Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 76647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Tristan seemed to think so. He also seemed to think that being a virgin was a terrible thing. Or at least a reason to be locked up in a tower away from everyone else.
But why the hell was that his decision to make? He wasn’t my mom. Or my agent or a director. The more I paced around the little room, the angrier I got. It was his reaction that made it seem shameful. When I told him I didn’t like kissing, he’d been eager to show me what I was missing. But when he found out I was a virgin, he’d apparently decided that I must remain one for the rest of my life.
Carter had been forward and suggestive all night, but he hadn’t reacted the way Tristan had. I walked over to the bed and picked up his grey shirt, holding it to my nose. It smelled good. I pulled it on over my black bra and panties, letting it hang open like a robe without a belt.
Carter had known all along I was a virgin, and he hadn’t treated me any differently for it. Nor had Drew—or had he? He’d pretty much treated me with kid gloves from the start.
But I wasn’t a kid. I was a grown woman.
And I was far too old for someone to send me to my room.
24
SIERRA
When I emerged, the guys were still sitting around the coffee table. Carter was just wearing jeans, since I still had his shirt. Drew was fully dressed, and Tristan had his jeans on but not his shirt.
They didn’t even notice me at first. Instead, they were intent on their discussion. Which, surprise, surprise, was about me.
“Bad idea all around,” Tristan was saying.
“Why?” Carter demanded. “Why can’t a group of adults go on a date and have a fun evening together?”
“Because she wasn’t ready for that,” Tristan said.
“She looked ready to me.”
Tristan was angry. “This is a huge deal for a woman. It’s not something she should decide on a whim.”
I stepped over to them. “Oh good, now there’s a committee of men discussing my sexuality. Remind me again what country we’re in?”
Drew looked stricken. “We’re just worried about you.”
“Then talk to me, not each other.”
“She has a point,” Carter said.
Tristan reached out and touched my arm. “We’re so sorry for the way tonight turned out. We feel awful.”
Carter snorted. “Will you stop speaking for the group? That works when you’re sourcing bamboo flooring, but not for something like this.”
“Can it,” Tristan said. “You’re the last person who would understand what she’s going through.”
“I understand that you’re not her dad. You’re not her keeper—and she doesn’t need either to tell her what to do with her own body,” Carter said as I stared at him.
There was something very unsettling about a world in which he made sense and Tristan was being irrational.
“I’m not trying to tell you what to do with your body,” Tristan said to me.
“Me either,” Drew said. “But I’m really sorry that we upset you.”
This was getting exasperating. “The only thing that upset me was when you found out I’m a virgin and decided I needed to be sequestered in my room.”
Tristan took a deep breath. Ordinarily, the sight of his sculpted pecs rising and falling would’ve been a turn-on, but right now, that was the farthest thing from my mind. “You’re right. I apologize for that. We were just trying to protect you.”
“If I thought I needed protecting, I would’ve been the one to retreat to my room.”
“We’re sorry,” Drew said again. “And we… we talked it over, and…” He looked to Tristan for help.
“We decided that if at some point you decide you want to be with one of us for your first time, then the other two of us promise we won’t get our feelings hurt.”
“Fine. I choose Carter.”
Tristan looked as if he’d swallowed a hornet. “What?”
“You heard her,” Carter said. He didn’t leer at me or anything like that. In fact, he looked as pissed with Tristan as I was.
“You can’t do that,” Tristan said.
“So that whole thing you just said about it being my choice was just bull?”
“No, I—” He put his head in his hands. “Fuck.”
Drew had the grace to look ashamed. “This whole night was a mistake. Let’s just go back to the way things were.”
“What, with her skulking around here like a timid little mouse?” Carter said. “Let her move past that, man.”
“We came up here to work. All of us,” Drew said. “Let’s just get back to that. There’s no need for anything else.”
“Except the fact that we’re all adults, and if we feel a connection with another adult, why the hell shouldn’t we explore it?” He turned his dark eyes on me, his smirk nowhere in evidence. “If you want me for your first time, you won’t regret it.”