Read Online The Agreement (An Indecent Proposal) by J. C. Reed, Jackie Steele - Free Book Online

over him. Someone like him probably had many women lining up. And judging
from the mirrors in his bedroom and his talented tongue, lots of experience.
    As if he sensed my thoughts, his hand touched mine. “What,
Laurie?”
    “Nothing,” I whispered, which was kind of a lie. To admit what
I was thinking, that I felt jealousy at the thought of him having others, was
wrong. I had no right to feel that way. Chase might have been the first who
touched me and taught me how to pleasure a man, but he didn’t belong to me.
    “You look tired,” Chase whispered. “I’m taking you home.”
    I opened my mouth to protest but stopped. Maybe it was for
the better.
    “Sure. It’s late anyway,” I said, having a hard time
controlling the disappointment pouring through me. It didn’t make sense. Why
did I want to please him so much just because he had changed my mind about sex?
    Because you enjoyed
it, Hanson, and you want him.
    Stupid, stupid mind.
    I shook my head, annoyed with myself.

Chapter 7

 
 
 
    Throughout the ride Chase entertained me with stories about
all the things he had experienced in his career as an actor. I listened, half
interested and half distracted by the longing inside me.
    The car came to a screeching halt outside the apartment
building. A look at my watch told me it was almost three a.m. The lights in
Jude’s bedroom were out. She was most certainly at home, and would be great
company even if I woke her in the middle of the night. Yet I could barely bring
myself to leave Chase—the one person who had made me feel so confused
about our sexual encounter. I wanted to get down and dirty with him, if only to
stifle the heat inside me. So, naturally, I wondered how Chase could remain so
composed and easygoing, as if nothing had happened between us.
    “Here we are,” Chase said.
    “Thanks for tonight.” I avoided his gaze, not sure whether I
was thankful for him saving me, or the time we had together.
    “I enjoyed my time with you.” His voice was low, his tone
filled with the usual undercurrents implying so much more than he’d just said.
    “So did I.”
    For a moment silence ensued. It was bearable, almost
welcome. I scanned the dark windows of our building. Everyone was either tucked
in for the night, or had gone out. Except for the faint noise of traffic
carrying over, everything was quiet. If we waited up an hour, Chase and I could
watch the sunrise. Only I wasn’t sure I could just sit there, without touching
him, without begging him to take me back to his apartment. I almost dreaded
entering my empty bedroom and getting engulfed in the thoughts I knew would
start off like this:
    Did I do something wrong that made him pull away? Was I
making a mistake by wanting to get involved with him? When had my feelings for
him become all muddled? What were his thoughts on me? How could I ever repay him
for his help? And what would happen when it was over?
    At last Chase sighed, disrupting my inner monologue and
drawing my attention back to him.
    “Laurie, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you,” he
started hesitantly. “How come a beautiful woman like you is still virgin?”
    I flushed at his sudden bluntness. No one had ever asked me
that, because it had never been a big deal before.
    “There was never a right time.”
    Or a right guy.
    “How come?”
    I bit my suddenly parched lips, considering my words. “It’s
been three years since I last visited Waterfront Gardens. My life before…it was
very different compared to now. I wasn’t happy. I always felt something was
missing. When I moved to L.A. I hoped that I could find it. So I focused on
college and career, or lack thereof.” I shook my head, grimacing. “All my life
I had been dependent on Clint. L.A. was my first real chance to stand on my own
feet and find myself. Get rid of my depression. Make something out of myself.
You know, find a purpose in life.”
    “So you haven’t dated before?”
    Before?
    Before