Page 27 of Other Side Of Never
A man whose inherent kindness set my soul at ease.
Did that make him even more of a threat?
I mentally tripped over the word but quickly regained my footing and dismissed it.
Giggling to myself, I tapped out my answer.
Bridge: No.
Bridge: I like to give the orders, not follow them.
Kian: Yup.100% regret.My departure has been delayed by the necessity of a cold shower.See you in 30.
I lay back on my bed and threw one arm over my head.
A familiar stirring unfolded low in my womb.Though the target was off, the return of desire was not unwelcome.
I looked out the window as I trailed my fingers over the smooth expanse of my stomach exposed between the floaty hem of my summer blouse and the waistband of my shorts.Goosebumps erupted on my skin.A sweetly, contented sigh escaped my mouth.I couldn’t remember the last time my body responded to a man with warmth or joy.
Gary never once complained about our sex life until we got married.I couldn’t remember when it started, but slowly, insidiously, he picked me apart until sex became an unwelcome chore.
I looked further into the past.
There was a time when sex had been a pleasure and a joy.An adventure.
A time when it was ripe with laughter, heat, passion, and excitement.
There were tenets I developed after Gary that I swore I’d live by.
First, I would not care about what other people thought of me.I suspected I would be working on that one for a while.
Second, I would preserve the bits and pieces that made me who I am and feed my soul no matter the cost.It didn’t take a genius to figure out that the idea of giving up my dream was unsettling.
And last, if I ever fell in love again, it would be with a man who frees me to be my dirtiest, filthiest self, walks on the outside of the sidewalk, and kisses me on the forehead.I wondered, incessantly, if Kian could have been that man if his life wasn’t so complicated.
I slanted a glance back at my laptop.
The truth was, the chocolatier that was for sale ticked all my boxes, and I’d be a fool to pass it up.Sitting back down on the window seat, I typed out a request.
“There.Let fate decide.”I snapped the lid shut just as Anita knocked on the ceiling below with her broom.
I quickly shed my shorts, yanked on a pair of jeans, and skipped down the stairs.
She wagged her eyebrows as I pulled open the door to the kitchen and jerked her chin toward the curb where Kian idled in his truck.
I ran out, opened the door, and swung up into the passenger seat.“Hey!”
After one look at him, his hair wet from his recent shower, I burst out laughing and slapped my palm down on his thick thigh.“You really did take a shower?”
He grinned.“Bridget, have mercy please.I’m a celibate man in the prime of his life and you’re a beautiful, albeit off limits, woman.”His smile fell away but his eyes remained soft.“Who is quickly becoming my dearest friend.”
I shrugged, my thoughts mixing like oil and water.“You started it.”
He dipped his head.“I did.”
“You reap what you sow, buddy,” I teased as I reluctantly withdrew my hand.
He shook his head, his deep chuckle warming me.
