Angela, Carla - Full Exposure (BookStrand Publishing Romance) Read Free Page A

fact that Scraps was the sort of name someone as unkempt as Hunter would find suitable for a pet.
    Finally, Hunter reemerged from behind the bar, holding two wine-laden, balloon glasses, curvier than Kim Kardashian’s behind. He handed one to her. Their fingers brushed for the merest of seconds, but Lake still felt a jolt of electricity, as though she’d touched an exposed wire .
    Lordy. She concentrated on sipping on her wine, letting the velvety liquid slide down her throat, as Hunter nestled in the black wicker chair opposite her. Maybe she’d once had a dirty dream about a vagrant before that she was unaware of or had a homeless person rub his thigh against her on the bus as a schoolgirl. There had to be some kind of explanation for the strange feelings this guy was stirring up inside of her. It was just too odd.
    Hunter himself took a sip from his glass then rested it on the coffee table between them, lacing his fingers in his lap, looking at Lake expectantly. ‘Well, should we get started then?’
    ‘Oh, sure,’ Lake said, putting her wine glass down a little too quickly and picking up a pen, tapping it on her clipboard distractedly. ‘Uh, would you mind removing those first?’ She gestured at his dark shades, which were still firmly in place. She’d had to finally say something. It was beginning to be unnerving, communicating with someone but not being able to look into their eyes.
    ‘My sunnies?’ Hunter asked, an arched, blond eyebrow popping up between his shades and the rim of his beanie. ‘And what are you going to remove?’
    Lake felt her breath catch in her throat. He was teasing her, like a tongue flickering on a clitoris. It was his fault that her mind kept jumping to such murky places. She had to put a stop to it. It had gone beyond the realm of professionalism.
    Before she could jump up like a shot, Hunter had whipped off his sunglasses and laid them innocently on the table next to his wine glass. ‘Steady on.’ He flicked his gaze pointedly to the sudden balled fists on her lap. ‘Don’t get your panties in a twist.’
    Panties. Oh, God. Could he have… X-ray vision ? She’d been too busy to do the laundry this week so had been left with the very dregs of her underwear drawer that morning. She’d wrestled into a leopard-print G-string her ex-fiancé, Chase, had once bought her, but she’d never worn. They weren’t her style. Right now they felt unbearably tight, but she wouldn’t let on, not to this aspiring vagrant.
    She met Hunter’s gaze coolly with her own then immediately faltered, letting it drop, as though she was dangling on the edge of a diving board. Looking into his aquamarine-blue eyes was like plunging into the glittering pool in front of her. And never, ever resurfacing. Without his shades, she could see that he was drop-dead gorgeous, with honeyed skin, an angular nose—she barely noticed his nostrils—and a chiselled jaw. His worn beanie and holey T-shirt could no longer mask it. She almost wished he’d put his sunglasses back on.
    Lake did a mini-cough, allowing herself some time to pull herself together before continuing, aiming for a professional air. ‘Right. Should we get on with the questions then?’
    Hunter licked his lips. They were perfectly proportioned and lusciously pink. Lake wondered what it would be like to rest her lips against them, nibble at them, suck on them, but then bit her own lip sharply to control herself, tasting blood. Jesus. She was getting way too carried away. No more wine . Even though, in reality, she’d only had a drop.
    Hunter’s eyes continued to penetrate hers. He propped an arm, covered by a long sleeve of charcoal T-shirt fabric, behind his head casually. She could still make out the outline of his bulging bicep. ‘Sure. Fire away.’
    ‘Right.’ Lake looked down at her clipboard again, jabbing at the notepad clipped in place with her blue biro, suddenly feeling quite stilted and prim, especially next to him, Mr. Uber