In Your Wildest Dreams Read Online Free PDF Page B

she’d heed the warning. But like he said, her sister was all grown up. It was none of his business if one more sad girl spread her legs for money. He’d gone way overboard with Stephanie Grant tonight—and he couldn’t account for why—but that couch, the red room was where it ended.
    Still, a warm tremor ran the length of his body. Clearly Stephanie Grant was all grown up, too—with ripe curves, lush lips, and soft breath that had grown heated when he’d kissed her.
    Not real kisses, though. Teasing ones; their mouths had barely met.
    Then why did he still feel them? And what about her made him care at all what sort of trouble she might get herself into?
    Turning the corner onto Burgundy, he let out a sigh. What the hell had happened to him tonight? He saw breasts and curves and sexy dresses in Sophia’s every shift he worked and it didn’t affect him. But somehow Stephanie Grant had dug deeper inside him. From the start, she’d drawn a few smiles from him—a rarity in itself, even if they were the devilish sort. A when he’d ended up alone with her in the red room, something inside him had switched on. Something needful. Something he’d nearly forgotten about, yet suddenly there it was, rearing its head just like that old habit of taking care of people and fixing things.
    But hell, hadn’t that dream of the masked woman made it clear? His body was hungry for sex, that’s all this was. Quit overthinking it. Go home. Go to sleep.
    ‘Got a quarter?’
    The voice drew Jake’s eyes to a skinny young girl with a creamed—coffe complexion, long hair falling straggly around her face. She huddled in a narrow doorway, her knees pulled up to her chest like she was cold. Even in the dark, he could see her white T—shirt was dingy.
    Stopping, he reached into his pocket and found a five dollar bill—he’d shoved it there instead of his wallet, a late tip before closing. He leaned down and let it drop to the cracked sidewalk beside her as he fought the nagging sense of worry. Against his better judgement, he spoke.
    ‘It’s dangerous out here on the street.’
    ‘Tell me somethin’ I don’t know Einstein.’
    He flinched at her sass—it didn’t match the rest of her. She tried to talk ‘urban black girl’ tough, but he wasn’t buying it. ‘Where’d you run away from? You should go home.’
    He sensed more than saw her eyes roll. ‘Mind your own damn business.’
    When he’d been a French Quarter beat cop, he’d talked to street kids all the time, and had gotten a hell of a lot worse from them than this, but her attitude still irritated him. ‘You’ll get killed, or worse, out here,’ he informed her.
    ‘Thanks for fillin’ my day with sunshine, dude.’
    Much to his surprise, he let out a small laugh.
    ‘You think somethin’s funny about this?’ she snapped.
    He shook his head. ‘No, I just think you’re a pretty funny kid is all.’
    Another eye roll. ‘Yeah, I just did Leno last week.’
    He sobered. ‘You really don’t have a way to get off the street, some place better to sleep?’
    ‘If I did, would I be here, fool?’
    ‘Speakin’ of sleep, kinda late for panhandlin’ isn’t it?’
    She cast a quick glance up before lowering her gaze. ‘Easier to sleep in the day. At night— got to keep my eyes open, you know?’
    Jake sighed. Keep walking, man. Just like you told Miss Chardonnay, you don’t need anybody else’s problems. He couldn’t quite make his feet move, though. Just like he hadn’t quite been able to let Miss Chardonnay walk away tonight, either.
    ‘There’s a place in the courtyard where I live—you could sack out there if you want. It’s nothin’ great, but safer than this.’
    For the first time, she deigned to actually tilt her head back and meet his eyes. ‘You for real?’
    He gave a short nod.
    Suddenly, her back went rigid. ‘What you want for letting me sleep there? Cause if you playin’ me mister, tryin’ to get into my pants—‘
    He held up his