Memory: Book Two (Scars 2) Read Free

that backs onto this part of the beach.”
    She
frowned. “That’s weird that I didn’t know that. My mom knows practically everything
about everyone who buys real estate around here…”
     As
I leaned my head back to take the last drips of my drink into my mouth, another
bottle was held out to me. I set my empty bottle in the sand and took the new
one.
    “Thanks,”
I told Ryan. He had squeezed in between me and Ollie, and I nearly laughed as
she rolled her eyes at his back. His attention was fully on me as if there were
no one else here. He wanted me, and he wasn’t shy about it. I let my lips curve
into a slight smug smile. This was a good feeling; knowing that I held the
upper hand for once.
    “So
what do you do?” he asked.
    “I
work at a diner down town.” His hand was rubbing my bare shoulder, an act that
was anything but innocent, but I didn’t shrug it away. If anything, there was
an urge to lean in closer and enjoy the feel of his fingers on my skin. The
other hand stroked my cheek, brushing it with his thumb like he was wiping away
a tear. Or maybe that was my imagination, or maybe the alcohol, creating an
imaginary world where there was someone to soothe me and wipe away my misery.
    He
leaned in closer, and for a moment I thought that he would kiss me and I didn’t
know what I would do if he did. I wanted to feel precious and coveted, I wanted
to feel adored in a way I never would be with Aaron who knew all the bad things
about me. But with this handsome man who touched me with soft hands, with him I
could be someone else and happy for just an instant.
    “Why
do you always look so sad,” Ryan asked in a low tone so no one else could hear.
“I never see you smile, not really. You’re like this sad princess living in
that glass tower, locked away from everyone else.”
    A
longtime ago, I would have scoffed at his words. I would have laughed at how
ridiculous they sounded, but right at that moment, they touched me. It was like
he saw me, and more than that, I liked being called a princess, and if I were a
princess, what did that make Aaron? A prince or the dragon guarding me?
    Everything
in me went cold at the thought of Aaron, and as Ryan came in even closer, his
mouth aiming for mine, I put a hand on his chest to stop him.
    “I
live with my boyfriend,” I choked out. It was hard to wrap my mouth around the
word ‘boyfriend’ because that wasn’t exactly what we were.  Ryan paused, and
shifted slightly back. He wasn’t mad, or even upset, he just gave a nod.
    “I
knew that, actually. That dark haired guy that you live with? I guessed you
were with him.” He took a breath, finally removing his hands from me. “But
shouldn’t you be happy? You’re not happy, Paige. I’ve been watching for you for
a long time now, and the sadness around you…that must be suffocating.”
    I
stared at him, and to my horror my eyes began to prick with threatening tears.
His response was to wrap his arms around my shoulders and pull me in close. There
was nothing sexual about this though, this was pure comfort. For an instant, I
relaxed. My muscles loosened as I forgot about that constant tension that tied
me up in knots. All I could think of was how kind he was being, how sweet, how
comforting, how fucking naïve. He would be the perfect mark; one who
thought with his penis yet believed that I was innocent and needed some form of
protection, that I was incapable of anything other than purity. I could drain
him dry of every bit of cash that he had like a vampire sucks blood. It would
be simple. I would play the sweet maiden and put him in the position as my
rescuer, setting him up so that he thought that he held all the power when in
fact—
    Shit.
    My
hand had come to rest on the arm that pulled me to him, as if driven by the
evil in my mind without even being conscious of it. That hand was seduction
tinged with ill intent and I pulled it suddenly from his skin as if I were
burning. I stood, thrusting his arm