round of drinks while Dani pocketed two more, steadily closing the gap. But then she was left without a shot. Even as she banked the cue ball as best she could, she held no real hope. Sometimes, physics was against you.
    Gray returned to the table. She sipped her beer, watching in admiration as he ran the table. His cockiness at pool was well warranted. After knocking in the eight ball for the win, he sauntered back to the railing with a satisfied smile.
    â€œNow I wish we’d bet something,” he said. “Or that I’d suggested strip pool.”
    The idea was appealing, if either of them had a pool table at home. She slid off her stool and began gathering the balls to rerack. “You can’t play strip pool in public.”
    He joined her at the table, leaning close as he lowered his voice. “Sure you can.” His breath feathered against her ear, a tantalizing tickle of warmth. “You just have to remove things that aren’t obvious to everyone else in the room.” For the second time that night, he cupped her hip. Then he traced a finger across the denim, just above the elastic band of her panties. “Like...earrings.”
    His outrageous teasing made her laugh, and she shoved