Part 4 (2/2)

”Why are you up here and not downstairs enjoying your party?” I try to keep my tone even as I stare back at the silhouette of him on the couch.

”Why are you?” I can see the bottle as he lifts it to his lips but can't make out what exactly he's drinking.

The only light in the apartment is being provided by a street lamp that sits just a few feet from one of the windows along the back wall of the living room-bedroom combo. It offers enough light that we aren't blanketed in darkness but is still not enough to offer any real visibility into the small s.p.a.ce.

I expect him to say something else, but he remains silent for several beats before finally pus.h.i.+ng to his feet. He steps directly into the light filtering into the room, his blue eyes immediately locking on mine.

”I had to use the restroom,” I stutter out, answering his previous question in an attempt to mask the sound of my heart beating against my ribcage.

”I gathered that much.” His voice is laced with a hint of humor.

”Well, I should get back downstairs,” I say, turning toward the door.

I get all of three steps in before Gavin's broad frame steps directly in front of me, effectively blocking my ability to exit.

”Or you could stay.” He leans in so close I can feel his breath against my face.

”I don't think my boyfriend would like that very much,” I bite, finally meeting his intense gaze.

”Boyfriend.” It's not a question, it's a statement. One that he ponders for a long moment before a wide smile spreads across his impossibly handsome face.

My breath catches in my throat as he takes a commanding step toward me and then another. His steps forward match my steps backward until my back becomes flush with a wall and I can move no further.

”You got the boy part right.” He runs his nose up my neck, inhaling deeply as he does.

A soft moan escapes my throat in spite of myself. No matter how much I want to hold it together, I can't seem to muster the strength to do so. My head is swimming with alcohol and the effects of the man pinning me between the wall and his hard muscular body.

”Mmm.” He lets out a light chuckle at my reaction.

”He's more of a man than you are,” I finally manage to choke out.

”Is that so?” His lips hover just inches from mine. ”Tell me. Does your skin tingle under his touch like it does mine?” He trails the back of his hand down my arm, causing my skin to p.r.i.c.kle beneath his touch.

”Does your body come to life for him like it does for me?” He trails his lips down my jaw causing heat to warm my body. ”Does just the sound of his voice make you wet?” He slides his hand up the short length of my dress, his fingers grazing the now soaked material of my thong.

”Stop.” The word is breathy and barely breaks the surface.

”You want me to stop?” he teases.

To my relief and disappointment, his hand immediately falls away, reappearing moments later when it clamps down on my hip.

”When you're ready for a real man, you know where to find me.” The last word is barely off his tongue before his mouth crashes down on mine.

His kiss is hard and punis.h.i.+ng. He's claiming me. He's making sure that I feel the effects of this kiss long after his lips leave mine. And I'm powerless to stop it. I melt into him, having no choice but to let him do with me what he will.

When he finally pulls back, I'm a disheveled mess of flushed skin and panting breaths. I hate that he has such an effect on me, and I hate even more that I let him see that effect.

”Happy New Year, Harlee,” he breathes against my mouth before pus.h.i.+ng away from me.

He spins, disappearing from the apartment before I can even muster the strength to speak. I stare at the back of the door for several long moments before Bryan's face flashes in front of my eyes.

f.u.c.k.

I rush through the apartment and down the stairs, my weak legs protesting with each step I take. When I finally push my way into the bar, the entire crowd is humming with life. Champagne gla.s.ses are being lifted in toast and clanked together. Multicolored confetti floats through the air as couples embrace and friends hug.

I drop Decklan's keys onto the back of the bar and immediately start to scan the crowd trying to find Bryan, panic rising in my chest. What I find instead is Gavin, surrounded by at least four different women, all of which seem to be waiting to kiss him. I fight the shudder that runs through me when a tall, lengthy brunette steps up and shoves her tongue down his throat. His hand immediately skirts across her a.s.s which is practically hanging out of the bottom of her too short skirt.

I swallow down the bile that rises in my throat, quickly spinning and setting off in the direction of our table. When I finally reach it, no one is there. I twist back around just in time to see Bryan making his way toward me, a wide smile across his cute face.

”Happy New Year.” He pulls me into his chest the moment he reaches me.

”Happy New Year,” I respond weakly, trying to act completely normal as he lowers his mouth to mine and lays a gentle kiss to my lips.

I try to ignore the lack of heat in that kiss. The lack of intensity or the pa.s.sion that burns me from the inside out like Gavin's kiss does. I try to push all of that from my mind and try to focus on the man in front of me. The man who doesn't purposely toy with me or drape other women in my face. The sweet man who just wants to be with me.

”Boy.” Gavin's voice corrects me in my head.

Guilt washes through me when Bryan pulls back and hits me with another sweet smile. I'm forced to accept the reality of my actions and the repercussions those actions are likely to have. The last thing I want to do is hurt Bryan. I also don't want to lose him. Not for a man who has made it so very clear that this is just a game to him.

What a great way to start the new year. I let Gavin see that he has the upper hand with me. A position I never wanted to give away. I let him kiss me. I let him touch me. h.e.l.l, I wanted him to. And now I have to live with that choice.

Chapter Six.

Harlee ”What's up with you?” My Aunt Joy asks, causing me to look up from the half-eaten sandwich on the plate in front of me.

Usually eating at my favorite deli always makes my day better, but today I am in no mood. Even my favorite Rueben on rye can't seem to shake the dark cloud hanging over me.

”What?” I question, trying to play if off like I have no idea what she's talking about.

”Harlee Rose Travers, I have known you for far too long to not know when something is up. And something is most certainly up. Spill.” Her thin lips spread into a flat line as she gazes back at me.

Joy is the closest thing I have to a mother. h.e.l.l, she's really the only family I have left. The last piece of a family that was ripped apart by infidelity, theft, and drugs. My real mother was too busy popping pills and f.u.c.king random strangers to have any time to raise me. I had to learn to take care of myself at a very young age.

She died when I was ten. She left me alone with my criminal of a father that was no better of a parent than she had been. Of course, none of that mattered when he was sentenced to ten years in prison for armed robbery just two weeks after my fifteenth birthday.

I thought that was it. I thought for sure I was going to end up living on the streets or at best, in a group home. But then Joy came along. My father's only sibling, I didn't even know she existed until she showed up one day and told me that I was coming home with her.

Joy was six years younger than my dad. She had moved away at eighteen and married a wealthy man thirty years her senior. He died three years before she adopted me, leaving her with more money than she's likely to spend in her lifetime.

”Oh G.o.d, you're pregnant.” She covers her mouth with her hand when I don't respond.

”I'm not pregnant.” I shake my head adamantly.

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