Free Wild Thing by Robin Kaye Page B

have tins for them too.”
    Hunter crossed his arms to keep from strangling her. “And you ate all mine?”
    “Yours were on top. Sorry.” She looked anything but. “I’m sure Trapper and Fisher will share. Not.”
    Hunter scrubbed his face with his hand. “They’re at the beach. Did you bring a suit?”
    Karma pulled off her T-shirt and tossed it at him revealing her turquoise bikini top. “I never leave home without it. And if I do, it’s on purpose.” She grinned again and waved to Toni before sashaying out the door.
    ***
    Toni stood beside Hunter at the window watching Karma as she headed toward the beach. Her cutoff jeans had holes in all the right places. “Just wait till Bruce and Chad get a load of her.”
    When she looked up at him, she figured he was mad about the models who were probably going to go after his little sister.
    “You thought I had a girlfriend and was coming on to you at the same time?”
    Then again, maybe not. She wondered if it was a rhetorical question, but he waited too long for the lack of conversation to be considered a pregnant pause, not filling the silence like she’d hoped he would. She really didn’t want to answer him, especially since they were alone in his house, and he seemed so affronted. She crossed her arms, mimicking his pose. “You said you weren’t coming on to me, remember? Subtle you are not. You might as well have used a bullhorn.”
    He didn’t say anything. He stared at her like a guy stares at an engine when the car won’t run. As if he were expecting Manny, Moe, and Jack to show up and say, “It’s the carburetor.” Unfortunately for him, no one had figured her out yet, not even her. If she understood half the things she did or felt, she’d be tempted to hand out CliffsNotes to anyone interested. Hell, the wave of jealousy that had hit her when Karma walked in and made herself at home was a real shocker. Toni still couldn’t figure out what was up with that. “You wouldn’t be the first guy to have a girl in every port, or campground, or whatever.”
    Hunter tilted his head toward one shoulder and then the other, all the while staring at her, as if looking from another angle would change his view. Then he squinted like she did when she looked at her Victoria Frances poster of a girl in a graveyard.
    Hunter cleared his throat. “Where did you just go?”
    “To a graveyard.”
    “Do I want to know how that happened?”
    Toni put some space between them and stood on the other side of the table. “It’s the way you look at me, like you’d look at an optical illusion. Like, if you just stared long enough or caught me at a certain angle, I’d make sense.”
    “And where does the graveyard fit in?”
    “Oh yeah. I have this poster that uses lenticular imaging to create the illusion of depth. It refracts light in different directions so the image moves and changes depending on the angle from which it’s viewed. It’s of a beautiful woman in a graveyard. I like graveyards.”
    “I like beautiful women.”
    Of course he would. “Last I counted there were seven of them at the beach. You might want to run back up there to get your pick before your brothers take the best ones. I’d keep away from Yvette though unless you like exhibitionists. Then go for it. She’s your girl.”
    “Not interested. I need to get my mail. I’m still managing a business, you know. Are you up for a hike? It might help you with that little problem of yours.”
    “It’s only a problem when I’m here.”
    “And you’re here for the next week, so what do you say? Step out of your comfort zone. Take a chance. I won’t let anything happen to you.” He held out his hand, and for some reason she took it. He graced her with a smile. “First things first.” He walked her toward his bedroom—she hadn’t gotten to see much of it when Karma had been there. Toni stepped in, and the first thing she saw was a window that took up most of the wall opposite the bed. What a