Page 13 of The Bachelor

“Me. This.” He stalled. “Is that really what you want?”

I didn’t have to think.

I’d already done plenty of that over the last year.

“Yes, Camden, it’s what I want.”

His hand left the wooden frame and moved to his face, where he rubbed his fingers down the side of his short, trimmed beard. “Then, we’re going to do it my way.”

“What does that mean?”

He nodded toward me. “What do you have in there to drink?”

I moved out of the doorway to allow him inside, and he walked into my kitchen. Since this was the same apartment I’d shared with his sister, he was already familiar with where everything was located. He opened the cabinet next to the stove and took out the bottle of vodka, pouring some into a glass before adding ice.

With the open concept, I was able to see him from the couch in the living room, where he eventually joined me. That was when I got a whiff of his cologne. An aroma that was as captivating as his eyes and his presence—a strong wind of citrus with a robust blend of woods.

I was positive I’d smelled it before, but it was more prominent tonight.

Or maybe I was just soaking in every detail since this was the evening when everything was going to change.

An evening I was never going to forget.

“Oaklyn …” He traced the lip of the glass with the inside of his thumb. God, even his regular, simple movements reeked of lust. “You’ve put me on this sexual pedestal, and I promise to fulfill every need you have.” He rested his forearms on his thighs, holding the drink between his spread legs. “But I want to make something very clear. I’m not Prince Charming. Hell, I’m probably no better than any guy you’ve dated.” He wet his lips, licking across the top of them. “Oaklyn, you’ve known me forever, so you know I don’t do emotions or relationships. I don’t do soft or tender or any of that kind of shit you might be looking for. I’ll give you whatever you want physically, but that’s where it ends.”

Every time he mentioned my needs, there was a twinge inthatspot.

A tightening.

A dampening.

And it wasn’t soft and tender, the way he had described.

This feeling was vicious.

“I understand,” I told him.

“Have you changed your mind?”

I lifted my wine off the table, holding it with both hands as I raised it to my lips. I sipped and swallowed. “No.”

“You’re not afraid of me …”

He hadn’t phrased it like a question. More like he was shocked to discover this.

“Why would I be afraid of you?”

“Because you think I wouldn’t hurt you, but you’re wrong. I would.” He turned the drink in his hands, the ice rattling, but he kept his eyes on me. “When I walk away from this, it could crush you. I don’t want to hurt you. I want you to know that, going in. I just won’t want more, Oaklyn. More isn’t me. And we’ll forever be tied to each other through Hannah, so I’ll continue being in your life after this. I want you to be prepared for how that might feel.”

Even if I wanted him to, I didn’t expect my best friend’s twin brother to fall in love with me.

Even if I wanted more, I didn’t expect this to extend beyond our one night together.

I was naive, but not that naive.

I knew what I’d asked for and was fully prepared to take it and watch him walk away.

“You’re assuming I’m looking for more. I’m not. This is about you taking my virginity and showing me all the ways to please a man, nothing else.”

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