Page 1 (1/2)
Chapter One
Pierce studied his reflection in the full-length mirror Worn jeans, a solid-colored T-shirt, and black work boots would be his uniform for the weekend A far cry froent The habitual helplessness that always assailed him when it came to Demi Fox infused him with an aard vulnerability he couldn’t shake The curvy caramel-skinned woman who’d been one of his closest friends since diapers had no clue how she affected hi to keep a lid on his dirty little secret The star quarterback in college never gave a fuck about the cheerleaders throwing theed for his bookish best friend He licked his lips
The ti their friendship was over They weren’t young kids trying to figure out who they were, and still he wanted her with an all-consues of her in his head If he waited any longer, he ht of anotherhis hands on what Pierce saw as his turned his vision red Yeah, this setup had been the only option Money could work ht people, and this event planner had pulled out all the stops As well she should’ve for her astronoe Pierce had known Deood fit, so this should be a cinch, right?
He placed a hand on his aching stomach, reverted to that of a kid who’d consumed too much candy This would either work out or fail epically His pocket vibrated It was three o’clock The duffel bag had been delivered Ti was delivered thiswith a to-do list and a personal note Be sure to arrive to her place with a spirit of adventure in your heart He rolled his eyes at the position he’d been placed in Demi loved the show Seeker, all about a bounty hunter, Roman Stone, who specialized in the paranorirl, and lobe swoon De and secretly envied She had no proble her nose at society to do exactly as she pleased One of the many qualities he admired about her For years he hoped she’d open those whiskey-brown eyes full of intelligence and realize he stood in the wings, waiting to be noticed If sweeping her off her feet and granting her wish to live an episode of Seeker didn’t win her over, nothing would
He walked over to the bed, hefted the weighty duffel over his shoulder, and headed for the door In for a penny, in for a pound His boots thudded over the wood flooring In a perfect world, everything would work out flawlessly They’d explore the haunted hotel at their own pace, stay in a roohtened around the handle The unknoas scary, and this would be a uts, there’d be no taking it back He opened the car door to the black SUV he was sure the company rented solely because it was the same make and model as the one driven in the show
He unlocked the door, tossed the bag in the backseat, and slid behind the wheel He turned the engine over Before he pulled out the driveway, he picked up the iPod and scrolled down to Deh the speaker The long way to Deood twenty to twenty-five What will she think of this? He ran over the different scenarios, doing his best to prepare himself for all of them By the time he pulled into her driveway, his hway
He took a deep breath, turned off the car, and got out Heart pounding like a jackhammer, he stopped on her porch and knocked Half a second later, the door flew open, and a blurred shape came at him A warm body almost bowled him over, and he scra sweet kisses over his face
“You are a, Pierce Lane” She cupped his face and leaned back “I can’t believe you did this all for me It’s not even h to his soul
“Des I need to say to you That I’ve been thinking about for some time”
“Is everything okay?” Her happiness level plummeted, and he mentally kicked herself
“Yeah, it’s just so I’ve wanted to talk to you about for a while Now that we’ll have soe of that”
“You keep cos like this, and I’ll declare surprises from Pierce Lane are to be epic”
He laughed, giving her a squeeze as he struggled to keep all his blood fro to his dick She was solid, his Demi Half an inch shy of six feet, she rocked the curves of an Ao?”