As Hot As It Gets Read Online Free Page B

“There’s no denying a certain chemistry between us….”
    Yeah, the sort of bad chemistry that left unsuspecting bystanders with third-degree burns.
    â€œLet’s just say I have a bit of an overactive fantasy life, and there’s no way you can live up to my fantasies.”
    Mason felt a burst of satisfaction that she’d fantasized about him. “If you’re so sure of that, why do you need to prove it to yourself?”
    Claire crossed her arms over her chest and expelled a sigh. “My mind and body are not in agreement on the issue.”
    He had the same damn problem. “Like I said before, it’s best if you leave. There’s a tropical storm headed this way, and you might be able to fly out tomorrow morning before it hits the island full force.”
    â€œIf you want me to leave, you’ll have to have me physically removed.”
    Mason thought of Lucy, of how let-down she’d feel if he had her beloved best friend kicked out of Escapade, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to do it. Not yet, anyway. Not until Claire gave him a really good reason to use when he had to justify his actions to Lucy.
    â€œI’m sure you’ll give me a valid reason to do that soon enough. Until then, try to keep your distance from me, and no more showing up at my door—or anywhere else—trying to seduce me.”
    Mason turned to the door and opened it, then spun back to Claire to say goodbye. She wore the smug look of a woman who thought she’d won the battle. She was mistaken.
    â€œYou’re afraid of me, aren’t you?” she said.
    â€œNo, I’m just smart enough to recognize trouble when I see it.”
    Mason stepped out into the hallway. As he closed the door, he caught a glimpse of Claire’s self-satisfied smile, and for no apparent reason, his sense of victory evaporated into thin air.
    Â 
    M ASON WAS PROVING TO BE a harder target than Claire had anticipated, but she wasn’t ready to give up. The kiss they’d shared had been more than a little disconcerting because rather than kissing like a dead fish, as she’d hoped he would, Mason’s kissing technique was pretty impressive. Maybe even incendiary.
    Or maybe she was just so out of her mind with wanting him that she’d become a poor judge of such things.
    Yes. That had to be it.
    Claire touched up her lipstick in the bathroom mirror, then once again headed for the Cabana Club. This time, she actually made it out into the hallway without interruption. She made her way outside, where the rain still hadn’t resumed, but storm clouds continued to hover, and the wind whipped her hair into her face as it caused the plants and palm trees to flail about. She hurried along the path to the public area where she’d spotted the bar earlier, a sense of excitement and possibility filling her.
    Maybe she’d see someone at the bar who’d makeher forget all about Mason. Maybe that was the real reason she’d flown all the way here today. She doubted she could settle for one man, anyway, so it was ridiculous that one man dominated all her fantasies. There’s no way he could live up.
    Claire’s standards were too high, her appetite too insatiable, her sense of adventure too strong. Predictability was death, as her father had always said. She blinked away the sudden dampness in her eyes.
    Her father, Wilson Elliot, had passed away six months earlier in a car accident, and she still hadn’t gotten used to his absence. She’d been Daddy’s girl—even if Daddy was usually away on business. He’d always been only a phone call away to offer advice or just a listening ear, and he’d always been there to remind her that no one was good enough for his princess.
    Claire forced the melancholy thoughts from her mind when she spotted the glow of the Cabana Club sign. Once inside, she brushed her wind-battered hair out of her face with her fingers. She