Read Online His To Shatter by Haley Pearce - Free Book Online Page A

laying at my feet. And my companion on my first night
of freedom just happened to be a handsome, well-mannered man with
good taste in tequila. Things seemed to be off to a good start. I
closed my eyes for a happy moment, marveling at the way the air
seemed to spin around me as I sat still.
    “I hope I’m not being too forward,” Ryan
said, leaning in close to me, “But I’d really love to take you back
to my place.”
    My stomach flipped a little. I’d heard those
words plenty of times before, but I’d never had the courage or
desire to act on them. But now, I felt brave enough to take a
chance. I smiled back at Ryan, ready for anything, and nodded my
head. He grinned, helping me down from my stool. I was amazed to
find that walking was actually a lot harder than I had expected.
When had the floor become so slanted? I was relieved when Ryan slid
his arm around my waist to steady me. What a gentleman I’d stumbled
onto, after all!
    As we made our way toward the door, our
progress was suddenly halted by a figure standing in our path. I
squinted into the purple light, trying to see who, exactly, was
standing so rudely in our way. Suddenly, Kyle’s features swam into
focus. He was wearing an unhappy scowl, but I was still elated to
see him.
    “Kyle!” I cried, throwing my arms around his
neck as I stumbled into him.
    “Madison,” he answered coolly, steadying me
as I wobbled. “Have you had much more to drink?”
    “Not such,” I slurred. “Not much .”
    “Who’s your friend?” he asked, glaring over
my shoulder.
    “Oh, this is Ryan!” I said, reeling back
toward my blonde buddy. I saw a rather mean look pass between them,
and decided to ignore it. “We were just leaving,” I told Kyle.
    “Were you?” Kyle said.
    “Yeah,” Ryan replied. “Does she have to ask
your permission first?”
    “Of course not,” Kyle said, crossing his
arms. “I just wanted to make sure that Madison was thinking her
decision through.”
    “Oh, totally,” I said, wanting Kyle to drop
that nasty look off his face and join the fun. “We’re going to go
back to Ryan’s place!”
    “Is that really what you want to do?” Kyle
insisted.
    “Yeah!” I said happily.
    “Madison,” Kyle went on. “I think you’ve had
a little too much to drink. You might not be thinking as
clearly—”
    “You heard her, man,” Ryan said, tightening
his grip around my waist. “Let it go, OK?”
    “My friend’s safety isn’t something I’m going
to just ‘let go’, pal,” Kyle said. I could sense the tension
sparking between them.
    “Kyle, it’s OK,” I said, moving past him.
“I’m totally fine!”
    He looked at me sadly as I left with Ryan,
but I couldn’t worry about Kyle’s feelings just then. I was having
way too much fun to let it get spoiled by his lingering crush,
anyway. Ryan helped me up the steep staircase, and we finally
stepped out into the open air. I was glad to have someone escorting
me, as I’d genuinely forgotten where we were. The city rose up
around me into the night in a staggering blitz of glittering
lights. It all seemed so beautiful, so amazingly unlikely, that I
almost started to cry. Ryan guided me along the sidewalk, and we
laughed as we went along.
     
    * * * * *
     

Chapter Five

    * * * * *
     
    “I’m just around the corner,” he said.
    “Great!” I replied, high as a kite.
    He led me up another flight of stairs and
through the front doorway of a building I’d never seen before. I
was amazed to find that there was a real elevator in the lobby—a
luxury I’d certainly never had myself in the city. We stumbled into
the car together and the doors slid shut behind us. I rested my
hands on Ryan’s shoulders for support and looked up into his
friendly face. We gazed at each other for half a moment, and I
suddenly realized that this was much more than a friendly visit.
Ryan closed the space between our faces and kissed me deeply. And
much to my surprise, I kissed him right back. I was not