Page 58 of All That Glitters
“Because I can.”
“That’s not a reason.”
“Maybe not, but it’s the only one you’re gonna get. So, either strip or leave.”
“Jesus, Ashton.”
“I prefer Lord Glitterati.”
“How about asshole?”
“Is that an invitation?”
Fucking asshole. I wouldn’t say that out loud because I had a feeling he would take that as an invitation.
I knew I was going to meet him today just as we’d planned, though I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to give in to his demands. I didn’t want to need him, to want him, to feel more of what he made me feel in my room.
What he was asking, beyond my helping him get comfortable being in a car again, was wrong.
I was his friend, not his enemy.
He was treating me like neither. I wasn’t sure what he was treating me like. It was new to me and I couldn’t say I hated it. And that made me wonder what in the hell was wrong with me that I’d go through with it, that some part of me wanted it.
Did I want his attention that much? Did I want him that much?
Some part of me wanted to strip naked in the yard of his family’s cottage in the freezing weather.
Some part of me wanted his gaze on my body.
Some part of me wanted to give him everything, anything… All the pieces of me I’d never given anyone else.
At the same time, I wanted to be the one that ended what was left of our friendship and be done with it.
“I’m not going to wait much longer, Helen.”
With frustration at him and at myself, I dropped my purse to the ground and pulled my sweater off over my head. The bra followed.
My nipples had hardened the second I got out of the Jeep, but now they were a bit painful in the biting coastal breeze.
It didn’t take long for my fingers to shake with the cold and I had to fumble with the snap on my jeans a few times before it finally gave way and I could push them down my hips. The wide bottoms allowed me to slip them off over my feet and I stood naked but for my ankle boots.
I didn’t want to imagine what I must look like, so I didn’t waste the time or mental energy. I simply unzipped them and slipped them and my socks off.
When I straightened, I was completely naked and shivering in the sand.
“Say you want me.”
“Ashton, come on. It’s freezing.”
“Say it.”
“I want you.” It wasn’t a lie. It wasn’t a fib. It wasn’t a half truth. It wasn’t just repetition for his satisfaction. No, it was all truth. I did want Ashton.
“Louder.”
“For fuck’s sake,” I muttered.
“I couldn’t hear you, Helen.”
