“No?”
“No,” she said, pointing her finger at him. “She uses it as her ultimate weapon to get you to do what she wants.” She stabbed her chest to make her point. “Look at poor Randy.”
Tyler was loyal to the people who stood by him, and he was about to defend Britt until he saw she was teasing. There was no doubt that Randy had been ensnared by Brittany, but it as just as obvious the adoration went both ways.
“You have to be firm.” She brought her hand down sideways onto her open palm, like a karate chop. “If you show the slightest ounce of waffling, she’ll pounce on it.”
“So,” he said slowly. “You’re saying I haven’t been firm enough? That I can’t hold my own?” He gave her an arrogant grin. “Because I have a nickname that disputes that.”
“Oh really?” she asked, her face lighting up in mock surprise. “Are we talking about cute nicknames that your guy friends have given you? Like The Terminator? Or Maverick?”
He shook his head and laughed, trying to think of the last time he’d enjoyed a woman’s company so much. “Have you been binge-watching eighties’ movies on Netflix?”
“Busted.” She laughed, leaning her head to the side and exposing her long neck.
A wave of lust washed through him and he struggled to control it. It was obvious she wasn’t an easy conquest. Oddly enough, he considered playing the long game with her.
What the fuck was wrong with him? He wasn’t supposed to be playing the game at all.
She shook her head, her grin tugging at the corners of her full lips. “So what’s this awesome nickname of yours? I take it my suggestions came from the wrong decade.”
He gave her a long look, now reluctant to share. “The Closer.”
Her eyes widened in amusement. “Because you’re so good with the ladies?” She waggled her eyebrows.
He laughed, feeling like an idiot. “And because I can close a case before it goes to trial.”
“Uh huh. Sure.” She hopped off the bench and wobbled a little on her heels, cluing him in that she’d had more than the one beer tonight. “Well, Mr. Closer, Brittany Stewart is much more subtle than that.” She pushed his legs open and stood between them, grabbing a handful of his tie and pulling his face inches from hers. “She sees you as a challenge. She thinks everyone in the whole wide world needs to be in love and she won’t rest until it happens. And you are the perfect challenge.” She dropped her tie and spread her hands out. “Big bad womanizer who can’t bring himself to let his guard down and let a woman in, much less love her. Why Britt just can’t resist.” She laughed and grabbed is tie again, slowly leaning closer. “The more obstinate you are to her efforts, the more determined she becomes.”
Her breath fanned his face, and it took everything within him to keep his hands to himself, because instinct told him that if he made a move, she’d give him a brush off so epic an 8.0 earthquake would pale in comparison.
And he definitely did not want her to give him a brush off.
“And how do you know all this?” he asked, proud that he sounded so in control.
Her lips hovered inches over his, and she whispered, “I’ve been her number one project of years. Looks like I’ve just been usurped.” She dropped her hold on his tie, then smoothed it down his chest, her fingertips trailing to his abdomen in small sweeps.
A fresh jolt of lust rushed through his blood and he gripped the sides of the table, hoping she didn’t see how much she affected him when her eyes lifted to his.
“So why didn’t she try to fix me up with you?” he asked, his voice husky despite his intentions.
Her smile became sardonic. “Because she’s figured out that I’m a lost cause.” Then she turned and walked back into the kitchen, her tight dress hugging her rounded ass so perfectly another wave of desire scorched him.
Tyler waited a good minute before he could go back into the kitchen without looking like he was auditioning for the role of a circus tent center pole. As he took the last drag of his beer and tossed the bottle into the recycling bin, he realized that never in his thirty-three years had he been so turned on by a woman.
And he didn’t even know her name.
Also by Denise Grover Swank
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Contents
Cover
Title Page
Welcome
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
An Excerpt from Until You
Also by Denise Grover Swank
Newsletter
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright 2016 by Denise Grover Swank
Excerpt from Until You copyright © 2016 by Denise Grover Swank
Cover design by Elizabeth Turner
Cover image from Shutterstock
Cover copyright © 2016 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.
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The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
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First edition: June 2016
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ISBN 978-1-4555-3977-2
E3-20160414-DA-NF
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