Risking it All (44 page)

held on to what you could. You didn’t let

it go for a pair of muscular biceps.

This one just needed a few more

nudges and he’d lose interest. It was

possible he already had and could hide

his emotions better than most. She knew

all about that. Although some people, her

stepfather mainly,
wanted
her to be

certifiably crazy, it was probably only

half true. Yeah, she was a little off. For

good reason. The man sitting across

from her would recognize it soon enough

and stop looking at her like he wanted to

devour her, bite by bite.

His gaze became too much to bear,

and Erin focused on the window. Only

one pane of glass between her and the

outside. She could survive anything, face

anything, as long as that was the case.

Which is why she was here. You could

dodge only so many bullets before one

caught you in the back. This place, this

job, was her bullet between the shoulder

blades.
Woman down.

Working for cops. Hell must be having

a fucking snowstorm. She hadn’t spit on

the sidewalk on the way in for no

reason. Cops were the enemy. The men

and women who took away her freedom.

Laughed as they stripped away her

dignity. They thought handcuffs and a gun

made them smart, but it only made them

complacent. At age twenty-five, she’d

already proven that. Twice.

The ex-soldier’s raised eyebrow told

her she was smiling. After what she’d

just said to him, he probably thought that

smile meant she was a lunatic. Mission

accomplished. For the first time since

she’d sworn off men, she regretted

sending one running. But it was entirely

necessary. This man—this big, rough-

hewn
male
—was an enforcer. More than

that, he had a brain working behind all

that stoicism. Even if she were inclined

to

call

him

baby

in

certain

circumstances
, it would be disastrous. It

didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out

he would be dominant in bed. The way

he was clenching his fists as if fighting

for control, even with her a full two feet

away, told her that. He’d be the type to

hold a woman down while he pounded

out his lust.

That image might have turned her on at

one time. Now it terrified her.

Still. She allowed her gaze to drop to

his lips. Who knew she could find a

beard so appealing? It wasn’t rugged,

but close-cut. Well-maintained. He

looked like a man who could survive on

his own in the wilderness with nothing

but string and a Windbreaker. Capable.

Made of steel. What would that beard

feel like against her cheeks, her chin? If

she leaned a little closer across the

table, he might let her find out. If he

hadn’t already decided she belonged in a

straitjacket.
Take a number, pal.

“You’d better decide now if this

meeting is important to you,” he

growled. “Because if you keep looking

at me like you want to kiss me, neither

one of us is going to be here for it.”

Hooo boy.
Something she’d thought

long gone shimmied in her belly. “That’s

pretty confident.”

“Realistic.”

Erin drummed her fingers on the table

before reaching one hand out, intending

to tug his beard. “I’m just curious about

what this feels like. In places.”

He caught her wrist in midair before it

made contact. “You touch me, you’ll find

out.”

Ice formed beneath her skin, so

freezing cold that it burned like blue fire.

Her muscles tightened to the point of

pain. She focused on her breathing
. In

and out. In and out
. Just a little tug and

her hand would be free. Nothing could

contain her. She’d made sure of that. He

might harness a lot of power in that

muscular frame, but she didn’t sense that

he would use it on her. Unless she asked.

Which she sure as hell would
not
.

Her brain commanded her to pull out

of his grip, but her body wouldn’t obey.

She focused back on the window, zeroed

in on the patch of gray sky visible

through the glass. “Please let go,” she

whispered, furious when her voice

shook.

He dropped her hand like it was on

fire. She didn’t like the way he was

looking at her. Eyes seeing too much.

Discarding theories, thinking of new

ones. Like he knew a damn thing about

what was wrong with her. Half the time,

she
didn’t know.

“My name is Connor.”

Erin went still. Inside and out. She felt

warm all of a sudden, like someone had

draped a fleece blanket over her

shoulders. If she thought she’d had him

at least partially pegged, she’d been

wrong. He didn’t have to give in to their

silly name war. He’d done it because

she’d shown a chink in her armor and he

wanted to give her a victory.

Connor.

“What about a tiny little kiss?”
Shit
.

Where had that come from? “No

tongue.”

“This isn’t summer camp.” Those

hands clenched. Unclenched. “If you

want to kiss me, you’ll get everything.

I’m not going to hold back.”

His gruff tone made her shiver. That

voice held promises she couldn’t begin

to interpret. It had been so long since

she’d let a man touch her, but she knew

instinctively that Connor would be a

whole new experience. One she

definitely wasn’t ready for and never

would be. Still. She felt as if…gravity

were pulling her toward him. She’d

originally leaned across this conference

table to unnerve him. It worked with

most people. Invade their personal space

until they back off for good. Now that

she was this close to him, though, she

found herself wanting to stay there. It

didn’t hurt that he’d released her hand

without hesitation. Maybe it was

premature or bad judgment on her part,

but his action had made her feel safe.

She didn’t feel safe very often, if ever.

Deciding to trust the instinct that

rarely failed her, she climbed onto the

table and crawled on her hands and

knees the remaining distance. Connor’s

facade slipped just a little, lips parting

on a gravelly exhale, broad chest

shuddering as he watched her. “That

wasn’t a challenge,” he grated.

“Everything we’ve said so far has

been a challenge.” Erin knew he liked

what he saw as his gaze ran the length of

her back, snagging on her ass. She gave

it a quick shake. He groaned low in his

throat and she was shocked to find

herself excited by it. “Kiss me. Just…

don’t touch me, okay?”

“
Jesus
.” He dragged both hands down

his face. “You’ve got the wrong guy for

that, sweetheart.”

Of course, that made her want the kiss

even more. She was drawn to fire.

Connor had enough inside him to burn

down a major city. The fact that he kept

such a tight leash on it only made her

want to watch it crackle and race. “I

didn’t say
I
couldn’t touch.” She gripped

the collar of his shirt and dragged him

forward, bringing their mouths an inch

apart. “Just you.”

A muscle ticked in his jaw. “I’ll make

you beg for my goddamn hands on you.”

Ah, Connor. You have no idea what

you’re up against.

“You’re welcome to try.”

UP IN SMOKE

BOOK TWO IN THE

CROSSING THE LINE

SERIES

by Tessa Bailey

Coming June 23, 2015

Available for preorder now

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A huge, heartfelt thank-you to the

following people who were instrumental

in putting
Risking It All
on bookshelves

and inspired or helped me along the

way.

My husband, Patrick, and daughter,

Mackenzie. We’ve become quite a team

over the last two years, since I started

writing full time. I can’t believe how

lucky I am to have you two in my life.

Thank you for believing in me.

My editor, Heather Howland, for

dangling the Bowen carrot stick in front

of my face. It’s probably why I wrote so

many books so fast—I wanted to get to

him
, this man who’d been dwelling

inside my head. I never would have

gotten this far without your hard work

and foresight. Thank you.

My publisher, Entangled Publishing,

and Liz Pelletier for believing in my

books.

My assistant editor, Kari Olson, who

can brighten any day with one of her

tweets/direct messages.

My publicist at Entangled Publishing,

Katie Klapsadl, for all the work that

goes into promoting my books.

My friends/fellow authors who beta-

read/pleasure-read this book when it

was just a first draft: Cari Quinn, Edie

Harris, Jillian Stein, and Donna Soluri.

Thank

you.

Your

feedback

was

invaluable.

My parents for being proud of me and

encouraging me to achieve my goals. I

love you both so much.

My neighborhood of Bay Ridge,

Brooklyn. I know the characters in this

book exist because I pass them on the

sidewalk every day. This borough is a

constant source of inspiration and

exasperation. But I love it and hope I

never stop using it as a setting.

My Facebook group, Bailey’s Babes,

for being so freaking awesome I can’t

stand it. Some mornings, you guys are

the one thing that gets me writing.

My fellow authors who continue to

selflessly support me with tweets and

Facebook posts even though you’re

drowning in work. Most of my readers

have been turned on to my books by
you

and I’m consistently overwhelmed by the

love. Special thanks to: Cora Carmack,

Laura Kaye, Sophie Jordan, Sarah

MacLean, Megan Erickson, Edie Harris,

Bree Bridges, Robin Covington, Cari

Quinn, Shayla Black, Monica Murphy,

Jennifer L. Armentrout, Katee Robert,

Samanthe

Beck,

Phoebe

Chase,

Nicolette Day, Jennifer Blackwood,

Christina Lee, and Jennifer McLaughlin.

So many more.

The bloggers/reviewers who have

supported my books since the beginning.

I’m not sure I’d have a career at all if

you guys weren’t working your butts off

and promoting authors, often for free.

Special thanks to:
Scandalous Book

Club, Smexy Books, The Literary

Gossip, Book Whores Obsession, Dirty

Girl Romance, Read-Love-Blog, S&M’s

Book Obsessions, Dear Author, The

SubClub Book Club, Scandalicious

Book Reviews, The Book Cellar, Totally

Booked Blog, The Bookcrastinators,

Fiction Vixen, Ana’s Attic, Maryse’s

Book Blog, Scorching Book Reviews,

Joyfully Reviewed, Fresh Fiction,

Talking Books Blog, Rock Stars of

Romance, Night Owl Reviews, Books

Over Boys, The Book Lovers, Sizzling

Pages, Confessions of a Vi3tbabe,

Aestas Book Blog, Book Sniffers

Anonymous, Sinfully Sexy Books, A

Bookish Escape, Straight Shootin’

Book Reviews, The Book Bellas,

Reading Between the Wines, Lovin’ Los

Libros, Kimberlyfae Reads, Read Your

Writes, Cocktails and Books, Romance

Novel News, She Hearts Books,

Gravetells,

ThreeChicks,

FicTalk,

Under the Covers, Ramblings from this

Chick
,

and so many, many more. I

appreciate you all so very much.

Find out where it all

began with

Tessa Bailey’s

bestselling
Line of

Duty series…

PROTECTING WHAT’S HIS