Page 121 of Going Viral for Christmas
So yeah—I’ve got baggage.
But I also have eyes. Ears. And a very vivid memory of Soren’s hand curling possessively around my hip, his breath catching when I tilted my head and gave him a little more skin, his voice dropping half an octave when he said my name.
Ava.
Irelishedthe heat, the ache, the idea of someone touching me without pretense. Someone sees me—not the viral moment, not the author persona, but the flawed, guardedwoman underneath.
And that’s where it gets complicated, because what if I say yes?
Deep down, I know Soren’s not playing. He means it.
What if I do too?
I know I’m suppressing emotions. But I can’t take a wrecking ball to my walls. Gamble everything on a man who lives three thousand miles away and has been trained to flirt for a living.
No.
...But maybe itcouldbe.
Just once.
One night of leaning in instead of pulling away.Onenight where I don’t play the cynic or the puppet master or the girl who’s always watching her own back. One night, tolet go.
My thumb taps against the screen, indecisive.Your loneliness is talking, Ava.
It’s the sunrise and the coffee and the way the light spills across the floor. Hope I didn’t ask for.
Or maybe… It’s the idea of his voice in my ear again, murmuring my name like it’s the only word he ever wants to say.
Whatever it is, I’m tumbling down a black hole.
Fine. Dinner. But let’s be very clear, Pembry. One night. ONE. A moment. No contracts, no promises, no keywords.
I don’t type:No holds barred.
But I very much think it.
I stare at the message for a full thirty seconds before hitting send. My heart is beating fast. I just agreed to sign a treaty with the devil. Only this devil wears reader glasses and smells like a magical forest.
The dots appear instantly.
Noted. But if we only get ONE night, Bells… I’m going to make damn sure you remember it.
The blush hits so fast, I nearly drop the phone.
Wear a dress.
Twenty
SOREN
I’m not nervous.
Okay, I’m a little nervous.
Which is a wild thing to admit, considering I’ve stood in front of packed convention centers, fielded flirtation from cosplayers dressed as succubi, and once gave a talk titled“Pleasure and Power: Crafting the Fantasy Villain Readers Want to Bone.”
None of that compares to tonight.
