Page 43 of Attraction (Mobsters + Billionaires 3)
“Were you ready to invite him to your bedroom?” Mads asks carefully.
I shake my head, still in my hands. “I did want to kiss more, but I know what inviting someone to my bedroom means.”
“Yeah. It means whatever you want it to mean,” Rand says sternly. “Inviting someone to get more intimate with you doesn’t mean sex unless you say it does. If someone were to assume otherwise, that’s on them. There’s no way Luca would have assumed anything.”
“Especially since he already knows you’re a virgin,” Mads reasons.
I groan, dropping my arms to my sides as I collapse back into the comfy chair and look up at the ceiling. “I am so pathetic! I just…there’s no way he can hold off any longer. He’s probably two-point-seven seconds from walking away.”
Mads rolls his eyes. “Oh my God, you are so dramatic.”
Rand holds up a hand. “Do you really think he’s just waiting you out? Standing there, looking at his watch, wondering when you’re going to give up the goods?”
I let out a big breath, raspberrying my lips. “No. He specifically said there was no timeline, but Iknowhe’s just saying that.”
“If he was just saying that, he’d still be sleeping with his escorts.”
I raise my head at that. “You think?”
“Yes,” Mads says, nodding. “He’s been interested for a long time, but until recently, he was still sleeping with other people. This isn’tinterest. This isinvested. He can’t think about anyone elsebutyou.”
“How does that make you feel?” Rand asks.
I haul myself back into an upright position and rub my chest, looking out over the park.
“Really fucking special?” I finally answer, ending it like a question.
“Because you are special, dumb-dumb,” Mads says, grabbing my hand.
I continue, “And like I want to do way more than kiss him.Waymore.”
“Way more as in touching?” Rand asks.
“Yes. And more.”
“Are we talking rounding additional bases, or are we talking homerun?” Mads asks.
I scrunch my eyes together. “Homerun? Maybe?”
Mads jumps up and starts dancing while Rand claps, both seeming genuinely happy for me.
Rand gestures for Mads to calm down. “That’s amazing. Can I ask…? What shifted for you?”
“You know that I kind of had a bad early experience, right?”
“You indicated it but didn’t give too many details. I figured you’d tell us when you were ready.”
I nod, then let out another shaky breath. “I don’t want to get into that now, but…”
Mads gets up and moves things out of the way to sit on the sturdy midcentury coffee table. He takes my hand. “But you didn’t want to date after that?”
I shrug. “I…tried? It was away-too-close call that scared the hell out of me. It took a long time for me to even date again. My next boyfriend did try to be patient with me, I guess? But when things started progressing…it set me off, and he wasn’t very nice about it. Said I’d wasted his time.”
“Asshole,” they respond.
“After that…I don’t know. That happened a few more times. It’s just, you know, especially with gay culture in New York, so transactional. I quickly figured out that most guys would look at someone like me and decide I wasn’t worth it.”
“Not worth it? That issosuch utter bullshit I can’t even,” Mads says, angry.
