Read Secrets to Hide 2: Naughty Little Christmas for Free Online Page B

beginning. I will get your damn whiskey, but I don’t play fetch unless I’m allowed to bite.”
    “As long as it’s not a customer you’re playing with, I don’t care.”
    Leaning forward, she allowed him a good look down the V of her shirt, enough to make him choke on his tongue. With a saucy quirk of her lips, she taunted, “What’s good for the goose…”
    Letting her words trail behind her, she turned, heading for the other end of the bar, where the whiskey was stored. Damien eyed her ass as she went, and knew he was a two-faced jerk. He slept with customers off the clock, and Harley seemed well aware of that fact. She’d called him on it, and she was right, but that didn’t mean he could control himself if he came in here at night and saw her flirting with every Tom, Dick, and Harry.
    Ian’s outright laugh broke Harley’s spell, helping Damien pull his reluctant gaze away.
    “Damn, she’s a firecracker, isn’t she? I almost spit my drink across the room. Are you sure she’s new?”
    His friend’s amusement grated on Damien’s nerves. “What the hell are you talking about?”
    Ian laughed louder. “You. She’s got you pegged, doesn’t she?” He turned to watch Harley stand on tiptoe to grab the whiskey off a high shelf, and something wistful flashed across his face. “Too bad she works here. You need someone who won’t put up with your bullshit.”
    Either too bad or a good thing, Damien wasn’t sure which. “She’s certainly got a mouth on her.”
    Ian nodded. “Oh yes, she does. A talented one, it looks like.” Facing Damien, he wiggled his eyebrows. “I can’t wait to try it out. Think she’ll let me?”
    Only Harley’s return with his drink kept Damien from decking the man.

Chapter Three
    The heavy thump of a bass drummed in her head, cutting through the fog and dragging Harley out of a heavy sleep. It took a minute for her to realize she was hearing her phone’s ringtone. The small black rectangle pulsated across the sheet next to her head.
    Blinking fuzzily, she picked up the offender that had ruined a perfectly good nap and brought it to her ear. “’Lo?”
    “Are you in bed?”
    Who the hell would ask a question like that? Even as she wondered, her hazy brain registered the fact that whoever it was, their tone wasn’t provocative. No, it was downright pissed.
    “Yes,” she answered. “Why?”
    A low snarl vibrated in her ear. “Because your ass should’ve been down in the lobby to meet me fifteen minutes ago, maybe?”
    Everything finally clicked into focus at Damien’s words, and Harley silently cursed herself. “I’ll be right down.”
    She hung up before he could respond. It wasn’t like she could give him her highly legitimate excuse, anyway. By the way, Damien, the baby you don’t know I have seems to have a sixth sense about her mommy leaving and kept me up half the night. Oh, and I’ve never been away from her before, so I cried myself to sleep the minute I made it to my hotel room and apparently slept straight through my alarm. Forgive me?
    His imagined hell no! rang in her ears as she dragged a brush through her tangled hair and freshened her makeup. By the time she’d dressed, ten minutes had passed, and she could only search desperately for some excuse as she ran for the elevator. Causing her boss to be late on her second day of work was not the best way to make a good impression, damn it.
    Her phone dinged just as the elevator announced her arrival in the lobby. She tugged the cell out of her pocket, glancing down to see who it was, and sighed when Cassie’s name flashed across the screen. Replacing the phone, she looked up and met the caustic gaze of her very unhappy boss.
    Damien didn’t deign to speak as she rushed across the lobby toward him. Instead he turned and walked through the revolving glass door, stopping beside a low-slung sports car that fit his image perfectly. It was the equivalent of fuck-me shoes, except for men: black, sleek, all