Read Online Worth the Risk by Karen Erickson - Free Book Online Page A

Mostly because he didn’t know how, since Gracie was most definitely not his girlfriend.
    A woman he thought of nonstop, yes. A woman who drove him wild in bed and knew how to satisfy him with both her body and her mind, oh yeah. But could he say she was his girlfriend? Could he proclaim to the world they were involved and in a relationship?
    No. And that hurt more than he cared to admit.
    “You’re not making a claim on her, huh? So she’s up for grabs?” Rhett grinned, the bastard. Rhett was baiting him and, damn it all, Hunter was falling for it.
    They stood near the entrance of the Beverly Hills Worth flagship store, both of them watching as Gracie walked around the perimeter of the building with a tablet clutched in her hands, taking notes with furious little taps of her fingers.
    “No, she’s definitely not up for grabs.” At least, not for Rhett. Hunter would give anything to grab her at this very moment. She looked amazing, wearing a simple, navy blue, sleeveless sheath that clung lovingly to her slender body. Sophisticated New Yorker in the Southern California sunshine, that was his Gracie.
    Hunter scowled. No, not his Gracie, though he wished she was.
    Possessiveness rose in his chest, and he squashed it down. Going He-Man while in front of his irritating brother wouldn’t look good. And it’d give Rhett more ammunition to use against him later.
    “That’s too bad. She’s a nice change from the usual blonde, plastic Barbie dolls that troll the store,” Rhett said, his gaze running admiringly over Gracie yet again.
    “Nice way to speak of your customer base, bro,” Hunter said, the sarcasm heavy.
    Rhett shrugged. “You know it’s true. This town is full of them. There’s not a natural blonde in the entire Southern California region. Trust me, I’ve checked.” He waggled his brows.
    Hunter shook his head, stifling the laugh that wanted to slip out. For whatever reason, Rhett wasn’t irritating him as much as usual, despite his leering over Gracie.
    Maybe it had something to do with the life-altering orgasm he’d experienced last week in his office. Amazingly enough, the residuals of it still lingered, leaving him relaxed and open-minded.
    Still confused, though. Confused as how to approach Gracie, how to make this—them—happen. The days following the interlude in his office, it was business as usual on her part. She’d come to him first thing in the morning, asking when they would leave for Los Angeles.
    Stunned by her straightforward business manner, he’d carried on as normally as she. Swiping the moment under the virtual rug so to speak, as if what they’d shared never happened.
    Again.
    With every day that passed, he found it harder to confront her about it. He’d lost control and he never lost control over a situation, especially with a woman. Yet with Gracie, he lost control on a constant basis. Damn it, he wanted to change this weird relationship of theirs and make it real, damn the consequences.
    But she would have none of it. Or so it seemed.
    “How’s business?” Hunter asked, changing the subject. Needing to get his brain off of Gracie and more on why he was there in the first place. “Has it been busy?” He saw the sales figures on a daily basis since Alex forwarded him the report via email, but he wanted to hear it straight from the trenches.
    “All right. Slowed down a bit, but you know how it is during this time of year. Within the next month or so, sales will pick up.” The confidence in Rhett’s voice was convincing, and Hunter secretly admired it.
    Considering he was feeling less than confident lately, at least when it came to the woman standing not even twenty-five feet from him. She kept him off-kilter, on pins and needles, and he didn’t like it.
    That he allowed her to do so was even more frustrating.
    “Think this event will draw in a lot of people?”
    “Oh yeah.” Rhett nodded vigorously. “Everyone in Beverly Hills is ready for a gala event. Trust me.