Bad Boy (An Indecent Proposal) - J.C. Reed Page 0,25

strings. Everything about him did. His gaze. His breath on my skin. The way his eyes seemed to brush over my lips, leaving them tingly and in dire want of his kiss.

Cradled in his arms, with my head leaned back to glance all the way up into his eyes, I could feel the heat eradicating from his body. I could feel the layers of my anger melting and my resolve slowly fading.

His gentle touch on my arm was a direct opposite to the cold stare he gave me.

“So, I gather I have no choice?” I asked.

“No.”

I sighed, my chest strangely heavy, my voice choked. “Just answer me this: Who are you? Is Chase really your real name?”

Hesitating, he let go of me, his blue eyes shimmering like an ocean in the morning sun focused on me. He was fighting with himself, probably wondering whether to disclose the truth or how much to tell me.

“Not here, Laurie,” he whispered. “I’ll pick you up at twelve. And wear the red dress.” The tone of his voice was strangely soothing and built an unnerving contradiction to the grip he still had on my upper arm. And then he let go of me and walked out, closing the door behind him.

As if I was the one intruding on him.

For a long time, I stood frozen to the spot, my mind processing.

The truth was, I wanted to know. I wanted more. And yes, my pride and ego were standing in my way, as well as my fear that giving in could mean I might lose myself again—that I might get lost in Chase’s eyes, in his being, in everything he had to offer.

I felt a strong need to call Jude even though she wouldn’t know what to tell me because no one could possibly understand just how torn I was. She sure wasn’t the one fighting the arrays of emotions inside me; she didn’t have to cope with the fear of being lied to again in the future, or face the risk of believing him in the knowledge that truth isn’t easily distinguished from a lie.

And most importantly, the fear of the known.

Once he explained his motives, would I be strong enough to walk away?

Did I even want to leave him behind?

Somehow I sensed that I would have to very soon, but whether I wanted to, whether I was strong enough to, whether I could do it—that was a different matter.

Chapter 10

The moment Chase was gone, I called Jude with the update.

“I’m so stupid.” I groaned into the phone. “I’m going to see him again.”

I still couldn’t believe it.

Less than thirty-six hours ago, I’d watched the world through pink-colored glasses in the hope for a great future. Now that they had been ripped off my eyes, I was still pining for Chase.

Mystery guy.

Bad boy.

Mr. fucking liar.

Those were all the names that came to my mind when thinking of him.

Those and Mr. Tall, Handsome and Mysterious, even though, if we were absolutely honest, his tongue deserved a mention, too. The way it could bring me straight to pleasure heaven, it had been nothing short of a miracle.

Fuck.

Just thinking about it made me wet.

It was a god’s gift—and not the good kind—sent into the world to torture and remind me that I was a weak, gullible woman. And not a woman with a soft spot for bad boys, but a woman with raging hormones and all that wasn’t holy. Yes, it was most certainly my frigging hormones that had made me so wildly in lust for Chase that I switched off all rational thoughts and just let him fuck me.

“I should call him and tell him our meeting is off,” I continued to rant. “After all he’s done, it looks like I’m still dating him, or maybe not dating—” I tapped a finger against my lips in thought. “Anyway, seeing him is the last thing I should do. I swear it’s a mistake.”

“No doubt about it,” Jude agreed on the other end of the line. “But maybe just listen to him. You know, get his side of the story. Maybe it isn’t as bad as you think it is. Maybe you’re making a big deal out of nothing. Who knows? For all we know, he wanted to marry you because he’s a collector, and you had an old painting in your family heritage that he desperately needed to acquire.”

“Which would be exactly the same thing as marrying me for my money.” I gave a short, loud snort.

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