Real Men Don't Drink Appletinis
Read Real Men Don't Drink Appletinis Online
Authors: Liz Matis
Real Men Don’t Drink
Appletinis
Liz Matis
Little Hondo Press
Contact:
[email protected]
Real Men Don’t
Drink Appletinis
Copyright © 2013 Elizabeth Matis
Digital ISBN:
978-0-9840098-4-8
All rights
reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy,
scanning, recording or by any information storage and retrieval
system now known or hereafter invented, without permission in writing
from the author.
This is a work of
fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products
of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any
resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead,
is entirely coincidental.
Also by Liz Matis:
Playing
For Keeps – print, eBook, and audio book
Love By
Design – print, eBook, and audio book
Going
For It – eBook and audio book
Praise for Liz Matis:
Love By Design
RT Book Review:
Readers will get a kick out of these characters as they walk through
a world of fashion and celebrities and soak up all the glitz and glam
that a wild child and a bad boy could possibly provide.
Love on the
Book Shelf:
Don't hold this book too tight-you-you'll burn your
fingers.
Recommendation:
It's also the perfect
just-before-bedtime reading, if you'd like some nice, sultry dreams.
ReRead:
Totally worth it.
Playing For
Keeps:
RT Book
Reviews:
Playing For Keeps is entertaining ... an engaging
storyline will keep readers turning the pages ... readers will enjoy
the unfolding relationship and anticipate the sequel featuring the
secondary characters
Book Junkie:
In Liz Matis' latest from Little Hondo Press, Playing For Keeps you
will get a wildly sexy romance with depth and laughs. A page turner,
bring on the sequel.
Going For It:
RT Book
Reviews:
Readers will wholeheartedly enjoy the cat-and-mouse game
the main couple plays. Expect a large dose of spice, surprises, and a
story that's perfect for the front page of a tabloid. The sequel to
Playing For Keeps is a touchdown!
Book Junkie:
I loved GOING FOR IT because falling hard and fast for two witty,
feisty and completely honest characters that do nothing if not
capture your heart and take you on the wild ride that is their love
story.
Table of Contents
Ava shielded her eyes.
“He did not just order an appletini.”
“James Bond likes
martinis.”
“He holds the fruit.”
Her friend probably thought she was picky but not every girl could
star in a hit interior design show and land a hot Aussie hunk for a
co-host then tame the bad-boy all the way to the altar like Victoria
had.
Sweeping Ava’s hand
away from her face Victoria argued, “Come on he’s cute.”
“At best he’s gay,
at worst he’s metro-sexual.” And God save Ava from them. Not that
she didn’t like a man who clipped his toenails, but when a man’s
grooming bordered on primping then he wasn’t the one for her. There
was something so fundamentally wrong about a man’s shoe budget
exceeding hers. And while it was perfectly normal to be jealous of a
woman’s walk-in closet or silky hair it was quite another when she
found herself competing with a man in those departments.
Ava liked a man who
rolled out of bed as sexy as he jumped in. No fuss and all muss.
With this thought in
mind she scanned Martini Madness, the hottest bar in New York City,
for possibilities. None. The typical Friday night crowd of stock
traders mixed in with young women who looked like future candidates
for a season of Real Housewives. She’d grown tired of the bar
scene. Only thirty she easily was the oldest female here, which made
her feel ancient.
But here she sat
because her happily married friend under the guise of needing a
girls’ night out was trying to hook Ava up with her own happy ever
after. She’d settle for happy-from-great-sex-after.
At that moment a 6’3”,
blonde, with a yet to be determined eye color, but definitely
handsome male approached the bar with a commanding stride. Ava
doubted the crowd was aware of how they parted to let him through.
His tight jeans looked
worn from hard work and not from a two hundred dollar price tag. The
blue button down shirt was probably his attempt to dress up. The
shaggy but clean hair and gruff beard reminded her of a golden
retriever.
Ava’s fingers itched
to rub his belly.
She couldn’t hear him
order over the noise, but with her gaze now concentrated on his mouth
she read his lips that were full enough not to get lost behind the
facial hair.
Black Label Scotch.
Clearly a man’s man.
As he sipped from the
glass she pictured bringing her naked breast to those lips, imagined
the warmth of his breath, the tickle of his beard, and the numbing
effect of the scotch on her nipple. Suddenly parched she downed her
appletini, but it did nothing to quench the rising thirst for his
kiss.
“Wowsa,” said
Victoria. “He’s a fine specimen.”
Ava agreed. He looked
out of place among the suits. Women dressed in short skirts and high
heels eyed him like he was a new shiny bauble to play with. “I
should go save him.”
“Oh yeah, give him
some mouth-to-mouth,” Victoria cheered on.
Ava smiled. “Go home
to your handsome hubby and baby girl.”
“I’ll finish my
drink and watch the fireworks.”
Ava slipped from the
stool and slid next to her target. “You know this is a martini
bar?” She held up her empty glass. Despite the number of people
waiting for drinks, he only had to nod at the bartender to order her
a refill.
His gaze then captured
hers. “I’m a rebel.”
Ethereal green. That
was the only way to describe his eyes. Almost lost in the depth of
his stare she forced herself to speak. “So you’re looking for a
girl who can belt back a scotch?”
A smile appeared on his
face. “That would be asking too much. I’d settle for a girl who
liked a cold beer.”
“Wine?”
Still smiling he shook
his head. “High maintenance.”
“You came to the
wrong place then.”
He handed her the drink
and said, “From where I’m standing I’m in exactly the right
place.”
His gaze not only
undressed her but made love to her. In his expression she read every
touch he’d bestow, how he would kiss her long and slow, and
witnessed their naked bodies melding together in a soft glow of
heated passion.
Victoria was getting
quite a show. Fireworks? Try the Sun exploding.
Being an agent she was
used to going up to gorgeous men but this man stood apart in his own
category. Exuding confidence without arrogance, he’d make the
perfect action hero. Unfortunately, she had one rule that she had
broken only once with disastrous results—she didn’t mixed
business with pleasure.
Pleasure.
He
hadn’t even touched her, yet her body hummed with anticipation.
Nervous she reverted to work mode. “Have you ever done any modeling
or acting?”
He threw back his head
and laughed.
“I’m an agent,”
she quickly explained. Even if the sound of his laugh caused goosies
to skitter along her body she didn’t like that it was at her
expense.
He leaned in closer.
“Is that the real reason you approached me or is there something
else you want?”
No fancy cologne, just
the smell of man surrounded her and the goosies turned inward and
pooled between her legs.
Want? No. Need? Oh,
yes.
Navy SEAL Grady O’Flynn
wasn’t often knocked back on his heels but the bombshell in front
of him knocked him back and rocked his world. She reminded him of a
movie starlet from the Forties. All curves and all sass. And those
baby blues? Man, they nearly had him babbling like an infant.
“So what do you do
for a living?”
Amused by her obvious
deflection, he’d decided to let his question go unanswered since he
couldn’t be an open book either. He didn’t want to lie but he
couldn’t reveal who he was or why he was in New York City. “I’m
on extended leave.”
“What does that
mean?”
“I’m between
assignments.” He took a sip of scotch.
“Am I going to have
to waterboard you for information?”
Grady nearly spit out
his drink but recovered quickly with, “There are far more
pleasurable ways to get information.”
“Ooo.”
God, he loved the way
her ruby lips formed an O. He wouldn’t take the thought a step
further and fantasize about what that mouth could do to him. Christ,
he didn’t even know her name. “Like for a kiss I’ll reveal my
name.”
Her mouth curved into a
grin. “A name for name. Even trade.”
Yes, plenty of sass. He
sighed with pretend disappointment. “Grady O’Flynn.”
“Ava Gardner.”
Despite how close they
stood she held out her hand as if they sealed a business deal. He’d
rather seal his lips over hers and watch her eyes flutter shut. So
why was he suddenly reluctant to touch her? Grady’s large hand
closed over her delicate one and a flow of hot energy interchanged
between them like they were connected in some cosmic way. By the way
her eyes widen he’d say she felt it too. The timing couldn’t be
worse but that didn’t stop him from asking, “Want to get some
coffee?”
“Co-ffee?”
He shouldn’t have
asked. This mission might be unsanctioned but to break protocol by
taking an innocent civilian on a stakeout was irresponsible. He
assured himself that another boring night of surveillance laid before
him. Raul had been a model citizen since being admitted to the
States, but Grady knew better. Though it could be weeks until Raul
played his hand. “There’s a diner down the street.”
“Ok.”
He had walked into the
bar for a drink, to act normal if only for a few minutes before
taking his post for the night. Asking her out for coffee came as
natural as breathing and with their hands still clasped he knew he
couldn’t let this woman walk away. She’d provide a good cover in
case Raul was getting suspicious and although he doubted he’d been
made, his neighbors were probably wondering what their nocturnal
neighbor was up to.
As they approached the
diner Raul passed by on the other side of the street on schedule.
With his head down he didn’t spare a glance at the couple. It
seemed all he did was work and sleep. To some that might seem
harmless enough but to Grady it only heightened his suspicions.
He guided his date to
his normal table.
Ava slid onto the vinyl
seat of the retro Fifties diner, ordering a coffee without looking at
the menu. The waitress, a thick waisted, full busted, sharp-tongued
woman turned to Grady.
“And what about you
honey bun? The usual?”
Grady nodded yes and
conversed with the waitress while Ava furiously typed on her
Blackberry. Even under the harsh lights she was beautiful.
“You sure you don’t
want anything to eat, sweetie?”
‘No, thanks. Sorry
that was a client,” Ava said to both of them as she placed the
phone on the table. The waitress shrugged, sliding a pencil behind
her ear as she sashayed back to the counter.
“Actor or model?”
He glanced up at the third story window. The light still hadn’t
come on.
Shit.
“Worse. A model who
thinks she can act.”
Distracted, he didn’t
respond and he heard Ava tap the table with her fingertips. The
window illuminated with brightness causing an inner sigh of relief.
“Okay, what exactly
do you do?”
He looked back to Ava,
once again giving her his full attention. “What do you mean?”
“Oh come on. You took
this specific table, that seat, so you could watch the door and you
keep looking up at the 3rd window to the right.”
“So much for the dumb
blonde theory.”
“I’m not a real
blonde.”
Grady knew that. There
was no way that shade of honey existed outside of a bottle. Not that
he cared but he was pleased she was honest about it. Something he
couldn’t be right now.
“So are you a cop?
FBI? Oh, oh, Homeland Security?”
“Something like
that.”
Christ.
A text
from his partner and former Navy SEAL Giordano, bleeped on the screen
of his phone.
Who’s the hot blonde?