Hidden Depths by Aubrianna Hunter Read Free Book Online Page A

unless you all want this to get embarrassing
we need to change the subject."
    A low laugh rumbled through the group, giving Josh the incentive
he needed to break eye contact with Gia. He looked over at Deb, saw her
watching him with a quiet, contemplative expression. He tried briefly to
picture her with nipple rings. The image was almost comical, but the humor
worked to help deflate the hard on he'd been sporting. He leaned in, kissing
Deb gently on the lips. When he tried to pull the kiss deeper, to ignite just a
spark of passion, she pulled away. No surprise there. She didn't like PDA's.
    "Josh," she whispered, "not in front of
everyone."
    He smiled softly, kissed her nose, then leaned back to
participate in the conversation flowing around him. Deb was predictable.
Comfortable. So why was that damn tight feeling back in his skin?
    Chapter 7
    A few days later, Josh was down in his basement working off
some excess energy when he heard a shout from his front door.
    "Yo, Josh. You here, man?"
    "Yeah, Blake. Basement," he yelled back.
    He unwrapped his gloves, tossing them on the weight bench
and grabbed a towel. He wiped his face and was just reaching for a bottle of
water from the little fridge when Blake made it downstairs. After guzzling
about half the bottle, he nodded his head in greeting.
    "What's up? Want some water or a beer or
anything?"
    Blake walked past Josh, grabbed a beer from the fridge and
tossed one to Josh as well.
    "So, what the hell is going on with you and Gia?"
Blake asked.
    Josh choked on his water, damn near spraying it out his
nose. When he managed to catch his breath again he only managed one word.
"What?"
    Blake sighed. "Look, I think I'm the only one that
noticed, although maybe Deb did, I'm not sure. You couldn't take your eyes off
her. And I don't just mean the nipple rings, that's almost understandable
really, but even before that. I saw you looking at her all day. So... what's
going on with you and Gia?"
    "Nothing, Blake, I swear." Josh debated for about
a second and a half before blurting out the truth. "Not really. I kissed
her the night she did my tattoo. She said no and pushed me away. That's it. So,
nothing's going on."
    "You kissed her?"
    Josh ran his hand over his face, shoving it through his
sweaty hair in a gesture of frustration. "Yeah. Stupid, but nothing else
happened. I didn't even know about the nipple rings until the lake the other
night. Proof that it was a kiss and nothing more."
    "And she pushed you away?"
    Josh nodded.
    "Huh. That's not the vibe I was getting. It felt like
there was something more... mutual there."
    Josh couldn't stop the tightening in his gut at that
thought.
    "Josh, I hate to state the obvious, but you're engaged.
To someone else. Why are you kissing her? I mean, even once is too much. Was
this some latent curiosity or something? Even I can admit to wondering what
kind of fire was under there a time or two myself."
    At the thought of Blake kissing Gia his stomach churned. He
wanted to beat the living shit out of his best friend. That was not a good
sign.
    "Hell, Blake." Josh shook his head deciding to
just dump it all on Blake. Maybe talking it out would help him make sense of
the mess he had inside him. "It's not just curiosity. Not even fucking
close. I have wanted her since about the minute I met her, despite the
differences between us. She's just never been interested in me. Then, a few
weeks ago, I'd had a crappy week at work, trying to open a new location in
Australia, permits, paperwork and my dad watching every move I make. I left
early Tuesday afternoon, came home and got my car, drove like a madman for
awhile and ended up right back in the Village staring at the front of
Adriana's. I pulled the car around the corner and started walking. Everything
felt wrong, like it was just squeezing too tight, ya know. I ended up in her
shop asking for a tattoo."
    "I get that. You always did have your ways of breaking
loose. But, that still doesn't explain the