LooseCorset by Christine Rains Read Free Book Online Page A

then took
in a deep breath, releasing it slowly. “Please.”
    Emily sighed and closed her nail polish bottle. “Fine.
Whatever.”
    Russell peered over his shoulder at me. “You can go now.”
    I frowned at him, refusing to move. I wasn’t going to leave
my best friend alone in a room with a madman. My gaze went to Emily who nodded
once.
    “It’s okay. I’ll be fine.”
    “Call if you need me to come back.” I didn’t like leaving
the room or not having any answers yet, but I backed out to stand in the hall
with Dean. I stared at the door. “Maybe we ought to wait here, just in case.”
    “They’ll be okay. Emily has been avoiding Russ all day,
pushing his buttons. I’ve never seen a girl get under his skin like she does.”
Dean shook his head. “And to top it off, he hasn’t told me what happened
between them. I figured the world would know before breakfast was over. I think
those two have found love just like you and I have.”
    I flinched. I didn’t mean to, but he used the L word!
    “What’s wrong?” Dean reached for my hand. I let him take it,
but didn’t squeeze back when he did.
    “Maybe we should go have a talk too.” Somewhere not in the
hall. But not his room. It was too tempting to not do any talking when a bed
was available. “Let’s go down to the conference room level. There’re a few
seminar rooms not in use at the moment since most people are at dinner.”
    “Okay.” His brows furrowed, but he didn’t question me.
    We made our way to an empty room in silence. It was a small
room that would seat maybe twelve people. Someone had lost a die on the floor
and roughly drawn dungeon maps filled the recycle bin. Dean closed the door and
sat on the edge of the table.
    I tried to look casual, but it was useless. I paced for a
minute before stopping and gripping the back of a chair. Be brave. It’s not
like he was going to go all Fatal Attraction on me. Not that anyone
would suspect it if it were to happen. “Okay. Okay.”
    Gyrfalcon wouldn’t beat around the bush. She’d be
straightforward. “So, right. You and I. I really like you.”
    “I really like you too.” Dean’s tone danced on the edge of
caution.
    “And I’ve never slept with a guy I just met. It’s not
something I do. Though we’ve been friends for a couple years online.”
    “I’ve never done anything like this before either.” He gave
me a sexy little smile.
    Tribbles purred in my stomach. This wasn’t getting any
easier. “Right. Okay, good.” I needed to just spill it. Be calm and reasonable.
Apparently, though, my mouth wasn’t going to listen. “So, Russell told me some
things. He said you were in love with me for a while and that you were stalking
me online. That I needed to break things off with you or else you would go
crazy with heartbreak. And then, you know, we live six hours away from one
another. Long-distance relationships never work. I’m not the type for a fling,
and apparently you’re not either. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
    I said it. Oh my god, I said it. I gripped the chair back
tighter.
    Dean ran his hands through his hair, grabbing at it and
yanking. His face turned red, and he squeezed his eyes closed. Oh frak. He was
going Super Saiyan on me.
    He let out a long, hissing breath and opened his eyes. “Remember
what I told you about Russell?” He paused, and when I didn’t respond, he
continued, “He exaggerates.”
    “Okay.” I blinked, still trying to grasp what he was trying
to say.
    “Look. I follow you on Facebook and Twitter. We chat. The
fact I have you on all my social media doesn’t mean I stalk you. I connect to
all the group like that.” He folded his hands on one leg, but they were
clutched tightly to one another. “I never said I was in love with you. Liked
you a lot, yes. Crushing on you. As I said, Russell exaggerates. I’m so going
to kill him for this.”
    “So you’re not stalking me.” I sagged forward, using the
chair for balance.
    “No.”