Unleashed: Volume 1 (Unleashed #1) by Callie Harper Read Free Book Online

like I bought it off
the sale rack at Walmart.”
    She winked at me.
“Let’s do this.”
    After a whirlwind of
activity, I found myself in a large changing room with a waist-high
pile of dresses on a chair. I tried them on, the good, the bad and
the horrible until, suddenly, I found it. The perfect little black
dress. Thin straps, form-fitting, ending mid-thigh. Emphasizing every
curve yet also somehow classic, could I hope even for elegant?
    Looking in the mirror,
I put a hand on my hip and pursed my lips. I bent over a bit as if
leaning in to Declan, offering him a generous view of cleavage. God,
I wanted to make him want me. Payback for all those years I’d spent
pining for him. All those nights I’d had nothing but my hand,
pleasuring myself until I was wet and panting, gasping his name. I’d
show him what he’d missed, what he’d turned down.
    When I’d walked into
his office that morning, I’d heard it in his voice, how he always
used to dismiss me, brush me off. “What brings you here, Kara?”
Gruff, displeased, yet still sexy as hell. He really knew how to make
me feel like an annoying teenager. But you know what didn’t look at
all like an annoying teen? Me in that dress. Pair it with four-inch
stilettos and I was a full-blown, all-woman siren. Try to brush me
off now, Declan.
    I grabbed a black lacy
bra and matching panties just for the hell of it. The shop had some
new inventory mixed in with the consignment pieces, and a dress that
hot deserved some candy underneath. Getting rung up at the cash
register, I held my breath. The moment of truth. Seemingly unaware of
my discomfort, or maybe trying to distract me, the saleswoman asked,
“Where are you getting your hair done?”
    “Oh, no, I don’t
have the money.”
    “What’s that now?”
    “I don’t have the
money to—”
    “Are you trying to
say something crazy about not getting your hair done?”
    “Yeah, I know I
should, but—”
    She held up her hand
like a traffic cop at rush hour. I knew enough to shush. She kept her
hand like that while she pushed a button on her cell phone and placed
a call. I heard her say “special client” and “the works.”
    Then she pressed a few
more magic buttons on the register. “Oh, look, honey! It’s all on
sale.” She gave me another wink.
    My eyes filled up with
tears, my voice cracking a little as I thanked her. I’d just met a
real, live fairy godmother. She worked at a second hand store and
wore an ostrich feather on a headband. The world was a strange and
wonderful place.
    “You go now, head on
up to the salon on 8th. They’re expecting you. That man of yours is
going to have a heart attack tonight.” She hustled me out of the
store. “Have the EMTs waiting!” I had to laugh as I walked away,
waving a grateful good-bye.
    A few hours later I
stood in front of the mirror in the salon’s changing room, not at
all sure who was looking back at me in the reflection. I’d decided
to change into everything—lingerie, dress, heels—at the salon. It
had more appeal than the back of my truck.
    In the mirror, gone was
the rancher, the woman who tied her hair back in a functional
ponytail and wore old boots and jeans. Gone was the waitress, a gravy
stain across her apron. In her place stood a movie star.
    I’d been buffed,
polished and even perfumed by the city’s best. They’d done my
hair, giving it crazy volume and big, luscious curls plus a few
subtle highlights along the sides that made me look positively
sun-kissed. They’d applied makeup like the pros, giving me a subtle
sheen with smoky eyes and glistening lips.
    I’d even gotten
waxed. I hadn’t planned on it, but it had happened: my first
Brazilian. I guessed if you were going to wear barely-there lingerie
it went with the territory. And I had to admit, there was a part of
me that had liked the naughty thrill of it. Of course Declan would
never find out. The night wasn’t going to go there, but I still
felt an excited charge. He’d