AllFreeNovel
Share Us
*
It started on the Metro.
Eleven months ago, Brendan had taken the escalator underground to catch the train for an event. Parking could be hell, and he preferred not to deal with rush-hour traffic.
While he waited in the echoing station, flipping through his notes for the evening, a petite woman strolled past. Her warm, spicy perfume sent out tendrils of scent.
Brendan’s skin prickled, and the hairs rose on the back of his neck. The woman was turned away, scanning the screen of arrival times, but he recognized Sonia immediately.
That proud, don’t-give-a-shit walk. That graceful neck beneath short dark hair. The gold piercings dotting her ears. The simple black dress — a tight one tonight — showing off every toned curve.
Her glorious ass, rounded and jutting out, was enough to make him weep.
Blood rushed to his dick, and he quickly pivoted, scrolling randomly through his phone. He’d known Sonia was moving to DC, because Diana made a point of mentioning it at her college graduation. If she’d been anyone else on this fucking earth, he would have strolled over, greeted her with a big hug and a friendly smile, and chatted her up until the train arrived.
Instead, he did his best to ignore her.
Di had talked over the years about what it was like to be shy. Until she’d reconnected with him and Ian, she’d avoided making eye contact, saying hello to people, and talking to boys throughout high school. She’d even crossed to the other side of the street so she wouldn’t have to pass someone if she didn’t feel up to it.
Brendan had always nodded sympathetically, but he hadn’t truly understood what Di was saying. People felt good to be around. Why avoid them?
Now he knew. He didn’t think he could handle Sonia’s disdain.
When the train pulled up, he took a seat, brushed a speck of dust from his lapel, and focused on his phone. Normally he’d be scanning the car, checking if there was anyone he knew or might need to connect with. In the corner of his eye, Sonia took a seat near the front.
Over the next few stops, the car filled up, but Sonia sent out a spiky invisible force field that made everyone keep their distance. She sat calmly, reading a book, while the people around her tried their damnedest to give her space.
It was terrifying.
And he stayed hard the whole ride.
“Brendan! Oh my God!”
A chirpy voice made him look up, just as a pretty girl dropped onto his lap. A second girl pressed close, laughing, and lurched against him as the train started moving.
“There aren’t any seats left,” the girl on his lap giggled. “It’s so good to see you! How’ve you been?”
He recognized these girls. He’d met them soon after he moved here, at a party with a lot of college students from Georgetown University. Had he…yes, he’d hooked up with the one on his lap.
“Hi, ladies,” he said easily, eyeing the car to make sure there wasn’t anyone he knew besides Sonia. “So great to see you.” His mind sorted through possible ways to get the girl off his lap without hurting her feelings.
In high school and college, he would have been happy for her to stay. But since moving to Washington, it had become clear that his image mattered. He reflected on Senator Wilson as a public face of his staff, and what he did was noticed.
Brendan glanced toward Sonia. She was still buried in her book.
Sweating, he made casual conversation with the girls. He smoothly distracted the one on his lap when she asked if he had the same phone number. But at the next stop, Sonia rose from her seat. She looked over her shoulder, and her eyes locked on his.
It was the first time she’d ever given him full eye contact. Her hot, dark gaze, fringed with long lashes, arrowed straight to his groin.
Fuck.
Her eyes narrowed, and her lips curled. She swept him with a look of such utter disdain that it should have frozen him solid.
Instead, his cock throbbed. And Sonia didn’t exit through the doors closest to her. No, she walked up the aisle, straight toward him. Her hips swayed, lithe and sure. Brendan’s throat was dry, his eyes riveted.
Sonia came closer, closer, until her hip bumped his shoulder. She was pure muscle with a hint of softness, and the shock of the contact ran through his body. Christ, that was her hand, light as a bird’s wing. Brushing his collar, his fucking neck. Something fell to the floor with a clink as she stalked through the sliding doors.
A gold, ridged tube. Brendan leapt to catch it as the girl on his lap sprang up too. It looked like a lipstick case.
