ROUGH RIDER Read Online Free PDF Page A

from his large frame competed with the fire. Light flickered in his long wavy hair and I resisted the urge to reach out and touch it to see how soft it was.
    “Well?” he prodded.
    “What?” I replied, staring up at him like I’d never seen a man in my life. I shook my head, trying to shake the fog from my brain. “Sorry…never mind.”
    “Who’s Bella?”
    “My best friend…well, I mean, she used to be,” I replied, reminding myself that I was pissed at her for getting me into this situation.
    “Used to be? Why’s that?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
    “Because she - um — I — never mind,” I stuttered, clamping my mouth shut quickly.
    “Tell me,” he said, prodding me again, adding a gentle smile this time.
    “Let’s just say she gave me some bad advice,” I said, dragging my eyes from his smoldering gaze.
    “We’re going to be here all night, you might as well tell me,” he said, scooting over closer to me.
    I hesitated, biting my bottom lip as I tried to decide how much I should tell him. I didn’t know anything about him, hell, I didn’t even know if I was really safe here, but all I had to go on was my gut, so I decided to trust it until it steered me wrong. Still, I chose my words carefully.
    “Bella is the one who convinced me to go to Otto’s. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t have been there…” my voice trailed off, the lie sliding off my lips, leaving a lingering taste of guilt on my tongue. So, she hadn’t convinced me exactly - in fact, she didn’t tell me to do it, nor did she even know I was there, but in my defense she had gone on and on about her biker. That was just about the same thing, if you asked me.
    “Only two reasons a girl goes to Otto’s,” Dante said, raising an eyebrow.
    “And what are those?” I asked, a ripple of electricity running through my body as I met his gaze again.
    “Drinkin’ and fuckin’, basically,” he said, shrugging his shoulders, winking at me. “Mostly fuckin’.”
    A hot blush crept into my cheeks as I pulled my eyes away again. For fuck’s sake, was it that obvious? Of course it was. What was I thinking?
    I was being completely naive. What the hell was wrong with me? I knew better than this. I was a Loprinzi , for fuck’s sake. I knew not to trust anyone.
    “Look, I really should go home,” I stood up quickly, more determined than ever to get out of here. To get away from this man who’s eyes peered into mine like he was looking into my soul, as if I were standing stark naked in front of him.
    “Sure, sure,” he said, leaning back on the couch, stretching his long, thick arms along the back of the couch, a slow, lazy smile spreading across his incredibly beautiful face. “Tomorrow, Gabby.”
    “What? Tomorrow?! I’m sure those guys are gone by now,” I protested. There was no way I could wait till tomorrow.
    “Maybe. Maybe not. But we haven’t even had dinner yet. Tell you what, you sit here and enjoy the fire, I’ll make us a few steaks and we’ll talk about it again after dinner,” he reached over and patted my knee, his hand hot and heavy, before he stood up, leaving me alone with Bear, the flickering orange flames, and my frustration.

8
    Dante
    A s the steaks sizzled in the pan, I tried to convince myself I wasn’t attracted to her. Hell, I hadn’t felt these sensations in a while, and I could just as easily chalk them up to too much whiskey or some newly developing health problem, but I’d only be lying to myself.
    I wanted her. I wanted her bad.
    I’d gone into Otto’s just to test the waters and instead I’d plunged into waters that were a little deeper than I expected. Now, it was up to me to swim or pull myself back to shore. But damn, if these waters weren’t fuckin’ warm and tempting.
    The fire, the whiskey, the quiet silence of the night…not to mention the smokin’ hot black-haired beauty that was waiting for me on the couch…all of it had me thinking about what it might be like to