Read Unafraid (Beachwood Bay) for Free Online Page A

stupid klutz, yelling at people and spilling stuff everywhere because I can’t stay cool knowing he’s in the building.
    Damn him, and his endless confidence.
    “Brit?” The door opens, and before I can grab another shirt, Hunter steps inside the small room. His eyes widen at the sight of me stripped to my skirt and bra. “Oh, shit, I’m sorry!”
    My pulse kicks. My first instinct is to dive behind the shelves, but then I see the expression on his face. He’s frozen, drinking in the sight of me, something bright and rapturous in his eyes.
    It’s the first time I’ve seen him shaken since the moment he stepped out onto that rooftop last night, and I’m sure as hell going to make the most of it.
    “Heard of knocking?” I ask calmly. I slowly stroll over to the far shelf to grab a fresh tank top, taking my sweet time to pull it from the bag and shake it out. I glance back at Hunter. He’s still staring at me, looking like I just whacked him over the head with a two-by-four.
    I hide a grin. “Or, you know, giving a girl some privacy?” I finally gesture for him to turn.
    “Oh. Sure. Yeah.” He snaps out of his daze, spinning quickly to face the wall.
    I pull on the shirt, giving silent thanks I picked a cute bra today: black lace with a purple trim I sewed myself, delicate and daring all at the same time. It’s a cheap shot, getting the upper hand like this, but I’ll take any advantage I can get when Hunter can slay me with a single smile.
    “You can look now,” I tell Hunter, smug, but when he turns back to me, that casual grin is back on his face. He’s pulled himself back together, and my brief victory is nothing but a memory.
    “Cute bra,” he smirks. “Is that one of your designs?”
    I yank my shirt down and refasten my apron. “You a fashion expert now?”
    “I know my way around a pair of panties,” Hunter winks, and despite myself, I smile. “How about you give me a private show sometime?”
    His gaze slips over me like honey, and I can’t stop myself imagining what it would feel like for his hands to follow their same path. Slipping my lacy straps aside, peeling the soft silk over my body, easing the lace down my thighs…
    I shiver.
    I can’t. It’s too dangerous. As much as having the old charming, gorgeous Hunter back was a problem, this is so much worse. Because this isn’t just a handsome boy here in front of me, it’s a devastatingly sexy man.
    Who knows what pleasure he’d show me—or what havoc he’d wreak?
    I force myself to focus on that, the bitter aftertaste any kiss would leave. “You don’t get a hint, do you?” I snap. “I’ve told you a hundred times to just leave me alone—”
    “No.” Hunter interrupts me, moving closer. Suddenly, he’s just inches away, so close I can feel the warmth radiating from his body. So close that there’s no mistaking the dark intensity in his eyes. “You haven’t. You’ve bitched, and bantered, and turned me down. But you’ve never told me to go.”
    My breath catches. Hunter stares down at me, determined, the chiseled planes of his face shadowed in the dim storeroom light. “Say it,” he demands. “If you want me to go, just tell me, and I swear I’ll never bother you again.”
    I open my mouth. The words are there, so simple on my tongue, but nothing comes out. One simple lie, that’s all it would take, and I’d be free from him forever.
    But it’s still a lie. I can’t do it, not to him. Not when Hunter is the only truth I’ve ever known.
    I exhale a slow sigh and press my lips shut in defeat.
    Silence.
    There’s a beat, and then victory blazes, fierce in Hunter’s eyes.
    “Brit,” he whispers. I wait for him to make his move, breath catching in my throat, but instead of a rough hold, he reaches for me gently, lifting one hand to touch my face in a slow, sweet caress.
    I tremble. His fingertips softly stroke the outline of my jaw, like he’s memorizing every contour, watching me so closely that I feel more