Stay: Changing Tides, Book 1 Read Online Free PDF Page A

walked away.
    Abby ran to catch up with Brack. “Thanks, I guess.”
    “You guess.” He kept up his steady pace. “That’s half-assed appreciation if I’ve ever heard it.”
    “Half-assed thank-you for a half-assed offer.” She hurried ahead and turned to walk backward before him. “If you’d offered in a less commanding way, I might be more appreciative.”
    “Apples and oranges, Aretha.”
    The slight trace of a smile curving his lips sent her heart into palpitations. Did he actually have humor somewhere in that big, broad, delicious chest? “Why do you call me that? It’s atrocious.”
    “It really is.” He slowed a bit, his gaze still locked on her own. “Did your parents not like you or something?”
    She shrugged. “Not that I know of.”
    The way he looked at her gave her the sensation of being stalked by a hungry animal. Tingles suffused her stomach. She shouldn’t like the thought of being hunted down by him. But she did, and the sexy, confident way he walked came in at a hard second.
    “What were you doing with my brother?”
    “Doing?” Confused by the anger she sensed in his clipped question, she eyed him carefully. “We were just talking.”
    He stopped suddenly. “Talking? With his arm around you?”
    “So? I slipped and he caught me.” Why she felt defensive escaped her. She hadn’t done anything wrong.
    The slight arch of his brow screamed skepticism. “Look, it’s a really bad idea to get involved with another member of the unit.”
    “Involved?” Anger washed away her bafflement.
    “Yes. If you plan to date Rand—”
    “Not that it’s any of your business—” she stepped back a bit, “—but Rand and I are just coworkers.”
    “That’s not the way it looked.” One long stride closed the gap between them again, a subtle scowl tightening his lips. “And that’s not how Rand took it, if I read his reactions correctly.”
    Son of a— “You’ve got to be kidding me. You have no idea what he was thinking, any more than your ill-formed opinion of me.”
    “What I think of you comes from a long litany of proof neatly tied up in your resume.”
    That one man could be so infuriating shocked her from the fog of their strange conversation. “So we’re back to that? Is my past that important?”
    “Anything or anyone that does, or could, affect my team is all-important.” A slight smirk curved his mouth. “You should know that by now.”
    Knew it better than she wanted. “Did you ever think there were more important things in life than your team?”
    “At one time, maybe.” An unidentifiable emotion creased his handsome features so briefly she would have missed it if she’d blinked. “But the unit is a top priority.”
    “Maybe you need to reprioritize.”
    “Maybe you should worry about yourself and let me handle my life.”
    “I could say the same.” She didn’t want to fight with him and held a hand up to stall whatever brutal response he could launch her way. “Forget I said that. Are we going to do this every time we talk? Because I’d much rather have a normal conversation with you. Could we start over? Maybe a simple ‘how was your day’?”
    Something close to surprise flitted across his face. “How was your day?”
    His reluctant tone made her laugh. “Don’t hurt yourself trying. Is it really that hard to be nice?”
    “I’m nice.” He had the grace to sound unconvinced.
    “Sure.” She backed away, leading them toward the school.
    “You just make it difficult.”
    The hard edge of anger dissipated from his voice and she smiled. “ I make it difficult?”
    A teasing light sparked in his gaze as he followed her steps. “No more arguing. Remember?”
    “You’re trying to bait me.”
    “Maybe a little.”
    “That’s better.” At least he’d admitted it. And with a hint of humor, no less. “Now, what kind of meeting do you have here?”
    He reached past her just as her back collided with the door to the school. With little effort he