Free Fortune's Deception by Karen Erickson Page B

pleasant buzz, the man giving her an even more pleasant buzz. She asked all the right questions, prompting him to divulge his personal life. His parents still married, the oldest of three with a younger brother and sister. A good student, a hard worker, a sentimental man when he talked about his sister’s little boy and girl.
    Lou the dog had snuck in sometime during the evening and he sat at his owner’s feet, an occasional thump of his tail indicating he’d like a snack. Charlie obliged him, sneaking leftover bits of steak or bread.
    Brittney absorbed it all in mute fascination, envious of his simple yet seemingly fulfilling life. She’d thought once she won all the money her life would be perfect and the ache in her heart she didn’t like to acknowledge would ease. None of this had happened. The money only made her lonelier, searching for something she didn’t know how to find.
    She wondered if she could find it in Charlie.
    They had moved onto his couch, glasses of wine still in their hands, soft music playing in the background. Her favorite singer to be exact, Tanner Robinson. His smooth voice crooned low throughout the room, along with the tinkling of a jazzy piano. All of it so cozy, so romantic.
    A girl could get used to this.
    “I’ve talked all night about myself, I’m sure you’re bored.” He sipped from his glass then set it down on the coffee table in front of them. “It’s your turn to share the dirty details.”
    If he only knew how dirty they were . Brittney shrugged, set her wine down next to his. “There’s not much to tell. You know everything about me already.”
    “That’s not true. I only know that you’re a twenty-eight-year-old lottery winner with two best friends and a penchant for expensive items.” He grinned, his tone teasing and she relaxed a bit. “Come on, Britt, you gotta give me something.”
    She couldn’t. She didn’t even know how to begin. Only her friends knew about her past and that had taken everything she had to confess. And she still hadn’t shared all the horrible details. Some things were better left unsaid. “I’m an only child of a single mom who died a few years ago. I did terrible in school and I was always told I’d never amount to anything. Thank God for the lottery, right?”
    She tried to sound light and funny but it came off bitter and twisted. The look on Charlie’s face said it all. Sympathy filled his deep brown eyes and she looked away. She didn’t want his sympathy. She could barely handle this night, all of the emotions it conjured up too overwhelming for her to comprehend.
    No, she wanted his body, pure and simple. His hard cock filling her, his hands stroking her to sexual bliss. That’s what she wanted, needed.
    That’s all she could deal with.
    “Brittney…”
    She leapt from the couch, stood over him. He didn’t plan on giving her what she wanted tonight. He’d made that clear so she had to leave. She couldn’t stand to be around him for another second if he wasn’t going to tear her clothes off and satisfy the ache that had been growing within her the minute she walked into his house.
    “I should go, Charlie. Thanks for the dinner, it was wonderful.”
    Practically running to the door, her low-heeled sandals clicked loudly on the tile floor. She didn’t hear him follow. A startled gasp escaped from her lips when his long fingers curled around her upper arm.
    “Brittney, stop.”
    She stood still, waited for him to say something. She had nothing to say, too afraid of what might come out of her mouth if she looked at him, if he said something sweet.
    Don’t let me go. Hold me tonight. Make me feel better.
    No, she didn’t want to admit any of that.
    “Would you like to get together sometime this week? Go out to dinner, see a movie?”
    She closed her eyes for the briefest moment. Why did he even bother? Why did he insist on treating this like something more, treating her like something more? “I don’t