AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Okay, I respect that.” His smile was lopsided. And arrogant. “I love a challenge.”
“It isn’t a challenge.”
“Yeah, it is.”
Something in his gaze made Lexie hot all over. She felt agitated under the weight of it, all her clothes suddenly seeming too tight and her breathing too shallow. Damn, he was good. All at once, over three years’ worth of sexual seclusion had her thinking up a multitude of ways to fill the emptiness she felt inside. Ways that he could fill it.
“And just so you know,” he continued, leaning back in his chair like he hadn’t a care in the world, “it’ll be you who breaks first.”
She scoffed at his nerve. “You’re cocky.”
He shrugged.
“Well then”—she raised her glass—“to taking things slow.”
The small clink of their toast could have been the sound of a chastity belt unlocking, it was so loaded with carnal tension.
Deciding to not tempt herself, Lexie changed the subject. “So, tell me about your life in Boston. Big Red Sox fan?”
Nico shook his head. “I prefer basketball. Or hockey.”
“Do you play?”
“A little, when I was younger. What about you?”
“No.” She gave a soft laugh. “I was that kid sitting to the side with her nose in a book whenever teams were being picked.”
He laughed at that.
As the evening wore on, Nico told her more about his life—his family, his friends, the steady upward trajectory of his career. Lexie reciprocated, briefly touching on her mother’s abandonment when she was nine.
“That must have been tough,” he said.
“It was. For a while, the town kind of shunned us, because she’d made so many enemies while she was here, made everyone think we were trash, like her.”
“Harsh words.”
“But true.”
“I’m sorry.”
Lexie waved a hand. “Don’t be. My father was a good man. It wasn’t his fault he fell in love with a disaster. Guess he and I had that in common. Anyway, people eventually forgot her nastiness, and we were welcomed back into the fold.”
“I’m beginning to understand how important that is,” he said, looking around the restaurant thoughtfully like the handful of remaining diners represented the entire population of the island. “Still, you never thought about leaving?”
“Sure, I’ve thought about it.” She lifted one shoulder. “I just don’t want to.”
“Not even to escape Kyle?”
Lexie felt her temper flare. “Why should I be the one to give up everything, when he’s the one who should be punished?”
At the taken-aback expression on his face, she cleared her throat. He’d touched her third rail, and in return, she’d bitten his head off.
Great.
“I’m not going to apologize for that,” she said.
Nico regarded her with a look she couldn’t name, but it felt an awful lot like pride. “I’d think less of you if you did.”
