Free Bad Boy (An Indecent Proposal) by J. C. Reed, Jackie Steele

do
you want, Chase?”
    He
hesitated. Dropping his hand, he took a step back and leaned against the wall,
his posture implying that he had no intention of leaving anytime soon.
    “Why do you
assume I want something?” Chase asked.
    I stared at
him. “Are you serious? You had a folder with an estimate of what my inheritance
is worth.”
    His
lips tightened, and a guilty expression fell on his face. At last he crossed his arms over his chest,
his eyes avoiding me.
    I used the
silence to search for the most oversized piece of clothing I had, and found
nothing in the mess I had left behind the night before.
    A thong
fell from between my clothes. Chase picked it up and lifted it to inspect it. I
thought I might just die from mortification.
    “Are you
kidding me? Give it back.” I yanked it out of his hands.
    Unfazed, he
sifted through my clothes until he found a short, red dress that belonged to
Jude. “You should wear it today.”
    I grabbed
it from him, meeting his gaze. “Stop touching my things, okay? I’m not going
out with you.”
    “It was
merely a suggestion.” His eyes sparkled with delight. I braced myself for
another one of his suggestions, but none came. Instead, his gaze remained glued
to my every move. Up close, he smelled fantastic—a deep, manly scent.
    A deep pull
settled between my legs.
    I wanted
him so bad, it hurt, and yet I couldn’t act on my desire.
    I really
had to change the topic—do whatever it took to distract myself from my
stupid attraction to him.
    “You didn’t
answer my first question. What are you doing here?” I found a pair of jeans and
a top
    “Relax,
Laurie. I have no intention of staying here.”
    I squeezed
my clothes against my chest, the layers of fabric helping to strengthen my
mental barrier. “You still had no right to come and see me.”
    “You’re
right.” Something hard flashed across his face. He tried to hide it by turning
his back to me and walking out of the closet, but I caught it nonetheless. I
thought he had left so I peered out. He regarded me from the minibar, which I
had raided earlier.
    “May I?” He
pointed to a bottle of something.
    “I’m going
to change.” I shrugged, not bothering to answer.
    While he
kept himself busy with the bottles and glasses, I used the opportunity to dress
quickly, all the while listening to make sure he wouldn’t try to come in.
    But my fear
was unfounded.
    He left me
alone.
    He didn’t
look.
    Not once.
    He gave me
all the privacy I needed.
    When I
returned to the bedroom, he was sitting on the bed, two glasses of alcohol in
his hand, his gaze focused on the floor. He passed me my glass, then patted the
space next to him. “Sit down.”
    Under
different circumstances I wouldn’t have followed his command, but there was
something in his voice—an urgency—that made me listen to him.
    That, and
the fact that the room had no other sitting opportunities.
    It was just
the bed—a bitter reminder of our time together.
    At last, I
sat down, watching him. In the silence of the room, he took a few sips from his
glass, his gaze avoiding me.
    “I admit I
wasn’t always truthful,” he started. “I admit a few wrong things.”
    “You
married me to get my inheritance,” I said coldly.
    “I can’t
deny that,” he whispered and closed his eyes. “But it needed to be done.”
    Tears began
to sting my eyes, and bitterness rose in my chest. Somewhere at the brink of my
mind, I realized that everything I had feared was true. He had been after my
inheritance all along. He had used me. And now he was talking more bullshit.
    “Wow.
You’re an asshole.” I almost choked on my voice. “You don’t even try to claim
otherwise.”
    “I told you
a few lies, Laurie. But not everything I told you was a lie.” He took a deep
breath. I could see that he was struggling with something.
    “Yeah?” My
eyebrows shot up, my voice dripping with bitterness. “Like what?”
    “Like the
fact that I’d never harm