Not About Love (This Love Book 2) Read Free Page A

either taken, too old, or too drunk.
    I walked toward the doors just as the thirty-second countdown started, but someone grabbed my arm. I closed my eyes, mentally preparing for the worst.
    Great . Now I had to get some idiot off of me. I thought of a sarcastic remark to fire at the idiot, but when I turned around, I came face to face with…Boyd.
    “Where are you going?” he asked, leaning toward me and raising his voice so I could hear him. The musicians on stage with Lou were yelling the countdown, and everyone had joined in. His grip on my arm grew tighter, no matter how much I tried to disentangle myself.
    “I’m going home!” I shouted over the noise. “Let me go!” I tried to pull my arm from his hold.
    “No,” he grumbled with a shake of his head.
    What the fuck?
    “Boyd, let me go…”
    He looked down, as if he was thinking or waiting for something. Why didn’t he let me go? Why did he care whether I left or not?
    Three, two, one…Happy New Year!
    As the entire place erupted into cheers, people around us started kissing, hugging, and yelling at the top of their lungs. The scene happening around me distracted me and made me lose my focus. I forgot about my endangered escape and the man forcing me to stay. A moment later, Boyd pulled my body against his. I only had a second to wonder what was going on before he grabbed my face and brought his mouth down to mine. Our lips touched, and his felt beautiful and perfect under my own. Truth be told, I was surprised I could even feel them. I had never kissed a man with such an impressive beard before, and Boyd’s lips were definitely not lost under all that facial hair. They were warm and had a faint taste of whiskey. I didn’t care. It was the kiss I wanted.
    A New Year’s Eve kiss.
    Only, it wasn’t.
    The friendly, cautious peck on the lips soon changed into something different.
    My lips parted and he wasted no time before teasing my tongue with his, brushing, sucking, exploring my mouth. The kiss didn’t end even after that. It went on, and as it did, he brought me closer to him, pressing me even more against his hard body, his hard everything, kneading the skin of my butt with his glorious, big man hands. Something stirred in my lower areas. Excitement. Arousal. It was all grand, but also extremely dangerous. This guy was no match for me. This could only end in a massive train wreck. I needed to stick to my original plan. I needed to get out of there.
    I broke the kiss and as I opened my eyes, I met his, wild and full of lust.
    His breathing was heavy, his pupils dilated. I could tell he was going to kiss me again, and I wanted him to, but it seemed like an awful, awful idea. His brother was a friend of mine. I didn’t want to complicate things. I didn’t do complicated. At all.
    “We shouldn’t,” I hesitated. He frowned, and his eyes looked even darker.
    “We shouldn’t or you don’t want to?” he asked in a raspy voice. “If you don’t want to, that’s one thing, and I’ll gladly turn around and leave.” He quickly glanced at his brother on stage and then turned his attention to me.
    “If, however, you think we shouldn’t just because you’re my brother’s friend, I’d tell you we’re both grownups, and as long as you don’t expect anything from me other than a night of pure passion, you won’t be sorry.” He whispered the last words in my ear, sending a shiver down my spine.
    A smile stretched across my face. His offer was tempting. Wait.
    “I’m sorry, did you just say ‘a night of pure passion’ out loud?” I teased him. I expected a scowl, but was surprised by the playful smirk that appeared on his face.
    I met his eyes and noticed his mood was so much lighter, so different than the person I had hung out with all evening. He licked his lips and I exhaled a loud breath.
    Jiminy Christmas, Ally, get ahold of yourself!
    “I’m going to kiss you again, Ally.” It wasn’t a question.
    He kissed me gently at first. His lips