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“It’s a minute to midnight,” Aunt Lily shouts, dancing past us.
I grin at Sofia, who rolls her eyes and waltz’s off while my eyes stray back to the beauty who looks like she’d rather be anywhere else but in this room.
The countdown starts, vibrating through my body. The girl slowly starts to move toward Alexander, who looks more panicked than excited. My brain switches down, and before I know what I’m doing, I lightly wrap my fingers around her delicate wrist and tug her from the room. She follows without digging in her heels.
Out of sight, I press her into the alcove in the hallway. Her eyes widen, and she nervously chews on her bottom lip before running her tongue over the chewed spot. My eyes heat, and I force myself to meet her gaze. “Tell me your name?” I whisper as the countdown continues.
Four…three…two…
“Gretchen.”
One.
I press my mouth to hers, which opens with a gasp of surprise. Her innocence hits me full force at the way she tentatively reaches out to my tongue with hers. I give her time to get used to our tongues gently sliding together before I angle my mouth over hers and show her what a real kiss feels like. My hands flex, wanting to touch so much more of her. My brain starts working again, and I know I have to stop this…then, she wraps her arms around my neck, her fingers digging into my nape. Her moan goes straight to my dick while my hands go straight to her ass. The moment I start thrusting against her and consider where I can take her to ease the ache I have in my groin, I come to a sudden stop.
I can’t fucking do this to her!
Pulling my mouth free—which is not easy considering how much I want her—I reach for her shoulders and hold her away from my body. “We can’t do this,” I hiss, breathing heavily. “You’re a nice girl. I’m not a nice guy.”
Tears hover in her emerald green eyes, and I feel like a bastard. Instead of walking away without another thought, I cup her face and press my lips to her forehead and whisper, “You’ve no idea what I’d like to do to you.” The kiss lingers, and then, I do move away—not just to another room, but out of the house.
Large fat snowflakes fall from the sky as I stand and look up. Closing my eyes, I inhale and exhale slowly, begging for my body to cool from the fire—lovely and innocent—Gretchen has ignited.
The girls I meet in Kenza are not the nice girl next door kind. There is no innocence about them. Is that why Gretchen called to me—because I felt her sweet innocence from across the room?
30
Ryan
Present Day
It’s been nearly four years since I kissed Gretchen at my aunt and uncle’s New Year’s Eve party. Four years of looking for her in all the other women I’ve been with since that night. And now she is in my club. Everyone else disappears because all I see is her.
Silky red hair shines under the lights and her cheeks become rosy pink with my eyes on her. She knows who I am, and I’m betting she knew that before she even came here this evening.
She still looks sweet and innocent, but since the time I last saw her, that can’t be true. No way has she not felt the touch of a man. Anger swiftly clouds my vision at the thought of someone else touching her, which is ridiculous.
I shake my head to clear it and finally move my gaze from Gretchen when I hear someone laugh close to me—my brother, Jaxon, and he’s here with his pregnant girlfriend, Poppy. A slight heat creeps onto my face as I cough to clear my throat from the lust stuck in there.
With only a slight hesitation, I move closer. “Two nights in a row,” I comment. “What have I done to deserve this?” I drawl, casting a sidelong glance toward Gretchen, catching her eyes on me before she quickly averts her gaze.
“Who’s the girl?” Jaxon asks.
“What girl?” I ask, but only after casting another glance toward her.
I’m an idiot.
My brother’s eyes roll, and he laughs. “I’ve seen her before.” He taps a beer mat while thinking, and then he announces, “She was Alexander’s date for New Year at Aunt Lily’s and Uncle Michael’s before he got together with Rachel. I can’t remember her name.”
“Gretchen,” I say immediately. “Leave it.”
Poppy smiles softly and asks, “How long have you been managing Kenza?”
Relieved to have the subject changed, I reply, “Around five years.” I shrug and place bottles of water in front of them. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
Disappearing around to the back of
the bar where it’s dark and quiet, I lean against the boxes of wine I have stacked up. They’re against a wall, so not going to tip from my weight. I need a minute to catch my breath after seeing Gretchen. She’s beautiful and hasn’t changed from the last time I saw her. My heart beats hard in my chest knowing she’s so close. However, I force myself to remember why I walked away before, although the reason doesn’t mean I don’t want to go and claim the girl.
