Swallowed (Devoured #2) by Hazel Kelly Read Free Book Online Page A

wife and his life back.
    Julianna. He had to stop seeing her. This was the
perfect excuse. Now was the time to cut ties. He couldn’t afford to lose his
nerve.
    He punched the text into his phone. I’m sorry.
We’re through. I can’t do this anymore. He hit the send button and waited
until the “message sent” icon popped up. Then he deleted it from his outbox.
    He wanted to surprise Madeline with something to
celebrate her finally coming around, for deciding to fight for them. He drove
to a small store on the edge of campus that sold lingerie and got out of the
car. He wasn’t sure the vibe would be right when he got home, but when the
moment came, he wanted to give her something that would make her feel sexy and
beautiful, two things he knew she hadn’t felt in a long time.
    He walked into the shop and looked around for a few
minutes. He knew better than to get underwear. He’d made that mistake once
before, and when it doesn’t fit perfectly, it can really kill the moment. He
needed something safe, something elegant.
    When he saw the short nightdress made of red silk, he
knew instantly it was the one. It was tasteful and classy. Just like her. There
was nothing about it she wouldn’t like. 
    He walked to the register, put it down on the
counter, and rang the bell. A young woman smacking her chewing gum like a cow
appeared from behind a curtain at the back of the store. She was about to speak
when Kirk’s phone rang.
    “One second,” he said, raising his pointer finger
and the phone. “Hello.”
    “You want to explain that message to me?”
    Kirk turned to the woman behind the counter. “Sorry.
Can you give me one second? I have to take this.” Kirk walked outside quickly
and was relieved to find the sidewalk empty. “Julianna. Hi.”
    “What’s going on?”
    He didn’t want to piss her off. She was the dean’s
daughter and it was vital that he ended things on adult terms, but the anger in
her voice worried him.
    “Did I do something wrong? Hello?”
    “No, Julianna. You didn’t do anything wrong.” Kirk
kept his voice down and looked around like a paranoid drug dealer. “You know I
care about you. I just think it’s time we stop this. It’s not healthy for
either of us.”
    “You didn’t seem to have a problem on Tuesday when I
was lick-”
    “I know. I know,” he said. “But if you really care
about me, you’ll understand.” He leaned against the side of the brick building.
“I need to focus on my marriage. It’s important. I never should’ve let things
go this far with you. It’s all my fault.”
    Silence.
    “Are you there?” Kirk pulled at the hair at the back
of his head. “Do you understand?”
    “You know I care about you. That’s not fair.”
    “I know.”
    “I’ve been the only one taking care of you,
too!”
    Kirk winced. “I know.”
    “This is not over.”
    “I’m afraid it is. It has to be.”
    “Not like this,” Julianna pleaded.
    “Please don’t be upset. We can still be friends.”
    “Sorry,” Julianna said. “But we can never be
friends. Not after what we’ve done.”
    “What do you want me to say?”
    “I want you to say this to my face.”
    “Will that really make you feel better?”
    “Kirk, c’mon,” she said. “At least let me say good
bye. That’s all I want. Just to be with you one more time.”
    Kirk sighed. “That’s all you want?”
    “Yeah.”
    “And then we’ll go our separate ways?”
    “Sure,” she said. “Besides Tuesdays and Thursdays at
eleven.”
    He rolled his eyes. “Right. Besides class time.”
    “Okay. But I have to see you one more time. I really
don’t think that’s asking too much.”
    “When?”
    “Tomorrow night. Eight o’clock at the Union Hotel.”
    “The Union?”
    “Yeah. Why not? Don’t you think we should do
something a little bit special? For our last time together?”
    “Okay, Julianna. I’ll see you then.”
    He looked at the phone in his adulterous hand. What
choice did he have? It