Read Portrait of Jealousy (The Art Models Club Book 2) for Free Online

might have ended up in similar similar circumstances. Had this woman known a hard childhood as well?
    Sonia looked up suddenly, as though feeling that Amber was staring.
    “ Um . . .Is that a good book?”
    Amber suddenly felt queasy.
    Sonia considered her.
    “ It's a way to escape the real world. You know?”
    “ I suppose,” Amber said, suddenly feeling awkward.
    She jabbed a few buttons randomly on her cell phone, embarrassed. She wanted to throw away the rest of her sandwich but felt uncomfortable doing so in front of Sonia. To be honest, only a few weeks ago, she would have been horrified to see someone throw away food as well.
    That was a sobering thought. She forced herself to finish every bite. She saved the apple slices and cookies for later. She was tempted to offer the cookies to Sonia but thought better of it. She was sure that Sonia would take it as an insult.
    Then, as quickly, as she could put the bag in the fridge, she politely excused herself. She couldn't wait to get back to work where it would be hard to think.

Chapter 6
     
     
    “ Dinner and a movie?” Hunter asked when he picked Amber up after her shift ended.
    “ Sounds great!” Amber said, finally to have Hunter's complete attention again.
    While he drove to their favorite casual restaurant, he filled her in on his meeting with Professor Collins.
    “So Ben is totally cool with me dropping the TA position for the internship,” Hunter said, focusing on the congestion in the center of town.
    Amber studied Hunter as he drove. He was such a careful driver, with hands placed exactly at ten and two o'clock. An instructor would never find fault with his driving. That part of him was so different than the man who was so much more uninhibited in bed.
    “What about your classes?”
    Amber started to ask about losing money but realized he probably didn't care. What must that be like, she wondered idly. To never have to worry about how much something would cost or when the bill might be due.
    “I was just taking a few classes in case this internship happened.”
    Hunter switched on his blinker several car lengths before he needed to turn.
    “I'll just take them again in the spring.”
    Hunter parked the car, effectively ending the conversation.
    Amber was happy to leave the topic of the internship behind for a few hours. Happily, Hunter felt the same. Or at least he was thoughtful enough to ask her about her day instead. Even though that conversation took all of two minutes, Hunter kept the conversation neutral by asking her what she thought about the cinematographer of the movie they were seeing later. For the first time all day, Amber felt genuinely happy.
    In the movie theater, Hunter reached over half way through the film. Without looking at her, he began to gently stroke each of her fingers.
    Amber peeked over at him, but Hunter looked as though he was absorbed in the movie. The pads of his finger barely touched her skin; yest, the sensation was quite powerful. His gentle touch created  playful little pulses of electricity. After he had attended to each finger, he moved on to the rest of her hand.
    By this time, Amber was having difficulty focusing on the movie. She was stunned that touching her hand was causing this much sensation. All the while Hunter acted as though absolutely nothing was out of the ordinary. He laughed at appropriate times and seemed tense at appropriate times. Was he even aware of what he was doing? Using one finger, he casually circled her palm. His touch was as soft as a feather and tickled just enough to drive her mad.
    Amber angled her body so she was sitting closer to Hunter, giving her more of her arm. She saw him smile but he still wouldn't look at her. Maddening! His finger moved to her wrist, ever soft, ever circling. He was tantalizingly slow, moving at a snail's pace. Worse, he often reversed direction, going back to her fingers and palm when she was anxious to feel his touch elsewhere. She shifted again and was