Read Online Lethal Exposure by Lori Wilde - Free Book Online Page B

animals.”
    “That’s four too many for anyone over the age of sixteen.”
    “They have sentimental value.”
    “Hence my accusation that you’re the queen of romance.”
    “You’re right.” Julie smacked her forehead with a palm. “I am a hopeless romantic, and I’m trying to rectify it, but Sebastian Black won’t cooperate.”
    “Actually,” Vanessa said, “I think it’s kind of sweet that he doesn’t want to hurt you. Most guys would just take you up on your offer and not care if you got your heart trampled.”
    Julie rolled her eyes. “He’s assuming a lot about me.”
    “You gotta admit, he’s pretty dead-on.”
    “Am I that easy to read?”
    “Yep. Remember there are other guys in the world.”
    “Maybe so, but Sebastian’s the one who turns me on.”
    The yoga instructor cleared her throat. “Are you sure there’s not a problem back there?”
    Julie rolled up her mat.
    “Hey, where are you going? We’ve another fifteen minutes left in class.”
    “You soldier on.”
    “Hang on, I’ll come with.” Vanessa rolled up her mat and trotted after her. “Jules, come on, don’t get your feelings hurt.”
    “My feelings aren’t hurt,” she denied as they walked out of the class together. “I’m just feeling…”
    “What?”
    Julie sighed. “Like I’m missing out. I’m tired of being a good girl. I want to have fun. I want to be wild and reckless and naughty.”
    “No one’s stopping you.”
    Julie met Vanessa’s eyes. “Okay, so what should I do about Sebastian? How do I get him to crack?”
    Vanessa grinned. “He’s a guy. It shouldn’t be that hard. Just seduce him.”
    “Um…how?”
    “What do you mean how?”
    “I’ve never seduced a guy before.”
    “Seriously?”
    Julie shrugged. “What can I say? I never felt the need to seduce anyone before now. Roger and Phillip both pursued me with the full-court press.”
    “I can’t believe you’ve never seduced a guy. Have you ever done a striptease?”
    “No. Will you help teach me what I need to know?”
    “Chica,” said Vanessa, who used to be an exotic dancer before she went to medical school. “You’ve come to the right place.”

    HIS CAMPAIGN was no good.
    Morosely, Sebastian sat propped up in bed, staring at the PR plan on his computer screen that he’d created for Confidential Rejuvenations. It stunk like month-old garbage and the hell of it was he had no idea how to fix it. He’d already rejected over two dozen ideas.
    It was Thursday evening and he was holed up in his hotel room. It had been two days since his ill-fated lunch with Julie. Two eternal days in which he could not get her out of his mind long enough to effectively do his job. No woman had ever derailed his concentration like this and he was mystified.
    Repeatedly, he kept replaying what had happened in the sushi restaurant. How he’d kissed her without even considering the consequences. How his body had hardened and his heart had galloped and he’d felt…overcome.
    Then he thought about how she’d asked him to become her lover and he’d turned her down. What was the matter with him? He’d never turned down a willing, single woman in his life.
    He’d wanted to accept her offer. He’d ached to scoop her up in his arms and carry her off to some place and have his way with her. But if he were being completely honest with himself, he’d have to admit, she scared the living hell out of him.
    The arc of sexual electricity between them was so strong, it could power a medium-sized city for a year. He’d never experienced anything like it and he couldn’t decide what it meant. He’d just known he couldn’t make love to her.
    Not when he was feeling so susceptible.
    Coward.
    Hey, better to be a coward than to end up…what? What was he afraid was going to happen if he had sex with her?
    He’d never been so inarticulate in his life, but when it came to the sensations Julie stirred in him there were simply no words.
    Chuffing in a deep