Free Smitten by Lacey Weatherford Page B

else to say. Hunter hadn’t had time to coach me at all. I was totally tongue-tied, feeling a little paralyzed by fear. I was clearly out of my element.
    “ Well hi, Cami. I’m Ripper.” He held out his hand, and when I accepted it, he raised it to his lips, placing a light kiss on the back. He didn’t release me either, and I resisted the urge to yank it away and wipe it against my clothing. “How exactly do you know our Hunter over there?”
    “ Man, lay off her dude. She's my sister, all right?” Hunter jumped in, saving me from trying to invent a feasible reply. “There's no need to give her the third degree. She was having some car trouble and called me for help.”
    “ Sister, really?” He glanced back and forth between us. His gaze narrowed as I gave him a faltering smile, wondering what the heck had possessed Hunter to say such a thing. There was no way we could pretend to have any kind of family resemblance. “What seems to be the problem? Cars happen to be one of my specialties.” He looked away, leaning in to stare at the engine.
    “No problem, just some dirty jumper cables. She wasn't getting a good connection. I clean ed them and she's set to go.” Hunter sounded slightly irritated.
    Ripper chuckled. “That’s women for you —not very mechanically minded.”
    I didn’t appreciate his condescending tone. “Well, I’m glad that’s all it was. I can’t really afford a bunch of repairs right now. Thank you, Hunter.” I could see the tenseness in his eyes. “I better be getting along now.”
    “No problem. Happy I could help. Here, you can keep this too in case you need it again sometime.” He placed the brush in my hand and turned to close the hood of the car.
    “Where you running off to so fast?” Ripper asked, trailing me to the driver’s door and quickly reaching around to open it for me.
    I didn’t know what to say, so I went with the truth. “Um, I’m late for a class.”
    “Oh, you’re a student.” He glanced over me again. “Yeah, I can see that. You look like the student type—all put together and ready to learn.” He paused as he glanced between Hunter and me again. “What you don’t look like , is Hunter’s sister. I was under the impression he didn’t have any close family around here, other than his brother.”
    I froze, my mind searching for something, anything I could say that would diffuse the situation.
    “She’s my foster sister,” Hunter said with a scowl from the sidewalk. “And she recently moved here for school. What is with you tonight, Ripper? Why the twenty questions?”
    Ripper faced Hunter. “Chill out, will ya? I wan na know more about her. She’s a pretty girl. You don’t need to get all protective.” He looked back at me with a sly grin. “I only wanna play with her a bit.”
    “She’s too young for you,” Hunter replied in a matter-of-fact tone. “Get the thought out of your mind , and let it go.”
    I was starting to get worried that Hunter might bash Ripper’s head into the car. He seemed really angry.
    “How old are you, baby?” Ripper asked, his appreciative gaze roaming over me once more.
    I tried to laugh, but it came out as more of a strangled gurgle. “I’m only eighteen.”
    “That’s perfect,” Ripper responded, turning to Hunter. “She’s legal, so quit sweating it.”
    “You’re twenty-four, man. That’s six years difference. It’s practically robbing the cradle.”
    Ripper shrugged. “What can I say? I like them young.” He grinned and winked at me again, and I resisted the urge to shiver from that creepy remark. “Cami, why don’t you skip class and join Hunter and me for a bite to eat? My treat.”
    “I really can’t,” I said, inching my way closer to the car so I could get inside. “I wasn’t planning on this delay , and I’m already really late. Thank you anyway,” I tacked on, trying to sound polite.
    “Where’s your class at?” he asked.
    “U of A,” I answered automatically without