Page 93 of Worth Loving You

“I don’t mean it to sound harsh, but…C’mon, look at the facts here. Milo hits on you, throws on the charm, and you’re giving your virginity up to a stranger. I say a few provocative things, and I’m cumming on your crotch in the subway.”

A glaze dulled her eyes, the pink rising to her cheeks once more. “You think I’ve never been hit on over the years? I’ve had more than my fair share of propositions, I’ll have you know.”

“Then why did you deny them? Why stay a virgin as long as you did?”

“Because every single one of them had the same look in their eyes when they flirted.”

“What look?”

“Greed.”

“And what did you see in me and Milo?”

Her throat constricted, her wrist turning on my shoulder to touch my neck ever so slightly. My pulse skipped, ice rushing through my veins chased immediately with heat.

“Need,” she whispered.

Gutted, my breaths shallowed. My hold on her hips tightened, something stirring in my core at the way she was looking at me. For the first time, I was rendered speechless and had no witty or sarcastic retort. I was blank, a hint of panic tickling my nerves.

Could it be? After all these years of silent hell and suffering, someone saw through my bullshit? This woman whom I never would have given a second glance had I not been forced by my boss, recognized in such a short amount of time what people I’d known my whole life didn’t.

A hand traveled up her side, grazing her breast, to hold the side of her neck. She leaned toward me, our feet shuffling sluggishly to the music. My fingertips walked across her face delicately, feeling every inch from her forehead, eyebrows, nose…her lips.

Her lids fluttered, her palms gliding down my chest, under my arms, to my back.

She wasn’t fighting my advances at all, and I remembered how much she’d had to drink tonight. Huffing, I linked my fingers together at the small of her back, deciding I wasn’t going to take advantage, after all.

If I ever did convince this woman to sleep with me, it would be because she felt the same magnetic pull I did. If I ever had her, it wouldn’t be under any tricks or manipulations. For once, I was going to bed a woman the old-fashioned way. I was going to earn her passion.

She sighed and laid her cheek to my chest, rocking back and forth with me. I bowed my chin, resting mine to the top of her head. One hand swept up and down, her fingers tracing the dip of my spine.

How had I been so wrong about Chastity? She wasn’t a frumpy, crass, gold-digging leach with a bad attitude. She was misunderstood, overlooked, and taken advantage of far too frequently. She was simply a beautiful, wonderful individual, and I was lucky to have her as a friend.

My lids snapped open, and my heart banged. Friend. I had a genuine friendship with her. I hadn’t noticed before, because I didn’t recognize it since I’d never really had one. Chastity was my friend.

As her friend, I would protect her and keep her safe from harm. Even if that meant protecting her from Milo Pampinella.

Chapter 35

Wyatt Shaw

As soon as we entered the penthouse, she was leaning against the wall of the foyer. By now, she was drunk.

“I am so tired,” she slurred.

Instead of turning left to go to her room, she staggered around the wall toward the kitchen. She fell against the island, tossed her purse on top, and sighed, laying her face on the cool counter.

I stopped in mid step, tilting my head to check out the curve of her ass. Closing the distance, I placed my hand on a cheek and smiled. Slowly running it over her hip, I went to the side of the bar, folded my arms on the surface, and rested my chin on the back of a wrist, gazing at her lovely face with the light spray of freckles.

Her lashes lifted. “Hi,” she whispered.

“Hey. You comfortable?”

“I can’t feel my teeth.”

I snorted and stood up, tugging her arm out her jacket. Leaning over her, I wiggled the other arm free. It smacked to the surface like dead weight.

“Been awhile since you’ve been drunk, huh?”