Condemned (Beauty And The Billionaire Geek Book 2) by E.E. Griffin Read Free Book Online Page B

the spot where we’d first kissed.
    “Zoe,” I heard his voice behind me, coming from the parking lot. I whipped my head around and looked at him across the distance. The sun glared in my eyes. I didn’t know if it was the sting of the light that hurt my eyes or the sight of him standing there.
    I felt as if I might weep, and I didn’t understand why. The feeling caught in my throat, and I walked quickly toward him as he practically ran toward me. We met together on the black asphalt like two lovers from some dumb romance movie running across a grassy field. When we reached each other, we stood a foot apart breathing heavily. I squinted at him, I could smell the scent of his skin, warm and spicy like chi tea.
    He moved toward me, and I melted into him as his arms gathered me into his chest. Billy had a slim built, but just then, he felt to me like the strongest man in the world. I breathed him in and rested against his heart. He rubbed my back and kissed the top of my head while I let my backpack slide down my arm and fall to the ground.
    “Billy,” I whispered, lifting my head to meet his gaze. His hazel eyes burned with an unknowable fire as he stared at me. Without warning, he crushed his lips to mine, burning me with the blaze within him.
    He made me feel like the most important thing in the world when he looked at me that way, when he kissed me. I had no choice but to be lost in it.
    “Come on,” he said, pulling back and taking my hand. I grabbed my backpack and followed him through the maze of tall grass and towering hydrangea bushes in full bloom. The smell of rose scented pink peonies made me swoon. We ducked into the same bench behind the wall of bamboo and sat together holding hands in silence.
    He caressed my hands as he gazed at them, and I caressed him back. The intimacy of his touch made my body tingle with desire. His shaggy, black hair hung over his eyes, and I couldn’t see his face or tell what he was thinking.
    Most of the time, Billy was unreadable. I never quite knew what to expect or what to think. He lifted his gaze and shook his hair out of his eyes, reaching into his pocket. He produced a small gold box and presented it to me.
    My heart skipped. Flowers, now this? No man had ever given me so many tokens of his affection. My voice caught in my throat. I couldn’t think, and I grasped my heart.
    “Open it,” he said, smiling.
    I reached for the box, trying to keep my fingers from trembling. I pulled the delicate gold ribbon and flipped open the hinged lid of what was obviously a jewelry box. Inside, I found an adorable charm bracelet.
    He reached for the bracelet and unclasped it to put it around my wrist. He explained what the charms meant, holding each up for me to see. I couldn’t find words. It was as if they had been sucked out of me and replaced by the sound of my pounding heart. My face burned as he kissed my cheek and asked me what I thought.
    “It’s gorgeous,” I managed to whisper. “Billy, it’s too much. You’re too generous. I don’t understand why...”
    “Understand why what?”
    “Why are you doing this?”
    “I like you, Zoe. A lot.”
    “I like you too, Billy. But you don’t have to keep giving me gifts.”
    “You don’t like it?” He looked hurt and confused. I grasped the bracelet and frowned.
    “No. I do like it. I like it a lot. I appreciate it. It’s perfect really. It’s just… I’m not used to getting gifts like this.”
    “Don’t you like gifts?”
    “I do.”
    “Then just accept it,” he said, smiling. He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. His hands cupped my face and one slid down my neck and over my throat to trail down my arm. I was instantly turned on and clung to him, letting my hands run up his thigh and around his hips.
    He growled and pulled me up to standing and led me through the park without a work.
    “Where are we going?” I asked.
    “My house.”
    I didn’t say anything else we got on the scooter and sped across