Page 32 of Hart of Vengeance
I shivered, secretly hoping he would do just that.
He smirked, watching every step I took, raking his gaze up and down my body.
Another shiver zipped through me. I mentally slapped myself, hoping to shake off memories of him naked. But the closer I got, nothing was working. So I homed in on the sound of my high heels clicking on the tiled floor, hoping to distract myself or slow my thrashing pulse. But after a second of locking eyes with Denim, I was screwed.
He was starving and not for food.
I settled ten feet from him, not daring to get close. The man was a hugger, and one hug from him would undo me. Then the heartache and hurt I’d felt for years after our breakup would vanish, and I would be a pile of mush in his arms.
He wiped his large hands on his stressed jeans as he pushed to his full six-foot height. “Beautiful.” His voice was raspy and sweet.
Damn him.
I gripped the strap of my purse for dear life. Otherwise, I might run my hand through his blond locks or my fingers over his thick lips.
Oh my!Just looking at his lips was prompting memories of him kissing my body from head to toe.
“What are you doing here?” I was surprised my voice didn’t fail me.
“I need some advice.”
My lips parted. “From me? I’m not your lawyer.”
His smile paralyzed me. “I don’t need legal advice. I just need a friend. You always gave it to me straight.”
And you broke my heart.
A war raged in my head over whether to give in or tell him to leave. My resolve always shattered when it came to Denim. But I couldn’t let him play with my feelings, even though he sounded sincere. I’d locked them up tight long ago.
What am I saying?It was too late. My heart was beating so hard and had been the moment he’d ambled into that visitors’ room at the prison. Still, I wanted to believe I was becoming a stronger person and not allowing people like Denim and Savannah to pull my strings as if I were a puppet.
I folded my lips between my teeth. “I have somewhere to be.”Liar.
His gaze traced my face. His eyelids were heavy, and his breathing was not quite steady. “Should I make an appointment, then?”
A laugh broke free. “Who are you?” When Denim wanted something, he would take first then ask later.
He chuckled, a sound that took me back to the past and the good times we’d shared. “I’m sorry. Maybe another time.” He gave me one last long look then swaggered out.
I stood there, astonished, watching him fade into the crowd.
11
Denim
Ihad to walk away. Otherwise, I would’ve pulled Jade in for a long and slow kiss. As much as I was desperate to taste her, I didn’t want to make the first move. I had no right to. I had no right to think she would walk back into my arms. I didn’t deserve her either.
She was good. I was bad.
She was pure. I was anything but.
We could never be. Yet there I was. I’d almost fallen to my knees and begged her to talk to me, to stay so I could get lost in her stunning green eyes. I wanted to run my hands through her long black hair and run my lips over every inch of her.
I was starving for her to tell me she would give me another chance. I was hungry for her to say she forgave me, especially after seeing that she’d grown and matured into a beautiful woman. She had been gorgeous in high school, but now she seemed to have a glow about her, one she hadn’t had in high school.
I scanned up and down the street, taking in the city air, which was laden with a mixture of diesel exhaust and a hint of cooking oil from the fast-food burger joint on the corner. My stomach growled, but my taste buds wanted Italian. I plowed through the group of hurried businesspeople and found an out-of-the-way spot against Jade’s building to get my bearings.
Secretly, I was hoping she would chase me. A laugh broke out in my head. I’d been the one to chase her in high school. Now the tables were turned.
