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I eye her for a moment and then brush it off.
I know Jules comes from money and was born into this lifestyle like me, so I’m surprised to see admiration on her face when we arrive. “Your home is beautiful.” Her voice is even and sincere. I’m proud of my home. I built it myself. Liam, my business partner, helped design it for engineering purposes, but it was all based on my ideas and plans.
I pull up in the driveway as her phone starts vibrating.
She doesn’t pay attention as I approach the front of the house. Judging by the look on her face and the way she shoves the phone back into her clutch, her friends from the bar are probably giving her hell.
“Everything all right?” I ask, more to make sure I’m getting her ass into my bed than anything else.
For only a moment, I think she received a message from someone who knows what happened. Someone who saw what I did, although I don’t think anyone could have possibly seen. My muscles coil and my knuckles turn white as I grip the gearshift, putting the car into park and searching her face for answers.
She blows a bit of hair out of her face and looks anywhere but at me.
“It’s fine,” she says but I know she’s lying.
“Tell me what’s wrong.” The command comes out easily.
Her eyes go wide and I almost second-guess talking to her like that.Almost.But then she caves to me.
“My friends just found out.”
I cock a brow at her. “Found out?” She parts her lips slightly and I’m guessing from the way she leans into me, my touch is all she needs to loosen up. I rest my hand on her thigh, just beneath the hem of her dress, caressing her lightly with my thumb.
“I don’t do this often or… ever?—”
I lean in and press my lips to hers, stopping her explanation. I move my hand to her cheek and then behind her head as she deepens the kiss. Her lips part for me and her hot tongue massages mine in swift, strong strokes.
I groan into her open mouth, our breath mingling as my dick hardens to fucking stone.
“Forget about them,” I tell her as I break the kiss and pull away. She’s left breathless, her eyes still closed when I open my door and start to get out, taking the keys with me.
I almost close the door and miss her whispering, “I’ll forget about it all.”
But I heard her. I heard the whisper, the raw vulnerability and truth in her statement.
I wish I hadn’t.
JULIA
I’ve never had a one-night stand before.
Not once.
It’s not like I have a thing against them and Lord knows my friends enjoy them, with or without discretion. It’s just never happened. My body heats everywhere, one place a bit more than others when Mason touches me, and especially when he cuts through it all with his demanding ways.
My thoughts race as Mason wraps his hand around my waist and leads me to the front door. The chill in the night air is sobering. I can’t explain how my nerves are shooting through me. My breathing comes in a little faster now that the alcohol’s all but worn off.
I try to focus on how even our footsteps sound but all I can think about is how I’ve never done this before.
I’m doing it. I’m going to sleep with a stranger.I’m going to sleep with someone other than Jace.
Jace and I met as children, paired up in boarding school. I’ve never been with anyone else. My heel slips on the paved steps at the thought, almost making me fall, but Mason catches me.
He’s quick to grab on to my elbow and waist, his hands hot on my body. It’s a shock as something inside of me reacts almost violently to his very touch.
Eight months alone … even longer since I’ve been touched. The idea of moving on has never been such a dominating thought, or so terrifying.
I wrap my arms around myself, fueled by both fear and desire. My pulse quickens as I look back over my shoulder and toward his car. Toward an escape.