Sexual Shift Read Online Free Page A

would lose functioning power, too. “Oh!” The “it’s you” that almost followed her exclamation managed to stay silent.
    “I’m glad you remember me.” Tanner Cage reached out to take her hand and lead her to the counter. He scoured the length of her, pausing to linger on her breasts before moving to her lips, then on to her eyes.
    Hilly sucked in a breath, fighting against the conflicting urges to either run or kiss him. She went on guard, working to control the tension tightening her neck.
    “I don’t know what you mean.” Besides, how did he know she was Hilly and not Meg? “You surprised me, is all.”
    Stiffly, she sidestepped him, seeking the safety behind the counter. Should she acknowledge that they’d met before? But how without giving up her secret? She wasn’t positive he knew the truth, so why admit it? She told herself to take charge of her nerves and change the subject.
    “May I help you? Would you like to try our new melt-in-your-mouth apple cinnamon muffins? Or maybe a warm and gooey chocolate éclair? Tell me. What do you crave?” She froze, aware how the normal questions to her customers suddenly sounded sensual.
    His silver-blue eyes colored to a smoky gray. “I don’t want anything you’ve baked. What I want, what I crave…is you.”
    Hilly’s legs went weak, and she had to grip the edge of the counter to stay upright. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”
    His smile filled with warmth as well as a hint of danger. “You weren’t difficult to find, you know. Your bakery, your sisters…and especially you…are well-known in town. Although I never expected to find someone like you. I guess dreams do come true.” Turning away from her, he gave her the time she needed to regroup.
    His hair, pulled back in a ponytail, glistened with blue-black highlights under the fluorescent lights. Dressed in a black silk shirt and slacks as he’d been dressed in the park, he looked as though he was ready for the grand opening of a nightclub rather than the bright daylight of a modest bakery. His silk shirt clung like a second skin in all the right places, highlighting the broad shoulders, then caressing his body down to the slim waist, drawing her attention even lower.
    Think, Hilly. Say something. “We’ve been in business a long time. Besides, everyone knows everyone else in a small town.” Someone must’ve pointed her out to him.
    She took a couple of deep breaths. So far he hadn’t mentioned Hilly the child, so maybe he hadn’t suspected after all. More than likely, her imagination had gone off kilter. She breathed easier, determined to treat him like any other customer.
    “Are you new in town? Or just passing through?” She cringed and hoped she didn’t sound interested.
    “Neither one.”
    What did he mean by that? She was about to ask when he turned to face the opposite wall and studied the photographs of her sisters and her deceased parents.
    “They died when you were still a child. Then you were a child raising children.”
    She gasped. “How do you know they aren’t alive? How do you know about my life?”
    When he faced her, she could see the pity and understanding in his expression. He shrugged, but she didn’t believe the nonchalance in the movement. “I guess someone must’ve mentioned it.”
    He was in front of her in the blink of an eye and leaning over the counter, his face intoxicatingly close to hers. Startled, Hilly lurched away, pressing her back against the other counter. “I think you know a lot about me. More than any townsperson would tell you.”
    His smile lingered before he finally spoke. “Yes, I do, Hilly Tristan.”
    She didn’t know if it was his cocky attitude or the alarm twisting her gut, but she suddenly found herself ready to stand her ground. “I’m not sure I like that.”
    Again, he moved faster than any human could and came behind the counter. Hilly’s heart thundered in her chest. Was he a warlock? Yet she didn’t sense a magical