Kiss Me Often (Southern Kisses Series) by Kimberly James

Author:Kimberly James [James, Kimberly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-09-19T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

Caroline’s heart raced as she leaned against the front door, eyes closed, listening to the rumble of Ethan’s truck grow fainter until it faded completely.

What the hell just happened?

She struggled to get her breath, trying to make sense of it. Her body still hummed with all those delicious sensations Ethan so easily coaxed from her. She’d been so ready, so eager for him it surprised her.

Then he’d changed his mind? She’d been out of the game for a while, but from what she’d observed from her single friends deep in the dating pool, most men were looking for what she’d offered Ethan, a no-strings night of physical release, and in the end he hadn’t delivered.

And he wanted three dates? After he’d rejected her?

“Fat chance, buddy,” she said, pushing off the door.

She stalked into the living room. Ignored the mantel. She couldn’t look there. Wouldn’t look there. Humiliation burned a hole in her chest, and one look at those pictures of Kipp would be her complete undoing.

She snatched Ethan’s wineglass from the console behind the couch. If she were a different kind of person, she’d slam that glass against the fireplace, take joy in the sound of shattering glass. Instead, she carried it to the kitchen and turned on the water and washed it clean where Ethan’s mouth had touched it. Something warm slid down her cheek and into the corner of her mouth, salting her tongue.

Was she actually crying? She wiped furiously at the tears, offering a silent thank-you that Josh wouldn’t be coming home to find her in such a state. No wonder she’d been so reluctant to put herself out there. There wasn’t a man on earth worth risking her pride, her peace of mind.

On her way back through the living room, she set the pillows back to rights on the couch. Turned the gas fireplace off, shut the music down, erased any traces of the ill-conceived deal she’d made with Ethan.

Once upstairs, she put on her biggest T-shirt and a pair of flannel pajama pants. No sexy nighty for her. She scrubbed her face clean of the extra shimmer she’d added to her cheeks. And as she brushed her teeth, her heart slowed and the feeling of impending doom faded, and as she looked at herself in the mirror, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Reclaimed some of the inner peace she’d allowed Ethan to take from her.

In her growing calm, the thought popped into her head that Ethan pulling the emergency brake on their night of no-strings sex was kind of sweet. Maybe a little romantic. How many men would turn down an offer of no-strings sex? None that she’d ever met. Ethan had seemed genuinely distraught, a truckload of regretful. Too bad she wasn’t after sweet and romantic. She wanted down and dirty. They’d agreed on down and dirty, dammit.

She retreated to her empty bed and picked her book up off the bedside table. The words on the pages blurred, none of them making any sense.

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