This Earl Is on Fire (23 page)

W
hen the phone kept ringing non-stop and the desk clerk asked her to take a set of scrubs to exam room seven, Rachel didn't think much of it. It was, after all, an ER and she ­assumed they were for a patient whose clothes were ruined and was in need of something to wear home. She gave a light tap to the exam room door and pushed it opened further, expecting to find someone at least sitting on the exam table and requiring assistance. What she did not expect was to see a fine physical specimen, upright and most certainly able-bodied, whipping his shirt off over his head in one swift, fluid motion. Nor did she expect to be greeted by strong shoulders, a broad muscular back, and narrowed hips.

Holy moly.

This guy was by far the best looking man she'd seen in the flesh in a very long time. Maybe ever. And she hadn't even seen his face.

She clutched the scrubs to her chest and stood silent and tongue-tied, watching, appreciating, as the muscles in his back and arms flexed and strained as he unfastened the leather belt around his waist and released the button. All those finely sculpted muscles worked in unison to create a stunning physical display of power and strength as he shoved his pants to the floor.

Wearing only white crew socks and gray boxer briefs, he turned to face her and she nearly forgot how to breathe. She thought the back was nice? The chest. The abs. The dark trail of hair that began just below his navel and disappeared beneath the waistband of his briefs.

“You could've dropped them on the table and left instead of just standing there.”

Her gaze shot upward to see one corner of his mouth lifted in a half smile and as dark brown eyes stared back at her she was immediately struck by the feeling she knew this guy. There was something so familiar about him, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

She swallowed hard in an effort to unstick her tongue from the roof of her mouth. “You knew I was standing here?”

Instead of answering, he simply held out his hand, his eyes flicking to the scrubs she held in a stranglehold against her chest before lifting to meet hers once again.

“How?” She relaxed her grip, felt the blood rush back to her fingertips as she placed the scrubs in his hand. “How did you know?”

“Spatial awareness,” he said taking the clothes from her and immediately tossing the shirt onto the gurney. “That and you knocked on the door before you came in.” He flashed that half smile again before stepping into the pants and tying the drawstring. “Thanks for the clothes, Rachel. I can handle it from here.”

Immediately she looked down to see if he'd read the name from her badge, only to realize her crossed arms were covering her ID. Clearly, he knew her. So she looked harder this time, doing her best to ignore the chest—and abs and arms—and focus on his face. As she mentally stripped away the disheveled hair, the heavy scruff covering his face, the laugh lines around his eyes, the earlier feelings of lust were replaced by a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

There was little doubt the man standing in front of her was the one and only Lucky James.

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Excerpt from
The Virgin and the Viscount
copyright © 2016 by Charis Michaels.

Excerpt from
Love On My Mind
copyright © 2016 by Tracey Livesay.

Excerpt from
Here and Now
copyright © 2016 by Cheryl Etchison Smith.

THIS EARL IS ON FIRE
. Copyright © 2016 by Vivienne Lorret. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books. For information, address HarperCollins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.

EPub Edition AUGUST 2016 ISBN: 9780062446336

Print Edition ISBN: 9780062446343

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