Page 77 of The Dark Side

Jolie was grinning; the woman's energy was like a bomb of glitter and sunshine. She flicked her eyes to Adrik, and he hid a little smile, keeping his eyes from hers as he descended the stairs. She stood there and watched him, hoping for a moment of his attention, but he walked by, and her shoulders slumped.

Just before Adrik stepped around the corner, his blue eyes slid toward her. A hand fell to her stomach as a wave of emotion drowned her.

Jolie fled to her bedroom, locking the door and resting her head against the frame. She bit her lip, his daring glance replaying before her eyes, devouring doubt like a tidal wave. Ming and Tae-Tae mewed at her feet for attention, and she slipped to the floor, allowing them to crawl into her lap. It was a devastating reality that she was already too far gone to turn back. Adrik was bewitching her, and she was powerless to stop it.

And I don't want to.

Ming left her and jumped on the bed, rubbing her head against a white box. Her brows knitted as she stood, Tae-Tae meowing at her with dislike. The box had a red satin bow and a small square envelope. Jolie quickly opened it.

'Meet me tonight in the movie theater. Find a movie. No romcoms. Until then, enjoy.'

"Enjoy?" Jolie knitted her brows as she reread the message. She dropped the note on the bed and unwrapped the box. She imagined chocolate or candy. He'd know which was her favorite. He knew everything else about her.

And then the lid came off, and her eyes widened.

A massive hot-pink dildo sat in the center of white silk.

Jolie stepped back, slightly frightened by such a thing. She rushed to slap the lid back on, a hand pressed against her mouth as she sat on the bed, too shocked to move.

What the heck am I supposed to do with that?

It had to be ten inches long and two inches wide.

She shook her head, unable to believe women could fit that anywhere.

He's not…

Jolie slapped her hands against her face to stop her crazy thoughts.

But what if…

No!

Jolie stood and took up the box, crazily searching for a place to hide it. She felt the same panic when her ex-boyfriend brought weed into the house, with her parents in the next room. Jolie couldn't have the maids find something like this, but where could she put it that they wouldn't look? If she tried to throw it away, they'd see it. She couldn't put it under the bed; they cleaned it. The box felt hot in her hands, like the sinful object was burning her. She darted to three different places before the only other location she hoped they never went was her underwear drawer.

But the box didn't fit.

She would have to take it out. She would have to touch it.

With a shaking hand, Jolie reached in. She folded the silk around it and squeezed her eyes as she wrapped her hand around the pole. It sent shivers up her spine; disgust and curiosity tangled together like a tornado. It was surprisingly heavy, like a fat stick of salami. She shoved it in the back of her underwear drawer, piled all her panties around it, and then slammed the drawer shut, wishing there was a lock on it.

No way a man has something like that.

Jolie's experience may not be top-notch, but she knew what could and couldn't fit, and that monstrous thing was a negative. If Adrik had something like that, their relationship really wasn't going to work.

But she was getting ahead of herself. They weren't going to have sex. They were just trying to figure out if they liked each other. She clarified that she didn't have sex randomly, and so far, Adrik seemed to understand that.

But if he bought me that, it's clearly on his mind. And I'd be lying if I said it wasn't on mine.

Jolie moved to the bathroom, splashing water on her face. She thought of taking a shower and shaving her legs but refused. It would be admitting that sex was an option, and it wasn't. She wouldn't give up her standards. Everyone had desires, but it was better to wait. She wasn't a loose woman, giving it up to any cute boy who looked at her.

How long had she made her ex-boyfriend wait? Jolie didn't have sex with Vincent for over a year. Why had it been so easy to deny his advances, yet all Adrik had to do was look at her, and she was fighting her resolve like some horny dog in heat?

Think about the disappointment,Jolie told herself. Vincent had lasted two minutes the first time. It was miserable, painful, and horribly unsatisfying. He had talked about all the ways he'd please her and how much she'd enjoy it. She thought her first time would be different from all the others out there who said it was the most awful experience of their life. Instead, she joined the long list of women unprepared for the night.

Then it took him a month to talk her into it again.

Vincent got better as time passed, but she no longer expected him to help her get a release. She began to believe that women in the books she read were lying because it didn't seem to matter what Vincent did, he never got her to completion. Not that he knew that. For all Vincent knew, he was the best she'd ever have.