Read Online Shattered Dreams (Vegas Dreams Book 2) by Cheryl Bradshaw - Free Book Online Page B

and I was rejected.”
    “What? That’s not what happened at all.”
    I pressed a flat hand out in front of me. “It’s okay, Gideon. Truly. I realized you’ve probably only been with slender women with perfect, model bodies. It’s fine. Really.”
    Without acknowledging a word I’d just said, he kicked off his shoes and peeled his socks off his feet.
    I backed up. “Whoa, what are you doing?”
    “There are two ways this can happen—I undress myself, or you do it for me.”
    He couldn’t be serious.
    “Stop,” I said. “Just stop it right now. Whatever you’re thinking right now isn’t happening. Let me out. I’m leaving.”
    He flung his jacket to the floor, unbuttoned his shirt, and yanked it off. His pants came off next. Seemingly incapable of moving or speaking, I stood there in a stiff, nervous haze of denial, and yet, he was naked. Completely.
    He walked toward me. Again I stepped back, assuming he was going to grab hold of me and do whatever he was planning next. He didn’t. He brushed by me, stepping into the water like I wasn’t even there.
    “You said you wanted to go,” he said. “Well, you’re free to go if you like.”
    He scooted around the corner of the tub where I could no longer see him.
    “I don’t like ,” I replied, miffed I was even playing into his childish game.
    “Come here,” he demanded.
    “No.”
    “Sasha, come here.”
    As defiant as I wanted to be, desire coursed through my veins. I was drawn to him. I stepped back into the water but remained standing, the towel still wrapped around my body. Sober Sasha wasn’t quite as outgoing and fearless as Drunk Sasha, and right now, Sober Sasha couldn’t have felt more awkward. Gideon stood, walked toward me, yanked the towel from my body, and tossed it to the side. I shouldn’t have, but I panicked, covering my scars with my hands.
    “Look at me,” he said.
    I didn’t. I couldn’t.
    He cupped my chin in his hands, drawing it upward, toward his face, making me look at him whether I wanted to or not. “You have no reason to feel shame about what that animal put you through. Your scars aren’t flaws. They’re a reminder of your strength. You stood up for yourself and survived. When you allowed me to see you last night, all of you, I was taken aback. You’re a remarkable woman.”
    “But you rejected me.”
    “Not because I didn’t want you. I did. I just didn’t want it like that—not when I couldn’t be completely sure it was what you wanted too.”
    “You wouldn’t even kiss me earlier. I thought it was because—”
    “You’re my client. I shouldn’t like you, and I shouldn’t have allowed myself to feel the way I do for you. I denied it at first, but when I saw you again, I had to know if you felt the same way I did.”
    In that moment, nothing else mattered anymore.
    Only him.
    I combed my hands through his hair, and he leaned forward, giving me a sweet, tender kiss. Words were no longer necessary. As I broke from his embrace and he looked at me, he knew I wanted him too.

I woke to a darkened room, felt the space on the bed next to me. Gideon was no longer by my side. I called out to him, but he didn’t reply. I tried to remain calm, not to worry. After a couple minutes went by, I slipped his shirt over my head and went looking for him. The door to his office was slightly ajar. I could hear him talking on the phone. His voice was low, almost muffled. I guessed it was so he wouldn’t wake me.
    I stepped inside the room, and he looked up, his face solemn. Something was wrong. Very wrong.
    “I need to go,” he said to the person on the other end of the line. “I’ll call you later.”
    He put the phone down, but didn’t say anything, making me feel uneasy, like I had no right to be there, invading his personal space. He clasped a hand over his mouth, exhaled deeply like he was trying to make a decision.
    About me?
    About us?
    Whatever it was, I had to know.
    “Is everything okay?” I asked.
    Some