Kiss a Stranger by R.J. Lewis Read Free Book Online Page B

heat of the room because it surely couldn’t have all come from his presence!
                  “Do you often dance that way with men?” he then asked, glancing behind me.
                  I followed his gaze to the guy that’d groped me minutes before. He’d since moved on to another poor girl that was trying to get far from him. Ew. Had I really gotten close to that? I awkwardly turned away and shrugged. “It’s been a while actually.”
                  “But you did?”
                  “ Did being the operative word.”
                  “Huh.” That smirk vanished as his eyes wandered my face. It suddenly occurred to me that he could see my scars, and the horror of that realization felt like a rocket exploding inside of me. There was no part of me that wasn’t feeling vulnerable and judged. I turned away from his stare and looked behind me in search of Emily. Maybe I could use her as an excuse to get away. I’d thank my stranger for my wallet and be gone and save him the awkwardness of having to ditch me somehow.
                  “Do you want to go someplace quiet?” I heard him ask.
                  My brows came together in confusion as I continued to look away. “Why?”
                  “Too loud in here.”
                  “I can’t just go. I didn’t come here alone.”
                  When he went quiet, I glanced at him. His face lost all charm, and he suddenly looked cold. “Did you come here with a man?” he demanded tightly.
                  My eyes widened. “It’s my friend. The one on the train you saw all that time ago, if you remember. A girl .”
                  He visibly relaxed, but his mouth still formed a hard line. “Didn’t want to come alone?”
                  “You thought I was stupid enough?”
                  That hard line broke and he smiled with amusement. “Don’t I have the right to?”
                  “Why do you have the right to?”
    “ Slipping your wallet into my pocket wasn’t the brightest thing, was it?”
                  I flushed. He was right. It was the dumbest thing you could think of at the time, but I was strangely thrilled it’d sort of paid off. Even though it took a bloody year. Man, how screwed up was I?
                  “How about we get out of here?” he then said, taking a step closer. He was at least a foot taller than me, even in my heels.
                  “You told me to come here and now you want to go?”
                  “Wanted you to see me in a social environment so you didn’t feel uneasy.”
                  “ Should I feel uneasy?”
                  He shrugged. “You don’t know me. You spoke to me once. I thought it was a good idea.”
                  “Could have asked me to lunch at a restaurant or something.”
                  That smile formed again, and my breath thinned at the raw beauty he was exuding. Was he even aware of it? “I couldn’t get away until now. My days are usually full. Whereas my nights…” His words trailed away as he looked expectantly at me.
                  Even though he could see all my face, I couldn’t look away from his eyes if I tried. I was in a way glad I didn’t have to hide something so obvious. I just guessed he’d have wanted nothing to do with me when he realized I wasn’t what he once remembered.
                  So this was all confusing to me.
                  “I told you I have a friend–”
                  “Tell her you’re coming with me,” he interrupted, not backing down.
                  When I didn’t respond, he added, “If you really wanted to get away with me, you would. If you don’t, then I’m wasting my time here