Embrace, Entice, Emblaze by Jessica Shirvington Read Free Book Online Page A

flickered as he studied me. “Anything else?”
    “What?”
    “I mean, has anything else…changed since turning seventeen?”
    I laughed. “Not really. No wrinkles yet. No, no changes…” But
    then I remembered. “That is, unless the veins in my arms going a weird color count,” I said with a tipsy shrug. The moment I said it, I wished I hadn’t.
    Lincoln grabbed my arm in a move so fast I barely saw it. He was unusually rough; I was certain it would leave a bruise. He inspected my veins in the dim light. They now looked a strong, steely, aqua color. He ran his fingers over the intricate patterns, studying them until I began to feel vaguely uncomfortable.
    I wriggled. “Umm, Linc. I was only joking. Can I have my
    arm back?”
    He released my arm and I held it close to my body a little self-consciously, rubbing the spot he had grabbed.
    “Did this happen today?” He sounded worried, and frankly,
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    now so was I. This conversation was not going in the direction I had intended.
    “I think so. Don’t worry; it’s nothing.”
    “You’re probably right,” he said, running his eyes over the rest of my body. He bit his bottom lip and pushed a hand through his hair. I watched, fascinated. He wasn’t usually the nervous type.
    “Well,” he started, heading toward an obvious subject change,
    “I know you didn’t want a birthday present…” He saw the look
    of horror on my face and held up a hand to stop the protest
    that was about to fly out of my mouth. “So I’m not giving you
    anything. But …I might have installed a new espresso machine at the warehouse.”
    I couldn’t hide my delight. Badgering him to get a proper
    espresso machine fell second only to bugging him to let me paint one of his walls. Without thinking, I threw myself into his arms.
    “Oh my God, I love you!”
    His arms instinctively wrapped around me, but I felt him tense
    as soon as my words registered. He wasn’t the only one. My stomach flipped over so fast it was like a spin cycle on a washing machine.
    Did he hear? Of course he heard! Everyone hears those words.
    He pulled back from the hug. His mesmerizing green eyes fixed
    on me, searching out the meaning of my words. I did the only
    thing I could; I looked straight back at him and pretended I’d never said them. His hands slid to my hips and lingered. I could feel his heat through the thin fabric of my dress. My breath quickened as I silently willed, prayed, begged him not to let go. But as I pressed 47
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    closer, his hands suddenly dropped from my sides, and without
    further ado, the great walls of Lincoln were once again intact.
    “You’re welcome,” he said kindly as much as cruelly, ignoring
    the slip of tongue we both knew he’d heard.
    My cheeks burned and I looked away. I could sense Lincoln
    shifting back, distancing himself.
    A guy sitting at the bar caught my eye. He didn’t look much
    older than me, though I couldn’t see him that well. Dressed all in black, he kind of melted into the dim light. Every girl around him seemed to be turned in his direction but he didn’t appear to care.
    He was watching me. Fixedly. I was, for a moment, entranced, as he tilted his drink ever so slightly in my direction. I blushed even redder. I always felt awkward when strangers looked at me, really looked at me, the way this guy was.
    I turned back to Lincoln. Steph was right— I needed to take
    control of this situation before it drove me insane. I jumped up and grabbed his hand, pulling him toward the dance floor.
    “What are you doing?” he asked.
    “I’m going to dance. I— ” I stumbled in my high heels.
    Lincoln grabbed my elbow to steady me. “You’re a terrible
    drunk,” he said, but he couldn’t help the small smile.
    I tried for a serious face. “I’m tipsy,” I corrected, “and it’s my birthday and I want to dance. Come on, Linc, it