Page 14 of Secret Seduction

“Yeah, ending this conversation,” he says, his piercing blue eyes meeting mine.

I flinch at his harsh tone, and he sighs. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

Thankfully, the wedding procession begins, and Dominick—Bri’s oldest brother—walks her down the makeshift aisle, effectively ending the awkward conversation and my hope of somehow convincing Lorenzo to let me give him my virginity.

As Bri and Kane exchange vows, they speak about their love for one another, and I can’t help but get choked up because this is what I want—to meet a man who will look at me the way Kane looks at Bri. Who will love me and protect me—not because I need him to, but because he wants to. And in return, I would love and protect him right back.

My eyes peer over at Lorenzo, who’s barely watching the service, paying more attention to his phone than the couple promising to spend their lives loving one another, and I try to imagine how it would be if he were to give in and take my virginity.

He doesn’t love me.

He doesn’t even know me enough to like me or care about me.

I would be a faceless pair of legs. Someone to momentarily get lost in, and once it was over, he would move on, most likely forgetting the encounter ever happened.

But I would always remember that night. Because for me, it wouldn’t just be a hookup. I’d have given something meaningful to someone who hadn’t wanted it or deserved it or even earned it.

And suddenly, I’m grateful that Lorenzo didn’t give in.

Because this isn’t what I want.

There has to be another way to get out of this mess.

To save my life.

But the question is, what is it?

“And so we meet again,” Lorenzo says as he steps up to the bar, where I’m sitting.

I glance over at him and smile, taking a sip of my white Russian. “It would seem so.” I reach out my hand. “By the way, I’m Vanessa Baker, Nicole’s stepsister.”

Lorenzo chuckles and shakes my hand. “Lorenzo, the grump who has no desire to get married.”

He orders a whiskey and Coke, and I raise a brow.

“Figured one couldn’t hurt.” He shrugs. “And after watching them exchange their vows, I need something stronger than Coke.”

“I hear ya,” I tell him, just as my phone buzzes in my clutch.

I pull it out, assuming it’s my mother again, only to find a text from Eric.

Asshole (Eric)

This little stunt isn’t going to keep you safe.

The room begins to spin.

And my head goes fuzzy.

My heart pounds erratically behind my rib cage.

He knows that I know …

What else could he mean?

I reach into my clutch and discreetly grab one of my nondrowsy pills, popping it into my mouth and swallowing it down with a sip of my drink.

He knows … and he’s going to come for me if I don’t do something to stop him.