The Jaded: Reclaim Me Part 34

"But he's gorgeous. I mean, seriously... if it was me, I'd be in his car heading for his crib already," Suzie continued, "and he's still looking at you! Girl, you better snag him up before I beat you to it."

"Snag away! Tonight I just want to hang out with my girls and enjoy myself, man free..." It was true that I might have been slightly attracted to the man, but that sense of ent.i.tled confidence in those determined, focused eyes made me feel unsettled. I had dipped into the pool of s.e.xy, headstrong men before and it only screwed with my life. So, gorgeous or not, I was not about to walk down that road again.

"Don't listen to Suzie. If you aren't ready, then take your time," Diana responded, ignoring Suzie's deathly glares.

"Well thank G.o.d someone understands me." What would I do without my best friend? I thought to myself.

After a few more drinks, and lots of laughter, I was beyond my limit; and from what I could tell, so were the girls. We gathered our things and headed out of the bar.

"Man, I'm going to have such a headache tomorrow," Diana, slurred as she tried to hail a cab, swaying slightly.

"You and me both, " I responded as I tried to focus my eyes on my cell phone. Closing one eye, I could just make out some emails from work. I should have probably tried to read them right away, but I really did not want to ruin my night.

"I can give you a lift, ma belle," the smooth voice said from behind me. The Frenchman... man, he really didn't know how to take a hint.

It didn't hurt that his French accent was rich, and thick, and oh so s.e.xy, but no amount of sweet-talking would get him anywhere with me. I was done with men like him. Men who sweet-talked you right out of your panties, made you fall in love with them and then broke your heart into a million pieces, leaving you alone and broken. Never again!

"You're just so sure of yourself aren't you? I bet the girls you normally hit on can't wait to get into your car, huh? Well, not me, sorry buddy," I fired back at him, not even bothering to turn around. The nerve of him.

I heard him laugh under his breath and that brought a surge of anger through me. "So you think it's funny that I'm not falling at your feet? Well, other women might fall all over themselves to get a piece of you, but I will not! I know your type and I'm not interested!"

"I'm sorry if I offended you. It truly was not my intention, but you are absolutely stunning when you're angry."

"Really?" I asked, turning around to face him. "That's your big line. Does that actually work with other women? Am I supposed to just fall in love with you right here, right now?" I asked with my hands balled into fists at my sides. I was not going to let another sweet talking playboy take advantage of me.

"It wasn't a line Mon amour, merely the truth. Can I help it if I find you attractive? I don't mean to offend you at all." He stared into my eyes with such conviction that I almost believed him. While my anger at him deflated some, for my own protection I couldn't afford to believe him. I did not know if I would ever again have it in me to trust another man.

I sighed.

I could not remember the last time a man pursued me with such determination. After breaking up with Adam, I dove headfirst into working and made no time for romance. I needed to heal. Now that I had, I was flattered even though I was disappointed the Frenchman was obviously a playboy.... Just a little! I mean, what woman wouldn't want to be pursued by such an undeniably sensual man? The way his beautiful eyes darkened with desire each time he looked at me left me feeling weak at the knees and my self-preservation slowly crumbled under the weight of his pa.s.sionate gaze.

Although I knew I could never trust a man like him, I could not deny that a part of me, now pulsating and tingling between my legs, wondered what it would be like to have s.e.x with such an obviously sensual, domineering man... Have him master my body and set my soul on fire.

"Well, I appreciate the offer, but I can't leave with you," was all I managed to say. Tempted as I was to give into this s.e.xy Frenchman, I could not allow myself to lose focus. He's a player Em, end of story!

"Ah, yes she can," chimed in an eavesdropping Suzie. She pushed me into the arms of this perfect stranger, my hands landed on his hard sculpted, chest, which instantly sobered me up, and heat raced through my body.

"The h.e.l.l I am! I don't know him," I said, widening my eyes at my insane friend, my hands still firmly pressed against his chest.

"I promise I'll be a perfect gentleman, Mon amour," he said as he took hold of my left hand.

His hand was much bigger and stronger against my own much smaller one, and while the sudden touch sent a warm tingle racing throughout my body, my brain understood clearly what my body did not, I could not allow myself to become prey to this dark, s.e.xy man. I pulled my hand away, "you've got to be kidding me," I said, trying not to focus on the way he said 'Mon amour.' Foreign men and their accents. Why did we girls have to be such suckers for a beautiful man with an accent?

"Excuse us a second?" Suzie said sweetly to the Frenchman as she pulled me a few feet away. "Look, you haven't dated anyone since Adam and I know that it was hard to get over him, but really Em-look at that man..." she pointed in his direction and continued "men like that come around once in a lifetime. While Adam is plain old vanilla, that man right there is oh so yummy Creme Brlee," she said with a pleading look on her face.

An internal battle erupted inside of me, leaving me confused. Here my friend stood making complete sense and yet despite her logic and the growing need at my core, my mind could not allow me to forget the one thing that I knew for sure; he was in fact a player. That look in his eyes earlier told me all I needed to know, but for some reason the rest of my body seemed to yearn for him in a way that it had never yearned for another, Adam included.

"What about you guys, I can't just leave you out here alone at one in the morning," I knew it was a stretch, but I was desperate for a reason why I should not go with the Frenchman. The truth was, even if he wasn't like Adam, I could not comprehend the idea of being with another man. It was still too soon, wasn't it?

"Look at him!" was all Suzie said. I could not deny that a big part of me wanted to go with him, but a bigger part of me wanted to run away and hide. The only problem was I was not the "running away" type of girl. Every challenge I have ever faced I've done so head on. I enjoyed the thrill of facing the impossible, to conquer and overcome it. Am I really going to do this? Am I really going to go home with the Frenchman? Maybe he means to just offer me a ride home. Yeah, right, Emily, I snorted, rolling my eyes at my inner voice, of course that's what he wants!

"Fine, but if they find my body in some alley somewhere tomorrow morning, just know that my blood is on your hands," I warned her even as my friend hugged me encouragingly.

"You'll be fine, I know it!" Suzie dragged me back to the man while smiling from ear to ear.

Suzie had always been the adventurous one of the group. She feared nothing and had the ability to seize each day despite the many curve b.a.l.l.s life often threw at her. After a bad marriage and a career change, she managed to somehow grab life by the b.a.l.l.s and will it to do her bidding. I envied her carefree, confident spirit, especially when it came to men. While I allowed my breakup with Adam to turn my life upside down, she would have long since moved on. Therefore, tonight I would channel her amazing spirit.

"Have fun y'all," she said as she walked over to Diana, who had a look on her face that I could not quite interpret. At first glance, it looked like jealousy, but I knew that that could not be accurate. Still, I made a mental note to ask her about it tomorrow.

"Shall we?" the Frenchman said as he stuck out his arm for me. Hesitantly, I took it.

I looked up at him and narrowed my eyes, "First things first, mister... I need a name. Just in case you decide you're a rapist tonight, I need to know who to hunt down." Though he seemed to take what I said as a joke, I was far from joking; my face was as serious as possible.

"Julien Belmont, it is a pleasure to meet you," he said as he brought my hand to his incredibly soft lips, while still smiling. Almost instantly, I felt my defenses melting. Dang!

"Julien... of course... well, I'm Emily Roberts," I said while staring at his lips. It was at that moment I knew that I was in for trouble...

Want to read more of Discovered, Book One of The Cover Series?.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR.

Alex Grayson is originally from the south, but has recently moved to Northern Ohio. Although she misses the warmth of Florida and often times detest the cold of Ohio, she absolutely loves living in the north. She and her husband have a house on two acres of land and live there with their daughter, one dogs, two cats, ten ducks, and five chickens. She hopes to eventually get a couple of goats to add to their country way of living. Besides her family and home, her next best pa.s.sion is reading. She is often found with her nose obsessively stuck in a book, much to the frustration of her husband and daughter. On more than one occasion Alex found herself wanting a book to go a certain way, but it didn't. With these thoughts in mind, she decided to start writing stories according to her own visions. Although this is a new endeavor for her, she hopes that readers find her concepts on romance intriguing and captivating. Alex welcomes and encourages feedback, of any kind..

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