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MEGAN HART

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DID YOU PURCHASE THIS BOOK WITHOUT A COVER?If you did, you should be aware it is stolen propertyas it was

reported unsold and destroyed by a retailer.Neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment

for this book.

First Published 2010First Australian Paperback Edition 2013ISBN 978 174356468 4

NAKED 2010 by Megan HartPhilippine Copyright 2010

Australian Copyright 2010

New Zealand Copyright 2010

Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilisation of this work in wholeor in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now knownor hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or inany information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the permission ofthe publisher, Harlequin Enterprises, Locked Bag 7002, Chatswood D.C. N.S.W.,Australia 2067.

This book is sold subject to the condition that shall not, by way of trade or

otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the priorconsent of the publisher in any form of binding or cover other than that in which itis published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposedon the subsequent purchaser.

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in anyform. This edition is published in arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A..

This is a work of ction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either theproduct of the authors imagination or are used ctitiously, and any resemblanceto actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales isentirely coincidental.

Published byHarlequin SPICE

An imprint of Harlequin Enterprises

Level 4132 Arthur Street

NORTH SYDNEY NSW 2060AUSTRALIA

and are trademarks owned by Harlequin Enterprises Limited or its corporateafliates and used by others under licence. Trademarks marked with an areregistered in Australia and in other countries. Contact admin_legal@Harlequin.cafor details

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Alex doesnt like girls. Patrick said this like a warning.Id been staring at the man from the corner of my eye,

framing him as part of the overall picture here at Patricks

annual Chrismukkah party. Alex was prettier than the bunches

of Martha Stewartinspired poinsettias and twinkling fairylights, but so were all the men here. Patrick had the hottest

friends Id ever seen. Seriously, it was like a convention of hot

men. After Patricks admonishment I looked Alex over again

more closely, mostly just to jerk Patricks chain. He was so easy

that way.

Is that his name?

Patrick gave a low snort of disapproval. Yes, thats his

name.

Alex what?

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glass, warming it. The rich, strong scent of red wine wafted

under my nostrils. I could taste the aroma on the back of my

tongue, but I didnt sip. He doesnt like girls, huh?Patrick pursed his mouth and crossed his arms. No. Jesus,

Olivia, stop ogling his ass.

I raised an eyebrow, mirroring Patricks earlier expression.

An old habit and one I knew irritated the shit out of him. It

seemed like that kind of night. Why do you invite me to

your parties if its not to ogle mens asses?Patrick huffed and puffed and frowned brief ly before he

mustve remembered what that did to the lines around his

mouth, and he forced his face to neutral smoothness. His gaze

followed mine across the dining room and through the

archway. Alex had his back to us, one arm on the mantelpieceof the living-room fireplace. He had a glass of Guinness. Hed

been holding it for as long as Id been watching, but I hadnt

seen him drink from it even once.

And you feel an especial need to point this out to

mewhy? I sipped more wine and stared him down.

Patrick shrugged. Just thought Id make sure you knew.I looked around at the half-dozen men helping themselves

to the buffet, and then through the arch to the living room

where another dozen men chatted or danced or f lirted.

Ninety-nine percent of them were gay and the other one

percent was thinking about it. I think I know better than to

expect to get laid at one of your parties, Patrick.

Before I could comment further, a pair of thick, muscled

arms gripped my waist from behind and a tight belly pressed

along my back. Run away with me and see how long it takes

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Naked 9

I twisted, giving in to laughter at the tickling touch of a

beard on my earlobe, and turned. Patrick, you didnt tell me

you were inviting Billy Dee Williams to your party! Oh,waitBilly Dee would never wear that sweater. Hey, Teddy.

Girl, dont you be making fun of this sweater. Mama

McDonald sent me this sweater and her boy Patrick got one

just like it. Teddy dropped Patrick a wink. Difference is, Im

man enough to wear it.

I got a hug, a squeeze, a kiss and a pat on the ass all within

the span of seconds before Teddy moved on to provide the

same for Patrick. Patrick, still pouting, swatted at the bigger

man and pushed him away while Teddy laughed and swiped

a hand over Patricks hair. Patrick scowled and smoothed his

ruff led feathers, but allowed Teddy to kiss his cheek a momentlater.

I gestured with my wineglass. Hes trying to tell me not

to ogle an ass.

What? I thought we were all here to ogle mens asses.

Teddy shook his, I shook mine; we did The Bump and dis-solved into the sort of laughter helped along by a liberal

helping of holiday cheer. Patrick watched us with his arms

crossed and eyebrow lifted. Then he shook his head.

Pardon me for trying to be a friend, he said.

Patrick and I had been friends for a long time. Once, long

ago, wed been more than that. Patrick thought that gave him

the right to be my aunt Nancy and I let him becausewell,

because I loved him. And because there was never been too

much love in my life to turn any small bit of it away.

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Naked 11

medium-brown hair that looked as though hed run a hand

through it one too many timesor just rolled out of bed. Hair

like that took lots of product and effort to look good, and hisdid. I had an impression of handsome features more than an

actual view, and some of that was assumption. Alex was very

pretty, there was no doubt about it, but if Patrick hadnt gone

all dontcha dare on me, I probably wouldve looked once,

maybe twice, and never again.

How come Ive never met him?Hes not from around here, Patrick said.

I looked back at the man Patrick seemed so desperate for

me to ignore. Alex appeared to be locked in deep conversa-

tion with another of Patricks friends, their faces intense and

serious. Not f lirting. The man across from Alex drank angrily,his throat working.

I didnt need to lift my hands, thumb to thumb and pointer

to pointer, to make a frame for the picture I was composing.

My mind did that automatically at the same time it filled in

the details of their story. Snap, click. I didnt have my camera,

but I could imagine the shot, just the same. I framed Alex inmy head, slightly off center and a little out of focus.

Patrick muttered and poked me in the side. Olivia!

I looked at him again. Stop being such a mother hen,

Patrick. Do you think Im an idiot?

He frowned. No. I dont think youre an idiot. I just dont

want

Teddy came back just then, so whatever Patrick wanted got

swallowed behind a tight, hard smile. I recognized it, along

with the look in his eyes. I hadnt seen it for a long time, but

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close to nuzzle at his cheek. Come on. The cheese trays been

decimated and were almost out of wine. Come to the kitchen

with me, love, and Ill give you a little treat.Until Teddy, Patrick had never stayed with anyone longer

than hed been with me. I adored Teddy despite this, or

maybe because of it. I knew Patrick loved him, though he

hardly ever said so, and because I loved Patrick I wanted him

to be happy.

Patricks hard glance cut across the room again, to Alex andback to me. I thought he might say something more, but

instead he shook his head and let Teddy lead him away. Me,

I took another ogle at Alex Kennedys very, very fine ass.

Livvy! Merry holidays! This came from Jerald, another

of Patricks friends, and a man whod done some modelingfor me more than once. I traded him some nice head shots

for his portfolio in exchange for using him in some stock

photos I needed for my graphic design business. When are

you going to take more pictures of me, huh?

When can you come in?

Jerald grinned with perfect white teeth and a smile asstraight as he was not. Whenever you need me.

We chatted for a few minutes about when and where, and

for what, and then Jerald gave me a hug and a squeeze and a

kiss before abandoning me in search of someone with a penis.

That was all right. I didnt need Patrick to hover over me to

make me feel at home. I knew most of his friends. The ones

of recent acquaintance viewed me as a curiosity, a relic, the

woman whod been with Patrick before he came out, but they

were friendly enough. Liquor helped, of course. Friends

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Naked 13

happened when Patrick and I were a couple without the half-

disguised gleam of pity his newer, gay friends often gave me.

Booze helped that, too.Wineglass in hand, I made my way over to the buffet to

load my plate with all sorts of delicacies. Squares of Indian

naan bread paired with spicy hummus, cubes of cheese dipped

in cranberry honey mustard, a few purple grapes still clinging

to their stem. Patrick and Teddy knew how to throw a party,

and even the Saturday after Thanksgiving, I still had room forfood as good as they served. I was debating about sampling

the slices of rare roast beef settled next to the crusty French

rolls or the waistline-conscious strawberry walnut salad when

a tap on my shoulder turned me.

Hey, girl!I stopped with a roll in my hand, halfway to my plate. I

knew Patricks neighbor, Nadia. Shed always gone out of her

way to be friendly to me, not that she had any reason not to

be. Id always thought Nadias overtures of friendship had less

to do with me and more with her, and tonight was proving

that suspicion correct.I want you to meet Carlos. My boyfriend. Nadia had a

pretty smile in an otherwise unremarkable face, but when she

used it I wanted to take her picture. It transformed her.

Meetcha, Carlos mumbled, his eyes on the food, though

Nadias hand held him in such a tight grip he couldnt actually

grab any.

Nice to meet you, Carlos.

Nadia gave us both an expectant look. Carlos and I gave

each other the once-over, his dark eyes traveling over my

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Megan Hart14

skin was very white against his. I think we both knew what

she wanted, but neither of us was going to give it.

I didnt know I was black until second grade. Oh, sure, Idalways known my skin was darker than my parents and

brothers. My features not the same. Theyd never hidden the

fact that I was adopted, and we celebrated not only my

birthday but the date I became part of their family. I never

felt anything less than loved completely. Cherished. Spoiled,

even, by two much older brothers, and parents Id know laterwere trying to overcompensate for the cesspool their marriage

had become.

Id always believed I was special, but until second grade Id

never understood I wasdifferent.

Desiree Johnson moved to my school in Ardmore fromsomeplace closer to inner-city Philadelphia. She wore her hair

in hundreds of tiny braids close to her scalp and clipped at

the ends with plastic barrettes. She wore T-shirts with gold

shiny lettering, and soft velour track pants, her sneakers star-

tlingly white and huge for the size of her feet. She was dif-

ferent, and we all stared when she came into our classroom.The teacher, Miss Dippold, had told us only that morning

wed be getting a new student. Shed taken care to mention

how important it was to be kind to new students, especially

those who werent the same. Shed read us a story about

Zeke, the pony with stripes whod turned out not to be a pony

at all but a zebra. Even in second grade, Id seen the end of

that one coming from a mile away.

What I hadnt seen coming was Miss Dippolds command

to me to shift my desk so Desiree could sit beside me. I

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speller for that week, with my name on the board and first-

in-line privileges for recess? Or had Miss Dippold noticed

how Id lent Billy Miller my best pencil, since hed left his athome again? My desk scraped along the f loor, curling small

shavings of polish off the wood as I moved it aside so Randall,

the janitor, could f it in another desk and chair for Desiree.

It was none of those reasons, but one Id never have

guessed.

There, Miss Dippold said when Desiree had settledherself into the new desk and chair. Desiree, this is Olivia.

Im sure youll be best friends.

Desirees barrettes clacked against one another as she turned

her head to look up and down at my pleated skirt, knee-high

socks and buckled Mary Janes. My hair, twisted into tight curlsand held back with a matching headband. My cardigan

sweater.

For a second-grader, Desiree already had a lot of attitude.

You got to be kidding me.

Miss Dippold blinked behind her huge tortoiseshell glasses.

Desiree? Is there a problem?She gave a world-weary sigh. No, Miss Dippold. Nothing

wrong with me.

Later, just before lunch, I leaned to take a peek at the

drawings she was making on her notepad. Mostly swirls and

circles, shaded with pencil. I showed her my own doodles,

which werent as elaborate.

I like to draw, too, I said.

Desiree checked out my drawings and snorted. Uh-huh.

Maybe thats why Miss Dippold thought wed be friends,

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Desirees brows rose up to meet her hairline. She looked

around at the others, classmates who were getting restless in

anticipation of sloppy joes and afternoon recess. She lookedback at me, then took my hand and laid it next to hers.

Against the pale gray desktops, our fingers stood out like

shadows.

Miss Dippold didnt know anything about my drawing,

Desiree said. She meant its cuz were both, you know.

Both what?Now she gave an exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes at me.

Her whole tone changed. Because were both black.

It was my turn to blink rapidly, trying to take all of this in.

I looked around the room, at a sea of white faces. Caitlyn

Caruso was adopted, too, from China, and she looked differ-ent than the other kids. But Desiree was right. Shed pointed

it out as if I shouldve known all along.

I was black. This revelation stunned me into silence for the

rest of the day, until I went home and took down all our

family albums to f lip through page after page of photos. I was

black! Id been black my entire life! How had I never noticedit before?

The answer was simplemy parents had never said so,

never made it a big deal. Id been brought up to appreciate

diversity. I had little choice. Born to a white mother and a

black father, Id been adopted as an infant by parents in a

mixed marriage, though of religion, not race. My nonprac-

ticing Jewish mom had married my fallen-away Catholic dad

and theyd raised two sons together in a haphazard clash of

holidays until they divorced when I was f ive. We never talked

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Desiree didnt stay long in our class. Her family moved

again a few months later. But I never forgot her for pointing

out to me what I shouldve known my whole life.But heres the thing about people like Nadia, who pride

themselves on being color-blindin the end, all they see is

color. Nadia hadnt introduced me to her boyfriend because

we both liked to draw, or we both listened to Depeche Mode,

or even just to be polite. Carlos and I knew it.

Nadia didnt get it. She chattered on between us, droppingnames as if I should know them, referencing hip-hop songs.

Carlos caught my gaze and gave me a small shrug she didnt

see. He looked at her with obvious affection, though, stopping

her finally with a single murmured, Baby.

Nadia laughed, looking confused. Huh?If you dont let me eat some of this food, Im going to

pass out.

Carlos works out a lot, Nadia confided as her boyfriend

began to decimate the buffet table. Hes always hungry.

I was saved from having to comment by the kerfuff le

arising in the living room. Id still been aware of Alex Kennedyat the corner of my vision. He hadnt strayed from the f ire-

place. The man hed been talking to had raised his voice and

his hands, gesturing and pointing. Accusing.

This would not be the first time drama had exploded at

Patricks house; throw a party for a bunch of queens and there

are never enough crowns to go around, as he was fond of

saying. I wasnt the only one who turned to watch, either.

Alex, instead of engaging in the back-and-forth, only shook

his head and lifted his beer to his lips.

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the fireplace for the object of his attention. Yep. Alex

Kennedy.

Somehow I didnt think a ring had ever been put on anypart of him but his cock.

Perk up, Teddy advised, and f illed my glass with wine I

didnt want. Partys not over yet.

I groaned and leaned against him. Maybe I should just

head home.

He shook his head with a laugh and patted his pocket. Gotyour keys.

I lifted my glass. If you hadnt insisted on keeping this

full

We both laughed. Id spent so many nights in their guest

room his insistence on me staying had almost nothing to dowith the fact Id been drinking. Now, though, as I watched

through the arched doorway to the living room-cum-dance

f loor, I wished Id been smarter and not planned ahead to

spend the night; I wished I could walk from here, but it was

too cold and dark and too long a way. I wished I could hitch

a ride with someone, but though a few guests had already left,most were still in full-on celebration mode and none of them

lived out my way.

I hid another yawn. I think I need some coffee.

Teddy frowned. Poor Livvy. Always working so hard.

If I dont, nobody else will do it for me. I shrugged.

Well, Im impressed. Striking out on your own. Quitting

your job. Patrick didnt think youd stick with it. Teddy

looked momentarily uncomfortable, as if hed spilled a secret.

I know he didnt.

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plishments, but I didnt say so. Instead, I let Teddy hug and

pet me a little, because hes like a cuddlier version of the Borg

from Star Trek. Resistance is futile. Not only that, but Im asucker for a big man in a Santa sweater; what can I say?

I handed him my glass of wine. Im going for some coffee.

Or at least a Coke or something.

I couldve just gone to bed, but with the party still in full

swing it was unlikely Id be able to sleep. Patricks kitchen was

kitschy cute, complete with a swinging-tailed kitty clock andretro-looking appliances. Well, except for the space-age

espresso machine, the fancy kind that steamed milk and used

those special pods. Id never learned to use it and in fact didnt

dare touch it in case I dialed something wrong and sent us all

back to the Stone Age. Id be the one to step on the butter-f ly.

I knew he had a regular coffeemaker someplace, but a

search of the cabinets didnt turn one up. Patrick never got

rid of anythingand I mean never, not his favorite T-shirt

or a lamp with a broken switch. Hell, obviously not me. He

hoarded belongings and people like the Zombpocalypse wascoming and the only way to survive was by building a new

civilization out of outdated wardrobes, nonfunctioning ap-

pliancesand past lovers. I knew he still had that coffee-

maker.

Maybe on the screened back porch, plastic-sheeted now for

protection against the winter. Patrick had stored a couple

dozen boxes of miscellaneous crap there, promising Teddy

hed sort through it, but never doing so. His espresso machine

was new, so there was an excellent chance hed simply moved

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door and went onto the porch. I hissed out heat and broke at

once into goose-pimply shivers. I didnt turn on the overhead

light, but went for the first stack of boxes. Didnt f ind the cof-feemaker, just a collection of porn mags I f lipped through

with numb, fumbly fingers and shoved back inside the box.

It was the closest I was likely to get to an erection tonight,

and dont think I didnt mourn that fact just a little.

Starting my own business had been great for my ego and

sense of satisfaction. Itd been hell on my bank account and

my sex life. No time to date, no time to invest in another

person, even if Id found someone I thought would be worth

making an effort for. No time even for casual f lirting, since

working for myself meant I was alone most of the time. My

other two jobs, the ones Id kept so I could cover mymortgage, werent exactly conducive to meeting men. Taking

school and sports team photos required a lot of traveling, and

though I met many a DILFa dad Id like to fuckmost of

them were married. My job at Foto Folks was fun and paid

well, but my clients were invariably middle-aged womenlooking for boudoir shots or moms who brought their kids

to get pictures taken in front of giant stuffed bears. Id devel-

oped a severe allergy to feather boas. I was run-down, but I

was happy. I was tired and sometimes stressed, but I was doing

what I loved.

I was also officially undersexed.

Cmon, Patrick, whered you put it? I moved toward the

porchs far end, around the sheet-covered wicker furniture and

behind a large stack of lawn chairs. Ah, bingo.

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shook my head, and turned at the sound of the back door

opening behind me.

Freeze-frame.Two silhouettes appeared in the doorway. Men. The smaller

one shoved the bigger one against the wall. Oh. I got it. I was

ready to clear my throat and announce my presence when the

taller man turned his face toward the light.

How could I have ever thought him commonly, regularly

handsome? Alex Kennedys profile made me want to weep,if only because there are too few people in this life who are

so beautiful while also being so real. In full light everything

on his face had lined up just right. Here, now, with shadow

splitting him in half, I could see his nose was too sharp, his

lower jaw a little too undercut for perfection. His hair fell overhis forehead, and he grimaced as the man in front of him

dropped to his knees and unzipped Alexs trousers.

I still had time to call out a warning. They were far gone,

maybe drunk or maybe just so deep in their lust they werent

paying attention to anything else, but I couldve stopped them

if I really wanted to. I didnt.Evan, the low, creamy voice that must belong to Alex

said. You dont have to do this.

Shut up.

The shadows morphed into f igures again, one standing tall,

the other crouched at his feet. The light from the streetlamp

down the alley was barely bright enough to illuminate

anything, but it was enough to show me what was going on.

And, I thought, to block me from their view if theyd

bothered to look, since I was in the far corner and settled deep

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