Sara Stone - Full Exposure

To the women who are currently serving in our nations military or have servedthank you.

First, thank you to my wonderful agent, Jill Marsal at the Marsal Lyon Literary Agency, for challenging me every step of the way, and for finding a wonderful home for this story at Avon Impulse.

To my editor, Amanda Bergeron, your insights and suggestions made this story shine, and for that you have my humble gratitude. This story marks my Impulse debut and my first opportunity to work with Avons talented and hardworking marketing, publicity, and art departmentsthank you for your efforts. And a special shout-out to Shawn Nicholls and Gretchen Swartley. You both are awesome.

Thank you to Monica Jelden for sharing your knowledge about the timber industry. Any mistakes are my own.

I could not have written this book (or any book) without the support of my family. To my children, thank you for inspiring me every day. I promise to always protect you from scary bears.

GEORGIA TRULANE WALKED into the kitchen wearing a purple bikini, hoping and praying for a reaction from the man shed known practically forever. Seated at the kitchen table, Eric Moore, her brothers best friend, now her boss since shed taken over the care of his adopted nephew until he found another live-in nanny, studied his laptop as if it held the keys to the worlds greatest mysteries. Unless the answers were listed between items b and c on a spreadsheet about Oregon timber harvesting, the screen was not of earth-shattering importance. It certainly did not merit his full attention when she was wearing an itsy-bitsy string bikini.

Nate is asleep, she said.

Look up. Please, look up.

Eric nodded, his gaze fixed to the screen. Why couldnt he look at her with that unwavering intensity? Hed snuck glances. There had been moments when shed turned from preparing his nephews lunch and caught him looking at her, really looking, as if he wanted to memorize the curve of her neck or the way her jeans fit. But he quickly turned away.

Did you pick up everything he needs for his first day of school tomorrow? I dont want to send him unprepared.

His deep voice warmed her from the inside out. It was so familiar and welcoming, yet at the same time utterly sexy.

I got all the items on the list, she said. He is packed and ready to go.

He needs another one of those stuffed frogs. He cant go without his favorite stuffed animal.

If she hadnt been standing in his kitchen practically naked, waiting for him to notice her, she would have found his concern for the three-year-olds first day of preschool sweet, maybe even heartwarming. But her body wasnt looking for sentiments reminiscent of sunshine and puppies, or the whisper of sweet nothings against her skin. She craved physical contacthis hands on her, exploring, each touch making her feel more alive.

And damn it, he still hadnt glanced up from his laptop.

Nate will be home by nap time, she said. Hell be there for only a few hours. You know that, right?

Hell want to take his frog, he said, his fingers moving across the keyboard. Hell probably lose it. And he sleeps with that thing every night. He needs that frog.

She might be practically naked, but his emphasis on the word need thrust her headfirst into heartwarming territory. Eric worked day and night to provide Nate with the stability that had been missing from Erics childhood thanks to his divorced parents fickle dating habits. She admired his willingness to put a child whod suffered a tragic loss first.

But tonight, for one night, she didnt want to think about all of his honorable qualities. She wanted to see if maybe, just maybe those stolen glances when he thought she wasnt looking meant that the man shed laid awake thinking about while serving her country half a world away wanted her too.

Youre now the proud owner of two stuffed frogs, she said. So if thats everything for tonight, Im going for a swim.

Finally, finally, he looked up. She watched as his blue eyes widened and his jaw clenched. He was an imposing man, large and strong from years of climbing and felling trees. Not that he did the grunt work anymore. These days he wore tailored suits and spent more time in an office than with a chainsaw in hand. But even seated at his kitchen table poring over a computer, he looked like a wall of strong, solid muscle wound tight and ready for action. Having all of that energy focused on her? It sent a thrill down her body. Georgia clung to the feeling, savoring it.

His gaze dropped to her breasts, briefly, before returning to her face. Hed rolled up the sleeves of his white button-down dress shirt, revealing the corded muscles of his forearms. From across the kitchen, she could see those muscles tensing, his hands forming fists.

Yearning to touch? To pull at her bikini strings? Or was that wishful thinking on her part? Was she so crazed with desire for the six-foot-two man with the short black hair she longed to run her fingers through that she was imagining his reaction? Maybe he was horrified that his friends little sister looked as if she belonged poolside at a Vegas hotel. Or maybe he was so shocked he didnt know what to make of the suit shed ordered from Victorias Secret. He generally saw her in jeans and a T-shirt while she chased after Nate, or for the years before shed become his nanny, her US Army fatigues.

Its late, he said, his tone neutral.

Eric, its eight oclock and it is still August. The sun hasnt disappeared behind the mountains. Its the perfect night for a swim.

Eric frowned. The pond water is cold.

He lived on two hundred acres on the outskirts of Independence Falls, a small town in the heart of Oregons Willamette Valley, surrounded by mountains. The water was always cold. And she loved it that way. It made her feel alive.

It will be refreshing. Georgia paused, biting her lower lip. She had a long list of reasons not to ask. That she might lose her temporary job as his nanny came a close third to the fact her brother would kill her. But her top reason? Pushing their friendship into uncharted waters might blow up in her face.

Hed always been there for her. When shed gone out drinking for the first time in high school and downed one too many, shed called Eric, not her brother or her parents, for a ride. Now Eric ran a multimillion-dollar timber business, the largest in the Pacific Northwest. Yet hed taken the time to email her every few days while shed served overseas.

Eric Moore was her friend. But shed been sneaking I-want-you glances at him since she was a teenager. Shed dreamed about him, fantasizing about how he would look stripped out of his business suits.

Common sense told her the safe and sensible thing was to walk out the door now without another word. Let her dreams remain in her head. Pursuing Eric could lead to disaster. But shed witnessed tragedy and chaos firsthand, rendering her brothers demand from their conversation this morning impossible. Settle down, Georgia, her brother had said. But she couldnt. She refused to calmly watch her life pass her by filled with longing for a man she shouldnt want. Now that she was home safe and sound from a war zone, she was done holding back.

Maybe you should join me, she said. I could grab the monitor for Nates room. The signal reaches to the pond. Wed hear if he woke up.

Heat flashed in his eyes. No, she hadnt imagined it. It had been a long time, more than a year, since a man had looked at her as if he wanted to get close enough to touch her. Still, she remembered. But Eric quickly buried the spark of desire. Shaking his head, he returned his attention to his computer screen.