Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 77683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
If he was lying, he was the best liar I’d ever seen. He acted completely natural, kept his eyes locked on mine as he answered. “Ryan has been gone a while. Thought you might be ready to jump back in.” He took another bite of his salad, sitting perfectly straight at the table, one forearm resting against the corner of the table.
“I had a date on Saturday.”
“How’d that go?”
It was also suspicious because he didn’t ask me about my dating life often. He seemed to stay out of it as much as possible. I just assumed it made him uncomfortable. “Eh…” My fork tossed everything around and mixed it together, my eyes down.
“That bad, huh?”
“It’s hard to find a good man, you know?” My eyes stayed down because Axel popped into my mind, that handsome smirk that sent a rush down my spine. Whenever he smiled like that, it reached his eyes, a beautiful spark in that blue gaze. He was affectionate and warm, treated me like a lady. Maybe I was an idiot for believing he was innocent, but the man I knew wouldn’t do any of those things.
“I wouldn’t know,” he said with a slight chuckle. “But I know what you mean.”
I lifted my gaze and chewed my bite. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“You aren’t seeing anyone?”
His answer was immediate. “No. I told you I’m not interested in that.”
“Maybe you would be interested if you found the right person.”
“Do I strike you as lonely?” he asked.
“No. I just…think it can be a beautiful thing.”
“How would you know?” He stabbed his fork into a prawn.
“I…” Axel and I hadn’t even eaten out together at a restaurant. Never been on a date. We spent our time locked behind doors having a secret affair. “I guess I don’t.”
He’s not watching us anymore. Axel’s message popped up on my phone.
How do you know?
I just do.
I still didn’t want to believe it.
Let me take you out tonight. Hopefully our date goes better than the last one you had.
I’m not gonna get my hopes up.
Ouch. Guess I’ll have to step it up, then.
If you want to get laid, yeah.
He sent a couple laughing emojis. Come on, Pretty. You know that’s a guarantee.
We’ll see…
Ooh, I like a challenge. I’ll pick you up at 7.
I wore a strappy black dress and heels, pairing it with gold bangles and a gold necklace. I usually wore my hair straight, but I curled it for the occasion. Axel always looked at me like a piece of eye candy, but I really wanted him to eat his heart out tonight. For my last date, I’d put in the least amount of effort possible.
He invited himself inside, dressed in black jeans and a button-up with the sleeves pushed to his elbows. Of course he looked drop-dead sexy, with the shirt fitting tight over his forearms and shoulders. But he was the one who looked me up and down then released a low whistle. “Damn…that’s one fine piece of ass right there.” He moved into me, his arms circling my waist before both of his hands palmed my ass. His head dipped to kiss me, catching my lips as he squeezed my ass harder.
I’d never been with a man who described me that way, who made me feel so desirable. Sometimes they said I was pretty or I looked nice, but they didn’t say the types of things that Axel blurted.
His hands moved to my dress and started to tug it up as he backed me farther into the apartment.
“Nope.” I swatted his hand away.
He pulled back, a playful smirk on his lips. “Damn, you’re going to make me work for it.”
“Yep. And if you don’t want to end the night inside of your hand instead of me, you better step it up.”
His smirk remained, like he knew damn well that was an empty threat. “My baby means business.” He gave me another kiss before he grabbed my hand and walked me out of the apartment.
His car was downstairs, an expensive sports car with a shiny paint job. The second he started the car, the engine was like a roar, and then he took off. With one hand on the wheel and his eyes on the road, he grabbed my hand and held it in his lap.
I’d never done that before, had a man need me so badly that he wanted me in the car, even if it was just my hand.
I knew this would end badly at some point, but I couldn’t stop now. I was fully invested in Axel, completely locked in with this man. All the consequences of this would be paid in full—and I’d gladly wipe out my savings.
We arrived at the restaurant and handed the car over to the valet. He checked in with the hostess and was given a table in the corner near the window. A candle was lit in the center on the white tablecloth along with the little vase of red roses.