Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 86706 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86706 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
She rested her chin on her hand and whispered, “I feel the same, Tristan.”
“Did your breakup with Ethan have anything to do with me?”
“Cocky, aren’t we?” I smiled. “Are you sure you want to know?”
“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t. Regardless of the answer, I never felt he was good enough for you. Then again, I probably wouldn’t think anyone was good enough for you.” I laughed under my breath. “Least of all me.”
“Why not you? From everything I can see, you’re a pretty damn good person.”
“A good person wouldn’t covet his dead son’s girlfriend.”
A tense silence filled the room.
My voice was barely a whisper. “Do you know how hard it is to sit across from you and not touch you?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Don’t you have a girlfriend?”
I guess now was the right time to have that conversation. “Yeah, about that…”
CHAPTER 33
EMILY
“I broke up with Nazarene before she left Shady Hills.”
I stiffened, trying not to seem as happy as hearing that made me feel. “You did? Why didn’t you say anything when I mentioned I broke up with Ethan?”
“I guess I was using Nazarene as a shield, holding off as long as possible in an attempt to deny my feelings for you.”
“I was the reason you broke up with her?”
“You’re not the only reason. Our relationship wasn’t that serious to begin with, at least from my end. But she kept making all these plans, like moving to L.A., and I knew I had to put a stop to it. She was a desperate attempt to forget about you and everything that happened. But she was never the one. Not even close.”
“That’s too bad,” I mumbled.
“Too bad?” He laughed. “Come on, Emily. You hated every moment she was around. I could read your body language. You couldn’t stand her. Just like I wanted to deck that boyfriend of yours for breathing and chewing.” He gritted his teeth. “God, his chewing was the worst.”
I smiled. “You said you still…covet me? I thought those days were over.”
“Just because I said nothing should happen between us doesn’t mean I feel any differently about you. I never stopped coveting you. In fact, the line I drew makes my feelings even stronger. There’s no more powerful feeling than wanting something you can’t have. If it were just physical, maybe I could handle it. But it’s so much more than that with us.” The light above us reflected in his eyes. “Don’t you feel it, too?”
Do I ever. I felt little else lately. “Even in the midst of a lie, I never felt more at peace and more like the person I’d always wanted to be than when I was on tour with you. Every second of every moment we spent together was real, Tristan. My feelings for you were real. They still are. You’re the reason I had to break up with Ethan. I couldn’t possibly care deeply enough about him if you’re all I’ve been able to think about since you came into town. Even if we can’t be together, I needed to end things with him while I’m working through these feelings for you.”
He sighed. “Sometimes I wish I didn’t care so much about doing the right thing, about hurting people. I just want to be happy, you know?”
“I wish you didn’t care, either,” I said.
Tristan swallowed. “What would be different right now if I didn’t?”
“Pretty sure I’d be sitting over there with you and not over here.”
His eyes darkened. “Fuck, Emily. I’m too damn tempted around you. What kind of a person does it make me that I want nothing more than to defile my son’s girlfriend right now?”
“Ex-girlfriend. And I asked a similar question once, remember? You told me it made me a horny, gap-toothed little minx. I suppose it makes you a horny old bastard.”
Tristan’s body shook as he laughed. “That sounds pretty damn accurate.”
His laughter faded into an intense silence. The air felt thick. I squelched the urge to crawl toward him.
“I want to kiss you,” he whispered.
My body hummed with need. “I won’t stop you.”
His voice was hoarse. “Come here…”
Without hesitation, I moved to his side of the couch but stopped inches away from him until the magnetic force between us finally gave way, like a flame igniting after sparking for months. I couldn’t tell you who moved first, but when his mouth enveloped mine, there was a feeling of satiety I never thought I’d get to feel again. He’d asked me earlier what my dream was. This was pretty damn close.
With each ravenous stroke of his tongue, my panties grew wetter. The sweet vibration of Tristan’s groan down my throat drove me wild as I dug my fingers into his hair. How I’d missed touching it. I couldn’t stop the moans escaping me, even if I didn’t want to seem as desperate as I felt. Practically shaking with need, I moved to straddle him. I needed to feel his heat between my legs. His erection was rock hard against my clit. As I grinded over his jeans, our kiss deepened, Tristan’s hands searching my body in desperation.