Justice Mine: a Base Branch Novel Read Online Free PDF Page B

slipped between her hands. He separated them and sat back on his heels in front of her.
    All thought of the zing dancing along her skin where he’d touched vanished at the sight of him. The light cast by the single shaded bulb deepened the shadow of his scruffy, wide set jaw. Screw five o’clock shadows. That bitch is a ten. Ten o’clock. Ten on a hotness scale of one to five. The close cropped hairs plunged down his neck then receded midway, making room for meters of smooth skin pulled taut over slabs of corded muscle.
    Heading north, her bearings did not improve. Thick lips plumped above his mandible. Hued in red, they called to her like instruments of lust. As his beard rose into sideburns it met again, covering his perfectly shaped skull with the same stubbled hair. The shade seemed dark in the muted room, but when he tilted his head to scrutinize her it caught and reflected gold in the light.
    His bronzed skin creased at his brow and Mags was further dumbstruck by the most exotic pair of eyes she’d ever seen. Green brilliant enough to match the leaves of the trees outside lay encircled by a ring of black. The contrast of the light and dark, perhaps, gave a hint of the nature of the man who hosted the unique gaze.
    His calm reassurance said safe . His body said danger .
    “No one expected you here.” His scowl deepened. “Especially at this time of night.”
    “Morning,” she shot back.
    “Semantics.” He turned her hands over in his own, examining them closely. “Are you all right?”
    Mags pulled her hands from his grasp in an attempt to balance herself and order her thoughts. His touch, his nearness set her gauges on the fritz. “I’m tired. It’s been two long days and I need sleep, but first I need answers. You’re Lawrence Pierce, right?”
    “When questioning, you should never lead. You corrupt the mind of your witness and in turn, your information,” he said with a lightened scowl.
    “I don’t have the time or patience for a lesson.”
    He smiled and Mags had to staunch the urge to punch him or shag him.
    “Yes, I’m the lug Baine has tolerated over the last few years. Sorry about your fall.” He gestured toward the door and it was all she could do to rip her gaze from his face to follow. “I’m replacing some of the old pipes in the house.”
    “At this time of night,” she said with a shake of her head.
    He chuckled. “Morning. And yeah, I couldn’t sleep.”
    “Me either, but not for lack of trying.” Mags sighed.
    The smirk vanished from his face. “Are you in some kind of trouble?”
    “I am. I need a bed, but you’re blocking me from it.”
    His gaze narrowed. “You’re not one for unscheduled visits. What’s wrong?”
    Law’s body caged her. His wide, leanly muscled chest blocked her view of the room. Thick legs, stretching the confines of denim, spread in a squat bracketing her bare legs. Unable to take the closeness any longer, Mags stood on wobbly legs and shoved past his shoulder. “You’re just upset you didn’t have forewarning to run and hide.”
    “What on earth are you rattling about?”
    “Rattling,” she balked. “Ass. Of all the times I’ve come home over the years, I’ve never met you. Don’t you find that a little odd?”
    “You’ve been away at school and on some internship for the last year, and on the few occasions you graced your father with your presence, I was out of town on business.”
    “Few times? I only live two and a half hours away. And yes, maybe I enjoy my freedom, but I visit. And ,” she said, foisting her hands to her hips, “lawyers don’t travel as often as you and Baine do.”
    He mimicked her posture. “ And , that would be where you’re wrong. Since we are lawyers and we do travel often.”
    Magdalena's hands slipped from her curves. “Why am I fighting with you ?”
    Law winked at her. “Because you were spoiling for a fight and I like to oblige lovely ladies, when I can.”
    I’ll bet you do.
    “Where’s my