Exposure Read Online Free Page A

martinis. “And we’ll order food when you bring our drinks,” he said to the waitress. She bowed her head and disappeared.
    I looked around the decorative restaurant. The walls were red with gold trim and Chinese murals filled the space. All around us were patrons eating with chopsticks and talking to one another. Even though it was around 8 PM, the place was packed.
    Since I was indoors, my breathing was returning to normal, as was my heart rate. With each cleansing breath, I could feel myself calming down considerably. And it certainly did help to have Asher’s gorgeous and understanding face across from me.
    When the drinks arrived, Asher asked me what I wanted, and I told him that I was in the mood for some Peking duck. So, he ordered that for me, and some Moo Shoo shrimp for himself.
    “Now,” he said. “We’re here, and you are starting to look relaxed. We have two amazing martinis on the way. Seems like this is a good time to try to get to know one another.”
    “Yes, it does seem like that.”
    “I’m sure you’re curious about me,” he said. “So, fire your questions away. I’ll be as honest as I can with you.”
    “There is one thing that I’m curious about,” I said.
    “And what’s that?”
    “You seem so…skilled in what to do to help me in my panic situation. Do you have some kind of experience with this?”
    “Actually, I do,” he said, without elaboration. “So, yes, I do know what to do to help out with that type of thing. In fact, when I first saw you on the street yesterday, I recognized what was happening. I’m very sorry that my driver got confused, though. He’s new to this country and doesn’t understand English all that well yet. But I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by you today.”
    I rapped my chopsticks against the table as I contemplated my next question. Because it, too, was something that was weighing on my mind.
    “Okay. Well, I’m also curious about something else,” I said.
    “What’s that?”
    “You almost seem like you know me. At least, that was the feeling I got from today. We haven’t met before, have we?”
    “No, we haven’t met,” he said. He looked somewhat uncomfortable about that question, though, so I wondered what he was hiding.
    I just looked at him, waiting for him to contradict that last statement, or, at the very least, elaborate on it. He finally did.
    “We haven’t met. But I know about you, of course. I follow the news.”
    Of course. As if he wouldn’t know about what had happened to me. Everyone in the city knew what had happened to me. Why would this intelligent man be any different? Turns out that he knew my greatest shame after all. I wondered if he was looking at me and thinking about what a horrible person I really was.
    I also instantly regretted my strong erotic feelings that were raging through my body. I had thought that he desired me back in his apartment, but it turned out that he probably was just feeling sorry for me.
    “Oh, okay, well, that explains it,” I said.
    He was looking at me quizzically. “Well, I had to address the elephant in the room. I know about what had happened to you, but that’s not the reason why I kissed you back at my place. If that’s what you’re thinking.”
    “That actually was what I was thinking.”
    He lowered his voice, and what he said next got my panties dripping again. “I kissed you back there because I couldn’t not kiss you. I find you incredibly sexy and you make me amazingly hard. Sorry for being so direct, but that’s how I roll.”
    I looked into that gorgeous face, feeling as if I suddenly had gone down the looking glass. He was well-dressed, clean-cut and he commanded attention wherever he went. He commanded attention because of the way that he looked and also because of the way that he carried himself. He moved as gracefully as a panther, with an air of confidence that was greater than anybody I had ever encountered.
    At the moment, I was directly opposite