Hard Case (Hard as Nails #2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

want you to consider. I’m doing this pro bono. After being shot at, presumably by someone with connections to your husband, I invite you into my home and tell you to stay as long as you need to. You’ve got to understand, I’m taking you at your word that your husband’s drama was his alone, that you weren’t involved. So, ease up on the distrust and suspicion a bit.”
    I’m not really angry or offended by her suspicions of me. Whatever they may be, there’s a good chance she’s right. But it’s important that we can depend on each other until all of this is over and she can return to her life.
    She looks down at her bare feet, and I follow her gaze. Her toes aren’t polished and her feet look small and delicate. They look sweet, which isn’t a word I’ve ever connected with a woman’s feet before. I can’t help but think Josh Carter was an idiot to screw up his marriage to this beautiful woman. “I’m sorry,” she says softly. “It’s hard, you know. Everything seems a little suspicious right now.”
    I put a finger under her chin and gently lift her face to meet her eyes. “I understand. Suspicion and I have a professional relationship,” I tell her with a wink.
    She studies me for a moment and seems to visibly relax. She laughs a little, a tinkling feminine sound that makes me think of her pink cardigan and navy dress with the cherries on it.
    I turn and walk toward the kitchen before she realizes the sound of her laughter has made me hard.
     
    * * *
     
    Rose
     
    Slate seems invested in getting me to trust him. But he’s only asked me a handful of questions about my case so far. He’s putting all his effort into making sure I’m safe. I just don’t know yet if I can trust anyone, much less this smooth stranger with his sleek lifestyle.
    He leads me into his kitchen, which is as open as the rest of his palace. All of his appliances have a shiny, stainless steel look to them. He has granite countertops and an island in the middle of the kitchen with pots and pans hanging down from the ceiling over it. He opens the fridge and steps to the side so I can peer inside.
    “I have nearly anything you could imagine in there,” he says.
    The shelves are so full, I can’t tell what he actually has. I see beer near the bottom, packages of sandwich meat, yogurt, and tons of other food.
    I’m distracted by the body standing next to me. I can feel his presence tugging on me, inviting me to abandon the fridge and turn to him. I can’t explain why he has this effect on me. I’m starving, but once again, it seems it’s not only food my body needs.
    “How about this?” he interrupts me. “Do you like steak?”
    I cock an eyebrow. “Who doesn’t?”
    “Then it’s settled.” He reaches in and pulls out two individually wrapped steaks already sitting in a marinade. He closes the fridge and takes the steaks over to the island, where he pulls out a pan and sets them down, still in their Ziploc bags.
    “We’ll have steak and baked potatoes tonight. I’ll even throw some asparagus and squash on. Just let me change out of my suit, and I’ll get started.”
    Before I can protest, he’s out of the kitchen and hurrying upstairs. When he returns, my eyes almost pop out my head. He was gorgeous suited up, but I find him even more irresistible now in jeans and a faded T-shirt.
    Slate is the kind of man women stop and stare at when he walks into a room. Josh had been handsome. Slate is gorgeous. Magnetic. Unreal. I try to keep my eyes off him, but instead, I take in every ripple of muscle as he gracefully moves around to prepare our meal.
    He grills the steaks and cooks the vegetables in the oven outside on the dining patio. He hands me a glass of red wine and invites me to sit at the table while he prepares dinner.
    The wine loosens my tongue, and I start sharing my thoughts with him.
    “Is there a Mrs. Rawlings?”
    “Nope. It’s just me. Why do you ask?”
    Usually, I’d be embarrassed for getting