Free A World Away (A New Adult Romance Novel) by Lila Lacroix Page A

I looked up at the night sky, breathing in the cool air, allowing it to flow through my core, and I felt so alive. I felt calm, at peace, despite the complete and total chaos happening only feet away from me.
    I don’t know how long I was up there, gazing up at the sky, willing my mind to completely empty itself. What I do know was that all of a sudden I heard the door to the balcony open again, bringing me back down to earth, back from my reverie. Damn, I guess some of those drunk idiots finally figured out you could get up here.
    I turned around to tell them off, but the instant I spun around I stopped. My body melted. I was staring directly into the eyes of Philippe Vaillancourt. I gaped at him, my body outwardly frozen, while my insides tumbled around. Electricity radiated though me, coursing through every fiber of my body. Desire made itself evident, my sex muscles clenching as I looked at Philippe’s perfect face, sculpted like a Greek statue, those dark eyes, so piercing, so strong, gazing at me. The hardness of his face was broken with a smile, revealing those dimples I liked to see so much. Why did this man have such an effect on me?
    “Hey ,” I finally said, hoping I sounded casual enough.
    “Sophie. I did not expect to see you at this party.”
    “Why not? It’s a free country.”
    “Well, I’m not sure why not. I guess I didn’t think you would be a student at the University.”
    “Yes, I’m here as part of the exchange program. What about you? Surely you’re older than me.”
    “I’m a graduate student now. But yes, I do attend the University as well. I never would have picked you as being so young.”
    “How old do you think I am? And remember, no matter what you answer, I have the right to be insulted.”
    Philippe laughed. It was so pure, so beautiful a sound. Compared to his husky, deep voice, his laugh rang completely clearly, and the instant the noise reached my ears I knew I wanted to hear it again. I wanted to make him laugh. Good lord, what was wrong with me?
    “I would say you are twenty two.”
    “Twenty. Off by two years. How dare you think I’m an old maid of twenty two?”
    Again, that laugh. I could feel my body’s reaction, the way juices began to form inside of me when I heard it. Everything about this man turned me on. He was electrifying. I both wanted him to go away and wanted him to take me right here on the balcony at the same time.
    “Why are you up here, Sophie? Why do you not go have fun, with the others?”
    “I don’t drink.”
    “It is rare for a girl of your age to not drink ,” Philippe continued, but he didn’t press. I didn’t reply. Eventually, I broke the silence.
    “What about you? Why are you here?”
    “I have some friends, they are down below. They are heavy drinkers, and they desired to come tonight to find some young girls to have a good time with. They dragged me along with them, as I had no good excuse to not come. But for myself, I prefer not to drink. I know only too well the dangers that come with letting one’s guard down.”
    At that last sentence I jerked my head to the side to look at him. Those deep brown eyes were like glass. I could tell he was thinking about something, remembering something, lost in his past. There was pain there. Pain much deeper than mine, I knew that. I wondered what it was, but as a person who experienced some pain of their own, I knew only too well the annoyance of questions from strangers.
    I don’t know why I did it, but I put my hand on his. The instant we touched it was like I was hit by a thunderbolt, waves pounding through me, radiating through my fingers, my hand, my arm and then through my core, taking me over completely. I inhaled sharply at the sensation, not used to this kind of reaction to touching a man.
    “Thank you, Sophie ,” Philippe said softly. “You said you were a part of the exchange program with your school?”
    “Yeah. I live in San Francisco, I’m just here for the