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He was the kind of guy who couldn’t go a weekend without getting laid They existed She’d e and when she did her stint at the hospital They weren’t exactly particular when it came to who’d they be with Pretty much came down to whoever was available at the ti to be impressed with stray compliments that were tossed out as often as the trash was

Lucian leaned and then spoke in a low voice, "There is another reason why I didn’t tell you who I was"

The change of subject rattled her and she whispered back "Why?"

He tilted his head so his mouth was directly above her ear "Because I knew the ured out who I was, you wouldn’t have let hly, Julia knew she needed to pull away and stop this conversation That was the professional andto do, but she didn’tin her chest

He wasn’t done yet "I knew that if you realized who I was, you would’ve never let hs of yours and I would’ve never kno soft and slick you felt against h her veins as heat poured into her very core Those words created a storm inside her A tremble rocked her body

"So, yeah, that’s another reason why I didn’t say who I was" His lips brushed the lobe of her ear, sending an illicit shiver across her skin

Pulse pounding, she drew back She felt unsteady as Lucian straightened on his chair, and she felt so close--too close to do so off her stool and into his lap

"You’re not supposed to bring that up," she reminded him "You promised"

He tilted his head to the side "I didn’t promise that"

She opened her ed the conversation back through her thoughts, she realized he was right He hadn’t

Her eyes narrowed "Even so, it would be the appropriate thing for you to do"

"And I think you already kno I feel about doing the appropriate thing"

She shook her head It ay past time to end this conversation "Thank you for the tea, Lucian, but--" A gasp cut her off

Lucian rose and was in front of her so quickly that she was startled "Say it again"

Confusion swamped her "Say what?"

"My naood foot Julia reached out, gripping the edge of the island "Why?"

"Because I asked?" he offered, his lips curving up at the corners "And because I like the way it sounds co from your lips"

Her heart did a weird little jump She had no idea how to respond to that request None whatsoever

But then hethe piece of her hair that had fallen across her cheek Before she could ed across her cheek as he tucked the hair behind her ear Her stupid, stupid body immediately responded oncelow in her belly, which was so wrong on sothat didn’t change a single thing about how her body was oh so down for whatever he was up to A wave of tiny shivers danced over her skin She felt the tips of her breasts tighten as his closeness swa when only a hair’s breadth reed breath, inhaling the decadent scent of rich, ain?

His gaze dropped and those lips tipped up even farther, spreading into a knowing saze to hers She knehat he saw The hard tips of her breasts

A different kind of war her to take a step back Crossing her arms once more over her chest, she sed a ood conversation--a weird one--but a good one, and you had to go and ruin it"

His laugh was totally unrepentant as he leaned a hip into the island "I have this feeling there are certain parts of you that don’t think I ruined a thing I’d even go as far as to say I’er a bet that those other parts of you are really, really interested"

Oh my God, was he for real?

As she stared at him, she realized she had a couple of options at this point Either let hi or shut that crap down

She ith the latter "Look, I get that you’re a flirt That’s your thing You probably don’t even realize you’re doing it or you can’t help yourself Whatever You just need to know that it’s going in one of my ears and out the other I’aze dropped again and his sht I can’t help myself"