Shut Up and Kiss Me by Madeline Sheehan, Claire C Riley Read Free Book Online

coffee mug full of pens and pencils. A note, he thought. He should at least leave a note.
    Crossing the room, he scribbled out a short message, adding his phone number at the bottom, confident that she wouldn’t call. In fact, considering how easily embarrassed she was, if he were to wager a guess on how she’d react when she woke up and found him gone, he’d guess she’d be relieved.
    At the thought of her blushing, he smiled slightly. She was pretty damn adorable, and it was a shame they hadn’t met under different circumstances, without the added aphrodisiac of liquor. Dropping the note on her nightstand, he set out into the hallway, cringing when he found her front door slightly ajar.
    Was her roommate home? It didn’t appear as if anyone had been here since them—Mila’s dress still pooled in the middle of the hallway just inside the doorway. Shaking his head, he smiled at the dress as he passed by it, stepped out into the hallway, and closed the door behind him, twisting the knob once to ensure it was locked.
    Once in the hall, he pulled his cell phone free from his jeans, pulling up his address book, he tapped on the name of the person he needed to call.
    “ Morning, sir,” Richard’s deep voice boomed through the phone. “Need a ride?”
    “ I do,” Will answered. Descending the last set of stairs, he pushed open the door to the outside of Mila’s building, squinting as the full force of the sun hit his eyes. Using his hand as a shield, he took a look around the unfamiliar neighborhood.
    “ But I have no damn idea where I am.”
    “ Queens,” Richard responded. “I tracked you there last night. Look left, I’m at the corner.”
    Will glanced down the quiet street, only a handful of people milling about, spotting Richard leaning against his car, the man’s large and hulking frame easily discernible even from this distance.
    Shaking his head and smiling, he hung up, pocketed his phone, and took off down the sidewalk.
    “ I thought you weren’t doing this anymore,” Richard said, smirking.
    Wincing, Will lifted his eyes at his driver, who was also his friend—probably the very best friend he’d ever have and the most down-to-earth person he knew. “I’m not,” he insisted. “Starting right now. And can you please, for fuck’s sake, stop calling me ‘sir’!”
    Richard tipped an imaginary hat. “Whatever you say, sir…”
     

Chapter Four
     
    “ Mila?”
    My name cut through my sleep-addled brain like a blunt knife through a block of crumbling cheese—messy and painful.
    Groaning, I rolled over, studiously ignoring the insistent knocking on my bedroom door.
    “ Mila?”
    “ Go away!” I called out, pressing my face into my pillow, blocking out the glaring sun. “Just go away!”
    The door opened and I listened sulkily as Nikki’s soft footsteps drew closer. The edge of my bed dipped as she took a seat and placed her hand gently on my shoulder. Shrugging her off, I groaned into the pillow. I really wanted to be alone right now.
    I had woken an hour or so before feeling awful. My head had been pounding, my throat dry, and my stomach noisily requesting to be fed. I’d stretched and yawned, edging myself into a sitting position before realizing I was naked. And not only had I been naked, but I’d been alone. He’d left at some point while I’d been sleeping.
    “ How did it go last night?” The bed shifted.
    Knowing she wouldn’t be going away anytime soon, at least not until I gave her all the dirty details, I rolled over and faced her. Her face was washed clean of makeup, her hair pulled back into a low ponytail. She looked nothing like the vixen she had been last night.
    “ It was amazing,” I mumbled, pushing my messy waves out of my eyes.
    “ Oh yeah?” Her eyes scanned the room.
    “ Yeah, he left.” I dragged a hand down my face and groaned. “And I’m so embarrassed.”
    Nikki snorted. “He’s supposed to leave! You didn’t want him moving in, did you? I’m