Read Winter's Wonder: Pine Point, Book 2 for Free Online Page A

and torso, and again he reminded her of some kind of exotic wild animal.
    “Drinks?” the waiter asked. Becca took the menu he held out. Yes. A very, very stiff drink , she wanted to say.
    “Rum and coke would be great.” She glanced around the room, taking in the greenery hanging along the windows and the long, sleek bar. Classical holiday music played at a muted volume, and a large wreath hung above the door. Beautiful. Tasteful. And all she could do was feel the nerves climb up and down her spine.
    “I’ll take a Sam Adams draft,” Zane said.
    The waiter nodded and left them alone, and Becca proceeded to fiddle with her napkin, her water glass and finally the menu itself.
    “Hey,” Zane said.
    She glanced up.
    “I don’t bite.” He gave her a slow, casual grin. “Unless that’s what you’re into.”
    Oh, God. She looked back down at the menu. Get a hold of yourself, Bec. He’s just a guy. You’re acting like no one has ever taken you to dinner before. He’s flirting with you. Flirt back. Do something back. She licked her bottom lip and ran a finger down the menu.
    “See anything you like?”
    She lifted a brow. Just you , she wanted to say. Instead, she gave him a small smile. “I’m thinking the salmon. What about you?”
    “Filet.” He closed his menu and set it aside as their drinks arrived. “I like a woman who’s not afraid to eat,” he added after the waiter had taken their orders. “I’ve been out with too many who had salad and water and though that was a meal.”
    She bet he’d been out with many women, period. “I suppose it would be better if I did like salad and water, but—”
    “No,” he interrupted. “You look good just the way you are, doll.”
    Her face flushed. Warning bells went off in her mind— he’s been around, he’s only looking to get laid, he disappeared after high school to shake some problems with the law —but her body went warm and wet in a matter of seconds and didn’t listen. Instead, she rested her chin on one hand and let her gaze meet his. Let it hold his. She’d spent enough time approaching wild animals to have an idea how to tame the restless glint in their eyes.
    “So you work security over at Mountain Glen?” she asked. Their salads arrived, and the distraction of food—plus another rum and coke—made it easier to talk to him like a regular human being.
    He nodded. “It’s pretty boring, if you want to know the truth. But there are some million-dollar homes over there, and if they want to pay me to drive around every once in a while, or sit in a booth by the gate and check visitors’ IDs, I don’t mind.”
    “Or take care of stray animals that may or may not be rabid.”
    He grinned. “That too.”
    “What’s the most exciting thing that’s happened to you?”
    “At Mountain Glen? Or in life?”
    Oh, hell . She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear his answer to the second one. She could only imagine the things he’d done and seen. “Let’s start with Mountain Glen.”
    Their entrees arrived, and he cut into his filet. “Let’s see…there was the time JoJo Kettering backed her minivan into the Yedziniak’s brand new fence. Or the time Wiggles the potbellied pig got loose in the pool area.” He whistled. “That almost made the local paper.”
    She laughed. Good looks, a body to die for and a sense of humor to boot. No wonder women drooled over this guy.
    “Actually, last summer I found a couple of teenagers banging in one of the empty houses.”
    “You did not.”
    He chuckled. “I did. Neither one of ’em saw me until I was right on top of ’em.” He paused with a wry grin. “No pun intended. It was pretty funny watching that poor kid try to get his pants up in record time.”
    “Oh my God.” She smiled. “That is pretty funny, if you’re not that kid or his girlfriend.”
    “Ah, it’ll make for a good story they both can tell in a few years.” He winked. “We all have some of those, right?”
    Good stories about