Free Girl Gear 4: Striptease by Alison Kent Page A

laugh? Had he tossed it into the trash unopened?
    No, that couldn’t be the case. That couldn’t be the case at all.
    Not with the way he was suddenly watching her, his gaze having come up to meet hers.
    With Sydney and Poe staring at the DVD player’s screen, Jacob turned his full attention Melanie’s way. She stood there, alone, feeling strangely more naked than she’d actually been when she’d stripped. And it was all about the way he was looking at her.
    Gone was the lazy lounging lizard appearance of not giving a damn. His eyes were bright, his expression determined and intense, as if he had something he needed to say. Something he needed to tell her. A challenge to issue. A dare.
    That look answered her question. He’d watched the tape.
    And her payback was nothing compared to the one she’d be receiving from him.

5
    “Y OU WANT COMPANY ? Or is this seat saved?”
    Da-da-dum went Melanie’s heart into the base of her throat. Ten minutes ago, after being melted by Jacob’s gaze, she’d moved out of the backyard sun and into the patio’s shade. Now, taking one quick breath, she looked up over the frames of her glasses, better prepared for what she would see.
    Only it wasn’t what she’d expected. This time his look was totally laid-back, totally tame, nothing at all like his earlier sizzling expression.
    Batty-crazy-nuts. He was driving her insane. And the trip from here to there was growing markedly short.
    “You’re welcome to join me.” She tempered her voice to a cool indifference—two could play this casual game—and inclined her head toward the chaise longue in the porch’s far corner, beneath the awning and out of range of the water splashing from the pool.
    “Thanks,” he said, grabbing the chair and moving it closer to hers.
    He took his time adjusting the cushions and the footrest, took even more time setting his beer on the deck between their chairs. Once he sat, he didn’t seem the least bit concerned about making conversation. He only wedged the DVD player’s case between his spread legs and leaned back.
    And that was it. No more sharp piercing looks. No questions. No movement at all.
    Not a single solitary word.
    If she didn’t know better, she’d think she was sitting next to a different man than the one whose expression ten minutes ago had nearly singed off her clothes. The bastard was back to basking in the sun, a desert reptile conserving his strength, a chameleon fitting in until the time came to put his clever little tongue to use.
    Great. Just great.
    Now she was going to be thinking about his tongue when chameleons were probably not even desert reptiles, and thinking about his tongue was not exactly practicing the self-discipline she’d so recently preached.
    But she was at a loss about what to say, what to do, whether or not to be the one to bring up the subject of the tape. And so she said simply, “I met your sister earlier. She seems very nice.”
    Eyes closed, he nodded. “She is, except when she’s being a bossy pain in the ass.”
    It made absolutely no sense at all, but even closed, his eyes were beautiful. His lashes, his brows, the laugh lines fanning out from the corners that crinkled when he smiled. She wondered how old he actually was. Strange that, here and now, that’s what she wanted to know. It was a safe thought, at least.
    Unlike thinking of a chameleon’s long curling tongue.
    She swallowed hard. “If Rennie decides to work with Chloe’s gUIDANCE gIRL program, the two of them ought to make some kind of pair. Like minds, albeit bossy ones.”
    “Hmm. I only knew Chloe as a kid. She wasn’t allthat bossy, but she definitely seemed to be mad. All the time. About everything,” Jacob said. “I would’ve thought she’d end up in line to receive guidance, not dole it out.”
    Melanie nodded, as if in agreement, when what she really wanted to do was scream with frustration. Why were they sitting here talking about work and other women? Why had she