Free Polished Slick (Natural Beauty) by Holley Trent Page A

almost all his current piercings and the start of his head of dreads lay on his back on a surfboard beneath a cloudy sky. He wore nothing but a teeny pair of swim briefs, showing off the cut of his obliques and hinting at…other things. Apparently the wave tattoos ended at mid-thigh. She swallowed. “Good to know.”
    The next page was Jerry, nude—or at least simulating nudity—flanked by two bikini models whom had their backs to the camera. Their hands shielded his scandalous bits.
    Trinity’s mouth went dry as desert sand, and she forced herself to swallow with great difficulty.
    The ad may have been for bikinis, but who the hell was paying attention to them with Jerry in the shot?
    She slammed the album shut, not wanting to see what was on the last sheet. If it were hotter than the photo before, she’d have to change her underwear.
    She shoved the book back into its place, piled the cords and condoms back where she thought they originated, and slammed the drawer shut.
    When Jerry poked his head in, Trinity had the laptop awake from its slumber and a hand atop the mouse.
    “Anything interesting?” he asked.
    Blood pounded in her ears. Had he found her out just like that? Maybe she had a naturally suspicious look about her. “Um…”
    “It’s boring, right? Told you so. Why don’t you come on out and have some pizza with us?”
    Pizza sounded good, but she wasn’t sure she could get her fingers to work in the required fashion to get it to her mouth, much less swallow it after what she saw.
    Holy hell. Ho. Lee. Hell.
    She shook her head, still looking at the computer monitor without actually seeing anything besides stars. “Um, thanks. I had a big salad before I came over. And the beer is filling, you know.”
    “Salad and granola bars. You on a diet?”
    That did it. A beacon in the fog. A trigger. She whipped around in the chair and scowled. “You think I need one?”
    Jerry was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed, wearing a smile she couldn’t parse.
    “No, I think you probably need the pizza.”
    “I eat.”
    “Right.” He shut the door.
    She forced out a long exhale, and turned back around. She finished the beer and it made her feel a bit less sprung, not that she had much experience with that, but she assumed that’s what the feeling was. She’d never been a woman who gave into carnal desires, and hadn’t planned on igniting that downward spiral anytime soon. The last thing she needed in her life was more distractions.
    “Keep your eyes on the prize. This is about work.”
    Said aloud, the idea was fucking ridiculous, even to her.
    She’d always been so good at compartmentalizing, but now that Jerry was on her radar screen, she might have to work actively at ignoring his little blip.
    He made a damned sexy little blip.
     

CHAPTER SIX
    “Guys are gone.” Jerry pushed the bedroom door open to find Trinity still slumped in his chair, this time wearing his headphones and staring intently at one of his monitors.
    Half asleep, she spun slowly to face him, rubbing her eyes and stifling a yawn. She had a pile of his real estate listings on her lap, which she quickly discarded. “I didn’t notice the living room had gone quiet,” she said.
    “So, how have you been entertaining yourself these past couple of hours?” He eased around the bed corner and handed her an uncapped beer.
    She took a small sip before setting the bottle on the desk. “Well, I played a bunch of solitaire, and when that got boring I…” Her cheeks reddened. “I noticed the MLS listings, so I pulled them up online for a closer look.”
    “Oh.” He sat on the bed and leaned back against his pillows, crossing his legs at the ankles. Felt good to be horizontal after the day he’d had. “That fun for you?”
    She shrugged. “I wouldn’t say fun . More like interesting. I guess I’m a bit of a voyeur.” She tapped the stack of papers. “I recognized some of the houses, knew the people who lived in