Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 87629 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87629 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
“Not every man out there is like me, Mandy. Not everyone out there is concerned with your safety.”
“I’m concerned with my safety, Jack. Me. A fully grown woman who’s perfectly capable of taking care of herself.”
“You don’t understand these kind of people. You go on Lustr and ask for someone to teach you? You’re going to get all kinds of creeps.”
“And you don’t think I can tell a creep from a good guy?”
“For God’s sake, Mandy, you agreed to go to a club with me without knowing who I was.”
“I agreed to meet you in a public bar. That’s what I agreed to. The rest I agreed to after reading the disclosure and signing the agreement. My safety was assured.”
“That particular club is very concerned with everyone’s safety,” I say. “But I could’ve easily been some degenerate who had you sign a fake document and dragged you down the hallway and out into an alley to rape you.”
She goes rigid then. That beautiful blush that’s usually present on her cheeks? It’s gone, replaced with a pasty white.
Thank God. I got to her finally.
“So now you understand.”
She nods, trembling. “Yes. I suppose I should get off Lustr.”
“I think that would be a good idea.”
She changes her stance then. Becomes more willful. “Or maybe I just change my bio. Lots of people find meaningful relationships on Lustr.”
Something twists in my gut. Do I have an ulterior motive? Is there a reason, other than her safety, that I don’t want Mandy on Lustr? Or any other similar app?
I’ve tamped down all my sexual feelings for Mandy for so long that I’m used to it. It’s like they don’t exist. But Mandy is a very attractive woman. Not only physically attractive but beautiful on the inside as well.
She may have enjoyed tonight. Hell, I enjoyed it too. What we had tonight was pure vanilla sex. Even so, it was extremely satisfying, even though it wouldn’t satisfy me long-term.
Mandy didn’t seem to be scared off by all the tools and toys hanging on the walls. Or by watching the scenes in one of the large rooms.
Maybe she’s not as sweet and as innocent as I thought.
So what does that mean for me?
It means I must make a decision. Do I want to bring Mandy into my world? Or do I want to keep her as she is—the sweet, innocent best friend I adore. Because I can’t have both. Being with her this way will destroy our friendship. I’ll get tired of her, and I’ll move on. It’s what I do.
But damn, tonight was so amazing that in this moment?
I’m not sure.
Mandy walks to her door, slides her key through—something I usually do for her. Roger’s whines leak through the door.
“Leave. Please leave, Jackson.”
She’s pissed. Probably hurt. I can’t blame her. I’m pissed, too. Not at her but at myself.
What was I thinking? Did I really think I’d get away with this? Did I really believe Mandy wouldn’t know me?
My eyes are dry and parched from these damned contacts. No wonder she hates wearing her own. I need to get home and get them out. And the hair product… Yuck.
So I follow Mandy’s lead. I walk down the hallway without so much as a goodbye.
Chapter Fifteen
Amanda
I wake the next morning, pad into my bathroom, and gawk at my red and swollen face. My eyelids are double their size, and my nose is red and nearly bloodied from all the blowing.
I cried myself to sleep after Jackson left.
But damn it, those are the last tears I’ll shed over him.
I have a busy day with work, and I’m determined to get right to it. After a shower and two cups of coffee, I log in, check Lily’s social media, and settle into my daily tasks.
I’m in the midst of proofreading a book when a knock sounds on my door and gets Roger yapping.
It’s the middle of the week, and I’m not expecting a delivery. I’m at a loss. I have no idea who it could be. Maybe a neighbor?
I get up, go to the door, open it, and—
“Jackson, what are you doing here?”
His dark-blond hair is back, and his eyes… Those spectacular eyes.
He walks in as if he owns the place, Roger scampering around him for attention. This is no different from any other time, but today it disturbs me. Especially since I was up all night crying about him.
And now…he’s going to see my face.
But he hardly looks at me. He heads to the kitchen, grabs a mug out of the cupboard, and pours himself a cup of coffee, which I’m sure is now cold.
He takes a sip, wincing a bit.
Yep, it’s cold.
“Listen, Mandy,” he says, pacing around my apartment—again as if he owns the place. “Last night… It can’t happen again.”
“I think we already went through all this,” I say.