Page 13 of Cruelest Vow

“I’m certainly not going to marry someone I don’t know.”

Marla grinned mischievously. “That’s why you have sex right away. Then you know each other.”

“You’re a horrible friend. Do you know that?”

They burst out laughing and I rolled my eyes, trying to think about anything else but my miserable life and the sexy man sitting thirty feet away.

“We worry about you working all the time.”

There was actual concern on Marla’s face. I made more money than a significant percentage of men in the city, had an apartment and all the furnishings to prove it. I had a closet full of clothes and a few pieces of jewelry I adored but never wore. I had it all.

Except for love.

They both knew I was pining away for something and someone I couldn’t have. No man had equaled my fantasies, able to bring me out of the darkness of despair. It wasn’t possible so I buried myself in work. “I’m fine.”

“You’re lonely,” she quipped.

Joy bit her lower lip. “How about just get laid to start with?”

“You’re a twisted woman. I’m not into one-night stands.” That was because I’d never had one.

“Trust me. They’re good for the soul.” When Marla’s face turned red, I shook my head.

“You are both bad girls and a terrible influence.” I flicked some of my drink at both of them, which caused them to laugh hysterically.

“What?” Marla acted as if I’d offended her. “So I like bad boys.”

We laughed but a moment of ugly sadness washed into my system. Every time I talked with my father, ugly memories surfaced.

When Joy’s face paled, I sensed she was ready to sputter.

“What now?”

“He’s looking at you,” Marla whispered, her voice so low I had to strain to hear her. “I mean really looking.”

“Would you two stop it? How can you tell given the distance?”

“Oh, she’s right, girl. He’s definitely looking at you,” Joy muttered, shrinking back in her chair.

I wasn’t going to indulge in their wicked fantasies, but my curiosity got the better of me.

Without drawing attention to the fact I was paying attention to him, I shifted on my seat, glancing at the bartenders. Then I allowed my eyes to roam until they reached his.

The dark stranger was sitting under a pendant light that allowed me to bask in the color of his eyes. Blue like the deepest part of the ocean or a perfectly cut sapphire. Blue like the heavens, radiant to the point for a few seconds I was hypnotized. But they were also filled with fire and fury, the intensity startling.

Distance or no distance, my besties were right.

The tall, dark, and dangerous stranger was definitely looking at me.

CHAPTER5

Lucia

“My God. He’s even more gorgeous than I thought. Fuckable in every way. He could drip cum down my chest and I’d be in heaven.”

I heard Joy speaking but was lost in the moment.

The mysterious stranger with the chiseled jaw tilted his head, allowing his gaze to fall ever so slowly down the length of my legs, taking several deep breaths before returning his eyes to mine. He wasn’t undressing me with them but there was no doubt he wanted to devour me piece by piece.

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