Page 2 of Salacious Desires

Letting out a deep breath, I glance at myself one more time before I grab my basic black purse and head out to catch the bus. I watch the people around me on the journey. This is what I always do. It’s been a huge eye-opener for me in the past five months. Seeing couples who are so in love giving each other affection. Parents letting their children play. Women going to and from a job.

It’s made me realize how truly messed up my life has been for the past twenty-four years. I wish I’d figured it out sooner. Wish I’d gotten away a long time ago. But I didn’t, and all I can do is make the best of it now. Even if each day is a struggle to figure out how I’m supposed to act in the real world. Everywhere I go, and everything I do feels awkward, as if I’m stumbling through every situation.

I wouldn’t trade it for anything. If someone said they’d give me a million dollars to go back to my old life, I wouldn’t take it. I wouldn’t even consider it. I’d rather die.

It takes thirty minutes to get from Hannah’s house to the bus stop closest to Edge. Thankfully, it’s not raining, so I won’t go into this place looking like a drowned rat. I need to invest in an umbrella.

As I make the two-block walk along the bustling downtown street, I peer up at the tall buildings. They’re a mix of glass and brick. Old and new, all crammed together, but it works.

I stop in front of one of the older brick buildings. The only thing that tells me it’s the place I’m looking for is the number above the door. Huh. That’s weird. Wouldn’t they want a huge sign so people see it from the street?

After taking several deep breaths, I tug on the door. It’s locked. Eyebrows furrowed, I glance at the paper in my hand where I wrote all the information. The ad said to apply in person between two o’clock and six o’clock. It’s a few minutes after two.

After giving the door another try, I let out a deep sigh. What am I supposed to do now?

“Can I help you with something?”

The deep voice from behind startles me. I start to spin around, and in the process, my feet get tangled up. As I fall, I cry out and brace myself for the searing pain of landing on the concrete. It never comes, though. Instead, I land against something firm. It doesn’t hurt. And it smells good. Really good. Clean and fresh.

“Whoa,” the voice says, and he’s close enough that his breath brushes over my forehead.

A whoosh of air rushes out of me, and I find myself looking up at the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen. He stares down at me, his dark brows pinched.

“Sorry!” I blurt out as I try to push myself off his chest.

Boy, his pecs are firm. Everything about him looks to be that way.

I straighten and regain my balance, but he doesn’t let me go right away. He keeps hold of my upper arms for a few extra seconds before he finally releases me.

“I’m so sorry.” Shuffling back a few steps, I drop my eyes to the ground for a few seconds, sure he’s going to yell at me any second. He doesn’t look pleased. Shoot. I’m rarely clumsy. Why now?

When he doesn’t say anything, I’m not sure what else to do, so I turn around, making sure to be more careful this time. Then, without waiting another second, I scurry away as quickly as my feet will move me.

The last thing I need is to cry in front of a stranger. I’m already embarrassed enough as it is. I’ll find a restroom somewhere so I can get myself together, and then I’ll return to Edge. Hopefully, by then, the door will be unlocked, and the man who caught me will be long gone. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll forget all about the rush of electricity that ran through me for the first time in my entire life.

CHAPTER 2

DRAKE

“Hey, man.”

I barely turn my head toward my brother as I walk into our shared office on the third floor. Sinking into my chair, I blow out the breath that I feel like I’ve been holding since before I walked into Edge.

Easton, my identical twin and best friend, glances up from the stack of papers he’s working on and studies me. “Something’s wrong.”

There are a lot of upsides to having an identical twin. There are also many downsides. Like the fact that we sense things most people wouldn’t. It’s annoying as fuck. Especially because I’m not sure how to respond. Is something wrong? I don’t know. I’m off balance. Confused. Aroused. Worried.

“Everything’s fine.” I shrug and make a show of opening my laptop like it’s incredibly interesting to me. I should know better than to think Easton will give up so easily.

“Okay,” he says slowly. “Then why does your face look like that?”

I scoff. “I’d be careful making comments about my face, considering you look exactly like me.”

My brother rolls his eyes and leans back in his chair to study me. “You know what I mean. You’re deflecting. Something happened, or something’s wrong.”

He’s right. Something happened. The problem is, I can’t put my finger on how I’m feeling about it. The woman in the street. She was alluring. I’m not sure that accurately describes her, but it’s the only word that comes to mind. She literally took my breath away. And that doesn’t happen to me.

I love women. I love to dominate them. I love watching a submissive give herself over to me. It’s the most beautiful thing in the world. But when it’s over, I move on to the next. It’s easy and fulfills my needs. I’ve never had such a visceral reaction to a woman like I did to the one in the street.

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