Broken Survivor by Jennifer Labelle Read Free Book Online

it’s time for some more!
    “You’ve been sitting here long enough, and I figured enough time has passed for another one of these.” Abby held out a glass as she approached and sat on the couch beside Holly once she grabbed it.
    “I think you’ve read my mind.” Holly sniffed the orange juice to make sure it wasn’t virgin and tried not to gulp too much of the vodka-spiked drink too eagerly. “Thanks!”
    “No biggy.” Abby shrugged. “Want to talk about it?”
    “Hell no, am I that transparent?”
    “A little, not that I blame you, but you are kind of a buzzkill…” Abby left the sentence hanging and tried giving her a sympathetic smile.
    Shit! “Well then, I think it’s time I joined the party again, huh?” Holly swayed, thanked her, and left to join the fun or find a place she could go unnoticed, if one even existed. There was no fucking way she was ready to let anyone see how she was really feeling—not yet anyway.
    She moved through the house, occasionally stopping to talk to people, and decided to descend to the basement, hoping there would be less of a crowd. Maybe she could even find a remotely quiet place down there to crash for the night if she was lucky.
    “Hey, Hol, come ’ere a sec.”
    Well damn. She flinched at the sound of her name being called and chugged the rest of her drink. “So much for sleeping,” she slurred, then turned and pasted on a big old fake smile. “Hey Cole, what’s up?”
    “One guess…” He winked. “I haven’t seen you all night.”
    “Right.” She rolled her eyes and shoved him away playfully. “I’ve been around.”
    “Yeah, but not around me.” He brought her into his embrace to keep her from stumbling and held on a little longer than necessary. “I’ve missed you. How are you feeling?”
    “Why the fuck does everyone keep asking me that?”
    “Shh, don’t get pissy. I just wondered if you were feeling good because I was hoping we could hang out.”
    “Well I was just thinking about going to bed, but what did you have in mind?”
    “Want some company in there?” His lips quirked up and he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
    She could feel the front of his pants swell against her stomach at the thought of it, but she shot him down. “I don’t think so, but thanks anyway.”
    “Oh come on, babe, I bet I can persuade you.”
    No doubt about it.
    His mouth softly caressed hers before the tip of his tongue licked across the seam of her lips and slowly worked its way inside, and man, the boy could kiss, no doubt about it. Their kiss went from sensual to scorching in seconds flat.
    “Mmm,” she moaned. This was so screwed up, yet she craved the intimate contact. He moved them back until he reached a chair and pulled her on top of his lap after he sat.
    “Wait.” Her nails dug into his shoulders. Cole’s hands wandered up her shirt, and his mouth moved to taste the salty sweetness of the bare skin at her neck. “Wait, Cole, what are we doing?”
    “Well, if you have to ask, I guess I’m going to have to try harder to give you a clue.” He chuckled.
    “No, I mean I’m not too sure I want to do this. Slow down.”
    “Ugh,” he groaned, “please tell me you’re kidding.” He blew out a frustrated breath and leaned his forehead against her chest.
    “You okay?” Her labored breathing slowed to a regular rate. Dimly, she thought she’d probably be embarrassed right now, if she wasn’t so drunk and stoned.
    “Dance with me.”
    “What?”
    “I said, dance with me. You want to go slower, so let’s start with this…” Cole got up from the chair and slid her down his body. He turned toward the stereo. “I brought a mix tape with me tonight, so let’s see what we’ve got.” He took the tape out and put it in the stereo.
    “Okay.” She finally managed to close her dropped jaw to smile when he pulled her back in his arms. They slowly swayed to SWV’s “Weak.” “This is nice.”
    “I agree.”
    “And really sweet, but—um,