Watch Me (Phoenix #1) - Stacey Kennedy Page 0,17

her than pain and tears. She looked like she was breathing easier now. For years, he’d tried his best to do right by others, to bring them happiness so people felt satisfied with their lives. So that no one felt like Katherine did. That when someone died, they knew they’d lived their life to the fullest. But there was something about Zoey, something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. Something that told him not to walk away. Something that had him wanting more. “I have a proposition for you.”

Her eyebrows rose atop twinkling eyes. “What sort of proposition?”

“Spend more time with me.”

“Why?” She gasped.

He couldn’t fight the slight chuckle that escaped him. “What Jake and Scott did to you that night has created revolving pain that you never deserved. But I’m here to tell you there is more to life than pain. Let me show you.” Before she could think on it too much, he took her hand and rose, bringing her close against him until there wasn’t any space between them. Her body against his felt oddly…right. Even with the dark night around them, he caught the flushing of her cheeks, the parting of her lips, begging for a kiss. “Here is my proposition: spend your final days in New York City with me. Let me show you how you should have been treated. How intimacy should be.”

“Why would you want to do that for me?”

He hesitated then told her the truth. “Because the look on your face when you removed your mask haunts me. That pain is burned into my mind. Don’t leave New York City with that pain. Let’s erase it. Together.”

She took a step back. “I’m fine.”

He stepped forward. “Are you?”

“Yes—” She hesitated, and something shifted on her face, a coldness breaking into uncertainty. “Okay, maybe I’m not totally fine, but—”

“You’re surviving, right?”

Her eyes searched his. “I guess you could say that.”

He got that. He’d been there once too. Surviving watching Katherine die, and hating every second of not being able to save her. “When did ‘just surviving’ end up being good enough?” Oddly protective of her and determined to help her heart weather this storm, he added, “Last night, I took your virginity. You gave that to me willingly, and I appreciate the hell out of it, believe me. Now I’m asking for you to give me…more. Can you offer me that, too?”

“But why?”

For her. For him. For this connection between them that he couldn’t quite figure out but couldn’t let go of, either. “Ah, that’s where you’ll have to trust me. Think about it.” He took a business card out of his wallet and offered it to her. “That’s my personal cell number. Text me if you want what I’m offering.”

She examined the card then lifted her heated gaze. “Which is what exactly?”

He lowered his mouth to hers until they were nearly touching. “To find that out, you’ll have to say yes.”

And just as she reached for the kiss, he strode away. “Better get going. We don’t want you to be too late.”

Her soft curses had him grinning like a fool for the rest of the walk.

One-night stands were supposed to be emotionless and distant, but nothing about Rhys was cold. In fact, he’d been attentive and thoughtful last night when he took her virginity. He listened to every word she said on their walk like it mattered to him. Even as she strode next to him after their talk, his imposing height and muscular form, matched with his social status and wealth, should unnerve her, and yet, she felt more comfortable with him than almost anyone. Especially since the assault. But that little voice in her head that told her men were dangerous stopped her from immediately accepting his proposal, no matter how intriguing. She needed her friends to weigh in.

When Rhys stopped at the Devil’s Café, a cocktail bar in the heart of Manhattan, Zoey spotted Elise and Hazel already sipping their fancy drinks, with Zoey’s unopened bottle of wine waiting in front of the empty seat. A little pang hit her heart. Those martinis looked delicious, but she wouldn’t dare drink anything not opened in front of her. Not anymore, probably never again.

“This is goodnight, then.”

Rhys’ warm, velvety voice lifted goosebumps across her arms. She met his eyes and felt an unexpected heat rush through her. Rhys was deliciously…intense. She’d never experienced the draw of a man. Against all her judgment and trust issues, she wanted to move closer. “It