Read Online Lethal Exposure by Lori Wilde - Free Book Online

Roger.
    What she felt was much stronger than either of those motivations. She wanted to feel his hand on her naked thigh. Experience his fingers gently exploring her sex. She longed to know what it would feel like to have his body inside of hers. Looking at him, she was even more convinced he was the antidote she needed.
    “I want something else from you,” she dared.
    That snagged his attention. Sebastian sat up straighter. It was as if he’d just been waiting for her to ask. “What do you need?”
    Gulping, Julie forced out the words. “I’ve heard…um…that you’re something of…”
    “Yes?”
    She wriggled in her chair. “An expert lover.”
    “Where’d you hear that?”
    “Your reputation precedes you.”
    “Ah.” One eyebrow arched up on his forehead.
    “Is it true?”
    “I don’t like to brag.”
    “Is it true?”
    His grin widened. “You tell me. I make love like I kiss.”
    Whew! If that was true she was in for a lot of fun.
    “I’ve also heard you play the field. That you’re not a one-woman man.”
    “I am a confirmed bachelor.”
    “Good.”
    “Good?”
    “I’m not looking for anything more than a good time.”
    “No?” He looked like he didn’t believe her.
    “No.”
    “Let me get this straight. Are you propositioning me?”
    Don’t blush. You can see this through. “I am.”
    “Hmm.” Sebastian seemed both amused and surprised.
    “There’s one catch, though.”
    “What’s that?”
    Bravely, she tilted her chin and asked for what she needed. “Sex is all that I want from you.”
    “Excuse me?”
    “I’m attracted to you, you’re attracted to me. Neither one of us wants a commitment. Think about it as mutual pleasure-giving. I please you, you please me. We have fun. You go home with fond memories of Austin. I stay here with fond memories of you. It’s a win-win situation.”
    “You wanna be fuck buddies?”
    “I wouldn’t word it quite that way, but yes.”
    Suspicion darkened his eyes. “Is this some kind of test? Did Blanche put you up to this? Or was it Linc?”
    “Who’s Blanche? Who’s Linc?”
    “Never mind. You’re really serious?”
    “You have no idea how much courage it took for me to lay my cards on the table. I’ve never propositioned a man before.”
    “I applaud your courage.”
    “So you’re in?”
    Sebastian held her gaze for a measured moment and then he said, “No.”
    She blinked. “No?”
    It had never occurred to Julie that he would turn her down. They had chemistry. He couldn’t deny that. You could start a forest fire with the sparks shooting between them. And he had a reputation as a footloose ladies’ man. So why was he turning her down for a torrid meaningless affair?
    Face it. You’re not pretty enough for him. I mean come on, take a look at the man. He’s sexier than any male A-list celebrity.
    “No,” he reiterated.
    “Why not?” she asked and the minute the question was out of her mouth she was wishing she could suck it back in. She did not want to hear him say what she already suspected. He probably dated movie starlets for heaven’s sakes. What had she been thinking?
    He folded his napkin, laid it on the table beside his plate and signaled the waitress for their check. “Because you’re a good girl trying too hard to go bad.”
    He’d pegged her dead-on. He was too perceptive. “What makes you say that?”
    “For one thing, you blush too much.”
    “Bad girls blush.”
    “Not so much. And it’s more than just the blushing. It’s also in the way you eat sushi.”
    “How’s that?”
    “Tentative, but eager. And it’s in those baby-blue eyes of yours that grow wide when you’re shocked or embarrassed. Right now, they’re big as plums.”
    She narrowed her eyes. “You exaggerate.”
    “Not by much.”
    “Okay, so what if I am a good girl looking to be bad? What’s wrong with that?”
    “You can’t change who you are. You can try. You can do foolish things, but you can’t change your essence.