“Yeah,” I replied uncomfortably, “I guess I have. I’m not really the dorky girl I was the last time I was here. Then again, I could say you have changed as well.”
He had changed. He had gotten older, obviously, but he didn’t seem as sad as he once had. Instead, he seemed satisfied with his life. As if he finally found his calling after leaving his ex-wife, Allison.
“Interesting.” His eyes took me in once more as he casually leaned against the counter. “So, did your boyfriend decide to join you this summer as well?”
My eyes kept drifting down his ripped, toned body. Every muscle was on full display, and only the towel kept me separated from the prize I wanted so desperately to have.
I tried not to look, but I couldn’t help it when he stood so willingly in front of me.
“Uh, no.” I shrugged, trying to remain calm. “I don’t have one. We broke up a few weeks ago.”
Intrigue seemed to get to him as I responded.
As if that had been the answer he was hoping for.
“Is that right? Was it mutual then?”
Glancing down, I shook my head. “No, not exactly.”
No matter how innocent his question had been, the wound of Chad’s betrayal was still fresh. So for James to bring it up was like pouring salt on an open wound.
“I’m sorry if I upset you, Becca. That wasn’t my intention.”
“No, no. You’re fine,” I replied as my eyes met his again. “Just, shit happened, and it wasn’t the most joyous moment in my life. Nothing I won’t get over with in time, though.”
There was an unmistakable fire that crossed his gaze for a moment at my words. I wasn’t sure what it was, but it was almost as if he was angry, but pleased at the same time.
“He was an idiot for letting a beautiful woman like you go.”
Holy f*ck, he just called me beautiful. The compliment caused my cheeks to redden with embarrassment as I bit my lip and quickly turned back to my tea.
I wasn’t sure why his remark surprised me like it did. Men from his generation were notorious for being this way, or at least, that was the assumption I had with most men I knew his age. My professors and even my dad’s friends were from a generation of class. So why was it that his words caused me to react like this?
Trying to wrap my head around what he was saying, I cleared my throat and straightened my shoulders.
“Thank you for your compliment. But I am not as pretty as other women. Plus, I am driven when it comes to my career. So I wasn’t giving him the attention he wanted.”
Excuses.
They were all excuses, but at the same time, these excuses were what allowed me to get past the pain I felt over Chad’s betrayal. The excuses I made were ones I gave for his actions towards me. No matter how horrible they were.
“He didn’t deserve you. Traits like that I think are sexy in a woman,” James replied moving closer to me, causing my breath to catch in my throat.
I was highly aware of the distance between us in the kitchen. The fact that he was in a towel sent me into hyperdrive, and I hoped he couldn’t tell how much he was turning me on.
Slowly turning around with parted lips, I faced him. In the time I hadn’t been paying attention, he had taken two steps closer to me, and the distance between us closing caused my heart to race.
I wasn’t trying to be bad, but the smell of him wrapping around me made my body want to do all kinds of bad things. “Perhaps, someday, someone will show me what it is I deserve.”
My words came off more flirtatious than I’d meant them to be, and he must have noticed, because his response was to brush against me gently as he reached over my head for a cup.
The contact of his skin against mine caused my nipples to instantly harden and my core to clench with desire. I wanted him so f*cking bad, but at the same time, there was no way a man like James Valentino wanted me.
Not to mention, you horny bitch, that is your best friend’s dad.
As he pulled back, setting his cup on the counter, I tried to clear my mind. There was a boundary I didn’t need to cross, and with the teasing moments around us, I was dangerously close to crossing.
“Are you okay?” he whispered, causing me to slowly look up at him to see the amusement dancing within his eyes.
“Of course, why wouldn’t I be?” I shifted uncomfortably. “Are you?”
As his eyes drifted down towards my chest, I felt the stir within me once more.
“Oh, I’m more than alright, Becca.” He grinned and his eyes met mine again.
It took me a moment to process what he meant, and as I glanced down, I saw the erect strain of my nipples pressing against the white tank top I was wearing.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” I stammered, wrapping my arms across my chest. “It’s a bit cold.”
“No, it isn’t.” He chuckled as he grabbed his glass and went to the fridge to pour a drink.
He may have been right, but the arrogant response made my mouth part in surprise.
“Yes, it is. It’s a bit chilly, and well, yeah-“
As the door to the fridge closed, he turned to face me, bringing his cup to his lips. The movement of his Adam’s apple as he drank down the liquid caught my eye. I had never seen something as simple as that look so sexy before.
“I know what you want, Becca,” he said, grasping my attention once more.
“I don’t want anything,” I replied, trying to play the moment off.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.