Broken by Lauren Layne Read Free Book Online Page A

with a complete stranger. The cruel ones run.
    I don’t want to be part of either group. I want Paul Langdon to see me as
different
.
    So I do the unthinkable. As in really, truly horrible, and yet somehow I sense it needs to be done.
    Wordlessly I bend my head, fumbling again with my purse.
    “Mace won’t protect you,” he says with a sneer.
    I ignore him as I go about my original task and pull a twenty out of my wallet.
    “What’s this?” he asks, staring at the bill in my outstretched hand. I feel an odd surge of victory at the confusion on his face. For just a moment I have the upper hand.
    I give a little rueful shake of my head. “A dollar in the hat’s not nearly enough. You should
really
think about charging more for the first glance. Twenty dollars, at least.”
    Silence stretches between us, even though his expression doesn’t change.
    My mouth goes dry as he studies me. It’s a risky move, and I know it. With someone else—
anyone
else—it would be unbearably cruel. And yet somehow I suspect that this sort of in-your-face acknowledgment of his scars is exactly what Paul Langdon craves.
    Then with a strangled snarl he swipes at my hand, but neither one of us watches the bill flutter to the ground.
    Whoops.
So it’s possible that I’m wrong. Maybe he doesn’t
know
that this is what he craves.
    My pounding heart demands that I take a step back before I get backhanded by the livid guy in front of me, but I keep still, standing toe-to-toe with a beast of a man who looks as though he’d like nothing more than to physically throw me out of his secluded lair.
    “Get out,” he says, mouth barely moving.
    I lick my lips nervously, noting the way his eyes follow the motion of my tongue, and I finally accept that in spite of myself—in spite of the fear—I’m ridiculously attracted to him. Attracted in a fierce, animalistic way that I’ve never felt
ever
.
    I found Ethan attractive, of course. I mean, we dated for like half of my life. And Michael…
I don’t want to think about Michael.
    But nothing in my limited sexual experience compares to the magnetic pull this guy has on me.
    I ignore his demand that I leave him alone.
    “Can I get you anything?” I ask, as though he hasn’t banished me from the room. “A cup of soothing tea? A turkey sandwich? Maybe sunglasses to protect yourself from all that happy sunshine you’re exuding?”
    His eyes flash again, this time in puzzlement. I give him a fake-sympathetic smile and pat his arm. “Oh, I’m sorry, sweetie. Were your bear growl and caveman antics supposed to send me running away? Did you expect that I’d faint at your glower?”
    He opens his mouth, probably to bellow at me again, but I simply lay a finger over his lips the way one would hush a petulant child, even though this bold, tough-girl routine is as foreign to me as it is to Paul.
    But I’m apparently not the only one who can do the unexpected, because instead of pushing me back or turning away, his fingers curl around my wrist until he’s grasping my arm hard enough to hurt. Without warning, his tongue flicks over the tips of my fingers, and I gasp, trying to snatch my hand back from the sweetly erotic stroke.
    He’s toying with me.
    I know it’s only manipulation, of course, but damned if I’m not turned on by this sick game I’m playing with a totally messed-up guy I don’t even know.
    Both of us are breathing too fast, and I feel a surge of panic.
    It was never like this with Ethan. That was always comfortable and easy. It wasn’t like this with Michael, either. That was simply forbidden. It was an escape, and a transgression I continue to pay for.
    Paul’s eyes continue to hold mine until very slowly he releases my hand and pushes me back. “You’re clearly incredibly stupid, in addition to being bitchy, so let me be more clear. Get the fuck out of my home.
I don’t want you here.
”
    I shrug, taking a step toward him, and feel oddly gratified when he takes a step