Voyeur Extraordinaire(55)

And then there was Adrian. His kisses had been wonderful and his touch had set fire to my skin. My heart ached when I thought of his words. He'd done what he'd always done. I shouldn't have been surprised. Sex was all he wanted.

Not that Chris wouldn’t have gone all the way with me three years ago if I’d let him. Truth be told, he would have taken me right there on the passenger seat of his truck if I hadn't stopped him.

Men...

If I really thought it through, I would probably prefer Adrian to Chris, because he at least didn't want me anymore now that he'd gotten what he'd wanted. Chris on the other hand...

I shook my head and made a quick decision. Childish or not, I was going to climb through that damn window. I could not bear a conversation with Adrian or Chris right now. I pushed the window up very slowly, careful not to make any noise. I didn't hear Chris or Adrian anymore but I wouldn't let that lure me out of the bathroom. They were probably waiting silently for me to make an appearance. No way!

I stared down at myself. It would be difficult to climb with the dress, but there wasn't anything I could do about it now. I knelt on the windowsill and pulled the skirt of my dress up. Now I was really glad that I wasn’t wearing high heels. I poked my head out of the window and realized it wasn't as close to the ground as I'd hoped. The slope was the reason for my little predicament.

Someone knocked at the door. “Nora, it's me, Chris.”

My eyes widened. They were still waiting. I needed to get away. Now. How to do this best?

I sat down on the edge, but decided that it was better if I didn't see what lay below. I turned around awkwardly and knelt on the windowsill. Then I slowly slid my legs past the edge until they were dangling over the ground as I clung to the windowsill. My skirt had ridden up quite a bit, revealing more of my thighs than I'd deem appropriate. Now I just needed to let go, but I didn't know if I could manage to land on my feet. I'd probably end up on my butt, or worse on my face. Good thing that my dress was green. That way grass stains wouldn’t stand out too much.

“You look like you need help.”

Holy shit. I almost let go of the windowsill. Adrian.





Chapter Eighteen





What had I done to deserve so much bad luck? I closed my eyes and rested my forehead against the stone facade, my arms growing tired from holding my weight. Taking a deep breath, I stared straight at the wall. Maybe if I pretended he wasn’t there, Adrian would leave. From the corner of my eye, I saw black trouser legs come into my view and a moment later hands reached out for my waist, but they halted before they touched me.

“May I?”

I stopped a very bad insult from leaving my lips and sucked in a deep breath to calm myself. I would act like an adult, though hanging from a window wasn't making this quest any easier. Maybe I could reach Adrian with my legs and kick him, then he'd perhaps leave me alone.

He still hadn't grabbed my waist, waiting for my permission. I wanted to snort, and slap him.

“It's not as if you haven't touched me there before,” I said snarkily, feeling the color rise into my cheeks, and was glad that he couldn't see it.

Huh, where had the snarkiness come from? I congratulated myself silently for my witty comment.

My smugness vaporized when his warm hands took hold of my waist, his touch making my body tingle. How could a simple touch through clothes still make me yearn for him? Memories of last night came back. I thought of everything I'd hoped this date would turn out to be, and all the things that it hadn't been. I let go of the windowsill and Adrian caught me easily. He was strong, but he had proven that yesterday already when he’d banged me against the wall without breaking a sweat. Adrian set me down to the ground gently.

“Trying to escape from Chris Cummings?” He tried to sound funny but his voice was too strained for that.

“Actually, I was trying to escape from you as well,” I told him pointedly, evening out the crinkles in my dress and staring intently at the ground. My face still felt hot and I knew the blush wouldn't leave my cheeks as long as he was so close. He'd let go of my waist already but we were still close, too close. I took a step back.

“Did you?” he asked softly.

I couldn't help but lift my gaze and look at him. His green eyes were gentle and he looked...guilty?

I tried to say something snide or witty to his question, but now that I was face to face with him, wittiness wasn't such an easy feat anymore. I hated myself for my inability to despise him wholly. When I looked into his handsome face, I still felt attracted to him. I wanted to tear my hair out in frustration. How could I still want him? Maybe I was masochistic.

“What are you doing here anyway?”

“It’s my parents’ anniversary.”