Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 85274 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85274 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
“I’m sorry,” he says softly into my ear, forcing my eyes to flutter shut in disappointment. “I have to go, but I really enjoyed this dance.” And then he’s gone.
A few seconds later, I open my eyes and glance around, and it’s as if he was never here. I stand frozen in my spot, until Raelyn joins me.
“Holy shit, you guys were so hot together,” she says. “I thought flames were going to explode from your bodies.”
“Not hot enough, apparently,” I say, my body still buzzing with electricity.
“Wait, he left?”
“Said he was sorry and that he had to go but he enjoyed dancing with me.” I release a harsh breath. “Let’s get out of here.”
Raelyn’s brows shoot up to her forehead. “Seriously? You’re leaving, just like that? Maybe he had to take care of something and will be back. What if—”
“I can’t do this,” I blurt out. “It’s for the best that he walked away.”
“Why? Did he make you feel uncomfortable? If you’re not ready—”
“No, no.” I shake my head. “He made me feel the opposite. I’ve never felt this turned on in my life.” After what I went through, I thought the idea of sex would always turn me off...Until now.
“Okay, then why the hell aren’t you going after him?”
“Because this was a stupid idea. I spent years crushing on him and then several more years making it a point to get over him. I accepted that there would never be anything between us—that our relationship would always remain platonic. But tonight proved otherwise. The way he looked at me, with heat and desire in his eyes.” I sigh, wishing I could’ve snapped a picture and captured that look forever. “If I sleep with him, if I actually go through with it without freaking out, where will that leave me?”
“One step closer to taking your life back,” Raelyn says.
“I can’t do it. I can’t be with him and then walk away. I can’t sleep with him and then pretend like it never happened. Let’s go.”
“How about we go to the bar and have a drink first?” she suggests. “Once we leave, you might not be able to get back in, so let’s think about this rationally.”
“Fine, but having a drink isn’t going to change anything.”
We sidle up to the bar and each order a drink. I expect Raelyn to drone on about why I should be chasing after Lincoln, but instead we sip our drinks quietly. When our glasses are both empty, and we’ve paid our tab with cash, she turns to me and says, “Now that you’ve calmed a bit, are you sure you want to leave?”
Do I want to leave? No. But is it for the best? “Yes, I’m sure.”
Without giving Raelyn a chance to argue, I drop a couple bills onto the bar top to leave a tip and then get off my barstool, pushing through the throng of people who are dancing, flirting, and kissing—some are doing a lot more than that—determined to get out of here. I’m halfway down the hallway, near the entrance, when I run straight into a hard chest that nearly knocks me over. But before I fall on my ass, strong hands grab my hips, keeping me upright.
I’m about to push him off me, but I notice the hazel eyes, strong, clean-shaven jawline, silver mask—Lincoln.
“You’re still here,” he says.
Maybe I’m projecting, but his words almost sound relieved.
“I’m here.”
A couple tries to walk past us, but we’re standing in the middle of the walkway, so Lincoln pulls me to the side to get out of everyone’s way. I’m not sure where Raelyn is, but I’m assuming she’s made herself scarce.
“Everything okay?” I ask.
“What?” His brows crease in confusion, but then he must remember because he says, “Yeah, just a work thing. All part of owning a business.”
I nod, and then we stand here, Lincoln’s body pressed against mine, our faces only inches apart. I can practically feel the sexual tension rolling off us in waves, but I don’t know what to do, what to say. A moment ago, I was telling Raelyn I couldn’t do this and was ready to leave. But now, at the feel of Lincoln’s body melding into mine, our gazes locked and filled with desire, all my previous thoughts have evaporated.
I want Lincoln. I want to be with him, even if it’s just once. I want to know what it feels like to be with a man by choice, a man I’m sexually attracted to. He’s the only man—aside from Micah, who’s like an older brother to me—that I trust, and I want him to be the first person I freely give myself to. I might not be a virgin because of what those men did to me, but I’ll never consider them my firsts.
They took what wasn’t offered.