Licked (L.A. Liaisons Book 1) by Brooke Blaine Read Free Book Online Page A

Or at least twenty. Just call me a kiss-o-holic. I was damn good, and I could blow Cameron’s mind. If only I could make myself move the ten inches closer and attack his mouth.  
    He seemed to sense my hesitation, and pulled back. “So,” he said. “I’ll be leaving tomorrow morning for Hong Kong. It looks like I’ll be gone at least a couple of weeks if all goes well…”
    Ah, there it was. Disappointment pushing away my nerves. Fucking finally.  
    “Make sure to eat some roast duck for me.”
    He chuckled. “Yeah, I’ll do that.” Running his hand over the steering wheel, he didn’t look at me as he asked, “So…can I see you again? When I get back?”
    “I’d like that,” I said, my lips tipping up in a smile.  
    “Yeah?”
    “Definitely.”
    Cameron looked at me then, his light eyes shining in the dark interior. He leaned toward me, his intention clear.  
    Oh hell. We’re doing this. I’m doing this.
    I mimicked his movement, my head inclining to the right at the same time his moved in the same direction. It startled me so much I burst out laughing.  
    “Um…I can go this way,” I said, pointing to the left.
    He grinned. “Either way.” Taking my face in his hands, he leaned down slowly, his smile broadening when my head moved to the left. And then closer…closer…until I felt the warmth of his breath on my li—
    BLEEP. BLEEP. BLEEP. BLEEP. BLEEP. BLEEP. BLEEP. BLE—
    We both jerked back, the car alarm next to us going off at an ear-splitting volume.  
    Yeah. This was not gonna happen tonight.  
    With a sigh, I picked up my clutch from the floorboard. “I should probably go check on things inside,” I said, nodding at Licked. It was past closing time, and of course Zoe would’ve done a perfect job of closing things up, but it felt like a good excuse. We’d just start over when he got back from Hong Kong. “I’ll see you when you get back?”
    Cameron nodded, giving me a smile, but he looked a little disappointed. Or maybe I was projecting. I wanted him to feel disappointed. Hmm, maybe that can work in my favor. Disappointment could turn into missing me madly, and he’d probably jump me when he got back in town. The girls would be so excited. And, of course, so would I.
    “You can count on it,” he said. “Let me walk you to the door.” He reached for his door handle, and I laid my hand on his arm.  
    “No need for you to get soaked again. I’m just gonna make a run for it.” When he didn’t look convinced, I said, “Really. I already know you’re a gentlemen.” And then I jumped out of the car and dashed for the door, not bothering to turn back until I was inside the private entrance that led to my apartment.  
    No need for his last glimpse of me to be a soggy mess. I’d rather him think of me as the hot woman he couldn’t wait to come back to and do all sorts of inappropriate things with. Yeah, let him think on that while he was gone.  

“ THAT’S YOUR NEW contractor? Bloody hell.” Shayne’s eyes were wide as she watched Hunter giving instructions to his crew. By the way she was eyeballing him, I had a feeling I’d have to kick her out of the shop soon.  
    “Aren’t you a few hours late for work?” I asked, wiping down the already clean countertops. I wasn’t about to admit it, but I was keeping an eye on those guys too. One specifically. But just to make sure he wasn’t a lazy good-for-nothing like the last guy.  
    Oh yeah. And Hunter had replaced the black tarp with a clear one. He said it was for transparency reasons, meaning I could check in at any time and make sure they weren’t sitting around having a beer.  
    But as I checked out his crew, a mix of guys aged twenty to fortyish, I thought maybe that wasn’t the whole reason. It was like he’d found the Magic Mike crew of construction. Which made Hunter…Channing Tatum. But no, that wasn’t completely accurate. With his tousled brown hair, olive skin, and intense eyes, he was more like