Crown Jewels by Ella James

Author:Ella James [James, Ella]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Barkley's Books
Published: 2016-11-18T05:00:00+00:00

NINETEEN

Lucy

His eyes are hot and earnest. Burning. All I want in the whole world is to lean up and find his mouth with mine. And equally I know I can’t. I need to tell him first. The mere thought sends a splash of terror through my bloodstream. I step back and take a slow breath. Fold my arms.

“You’re not so bad yourself.”

Liam laughs.

“I’m great with compliments. I know.” I toss my hair again; this time it’s really bugging me. “I’ve got a good idea.” The words roll out before I think about them. “How about I stay for two more nights: this one and tomorrow night. And we hang out—as friends. Purely platonic, friendy friends, like…I don’t know. Platonic people. Middle schoolers.”

Liam snorts, then smiles.

I smile back. “Okay, maybe not like middle schoolers, but we get to know each other. We don’t even know each other really, right?”

He nods slowly. As he does, he folds his arms over his chest: something I’ve realized that he does when he’s feeling reserved.

“So, we get to know each other. All about each other. Except…that. Then the day after tomorrow, if we still…” I arch my eyebrows. “If we still. Then we can. We’ll both be going in with eyes open. It won’t just be a random hookup.”

“No random hookups for Lucille Rhodes, huh?” His lids are low again. I have to force my eyes to stay on his face when they really want to wander down.

I shake my head. “We Southern girls are more discerning.”

He laughs. “Are you?” His mouth twists skeptically.

“Are you saying that you don’t believe me? Are you questioning my virtue, Prince Liam?” I stab a fingertip at his chest.

His eyes shut. I feel his sternum rise and fall below my finger. “No touching,” he finally breathes.

“So…none of this.” I drag my finger down the flat plane in the middle of his sharp-cut abs. He exhales deeply. I can see his face tighten. “Teasing is just mean,” I whisper, stroking just under his pecs.

His eyes open. He takes a slow step back, giving me a confused look as he does. “Yes,” he rasps. “It’s mean.”

I can’t stop the giggle that bursts from my mouth. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s gotten into me.”

His eyebrows lift as his mouth curves. “You’re finding this harder than I am.”

“Oh, it’s hard.” I snicker.

Liam laughs, his head dropping back, so I can see his yummy throat. I want to bite it like a vampire. When he looks at me again, his eyes are warm.

My cheeks are.

“I’m not usually this way,” I tell him, folding my own arms.

He moves closer to me, stopping with about a foot of distance between us. I can feel him want to touch me—but he doesn’t. He just smiles, the gentle smile, the one I like almost as much as I like his boisterous laugh.

“I know you’re not, Lucille.” The way he sounds—it’s like he really knows. It’s like he knows me.

“You better stop using that dirty word, or I’ll use yours.

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