Have you ever been That Girl? The one that thought with her heart and ignored her brain? The one that loved hard; and then even harder when she knew he shouldn’t be loved at all? Have you ever held on to a dream so tightly that all your days were wrapped up in the fairy tale of what could be?
The beginning of my story should be the end. I know that. I really do. However sometimes what we know isn’t enough. Sometimes we have to learn things the hard way. This is my story. This is my life. This is a decision I made for love; or maybe for lust. I don’t even know anymore. All I know is that I can’t stop myself. All I know is that I’ve given him forty-three days. He’s got forty-three days to make me fly from the cliffs. He’s already made me fall for him. I only hope I don’t crash and fall into the rocks as well.
There are three things I know before going into this:
1. It’s not going to end well
2. There will be many tears
3. This is an adventure I never saw coming in my life.
You might be wondering why I’m going into this if I know it won’t end well. Honestly, I don’t know. Have you ever been so absolutely captivated by someone? Have you ever felt something that makes you want to forget everything you already think and know? That’s what Henry James does to me. He’s my own personal drug. He’s my everything and he doesn’t even know it. Or maybe he does. And maybe that’s the real problem.
Prologue
“I have a proposition for you.” His words were smooth and silky, flowing into my ears like melodious music.
“Okay,” I said, swallowing hard as I stared into his bright, emerald-green eyes. He stared back at me, not blinking, his eyes almost mocking me as they sparkled. I waited for him to continue, but he didn’t say anything else. He just kept staring at me. “Are you going to say what your proposition is, then?” I spoke up again and I watched as his lips spread into a wide smile, his gleaming white teeth now showing…yet he still didn’t speak. “Or do you have nothing to say?” I said again, this time irritation apparent in my tone.
He spoke again finally. “I have a lot to say.” I watched as he ran his strong tanned hand through his short black silky hair. “I wasn’t sure if you were ready to hear it yet, though.”
“Uhm, obviously I am.” I rolled my eyes at him and tried to avoid staring at his chest. He was wearing a crisp white shirt, and the top two buttons were undone, exposing part of his chest. I was finding it hard not to ask him to undo more buttons so I could see the full glory of his muscular chest. His tie hung loosely around his neck; I wanted to reach over and tug it off, but somehow I was able to restrain myself. I didn’t want him to know just how badly I wanted him. I didn’t want him to know that I wasn’t as immune to his charms as I was trying to make myself out to be.
“Good,” he said and then he took a step toward me. I swallowed again as my heart started racing with anticipation. I could feel my skin heating up.
“So what’s your proposition?” My voice was a squeak as I took a step back from him and waited for him to continue. I had no idea what he was about to say. Well, that wasn’t true. I had a slight inkling. I just wasn’t sure what I would say in response. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to play the sort of games I imagined he was interested in. I wasn’t the sort of girl who had casual flings and, well, I didn’t even really know him. I’d only met him recently and I wasn’t even sure yet if I liked him.
“I’m not sure you’re ready.” He laughed as he took another step toward me.
“I just told you that I am,” I said, this time not stepping back. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing me retreat.
“I need to make sure that you can handle me.” He licked his lips as he stared at me, and for a few seconds I felt like he was a wolf and I was a juicy piece of meat that he wanted to devour.
“Handle you for what?” I swallowed hard as I gazed at his arms. They were so muscular and strong through his shirt, and I wondered what it would feel like to have them holding me down as he caressed me. I blushed at my thoughts, wondering what had happened to my mind. Whenever I was around Henry James, my thoughts went straight to the gutter.
“Everything,” he said, his eyes narrowing as he surveyed my body.
“Everything?” I licked my lips nervously.
“I want you to submit to me, Lacey.” His voice was almost a growl as he spoke and I could see lust in his eyes.
“Excuse me?” My eyes widened at his words. He wasn’t messing around about what he wanted. I’d expected he’d dance around a bit before he said it, but it looked as though he was cutting to the chase.
“A man like me takes what he wants when he wants it,” Henry said as he undid his tie and threw it to the ground. “That’s important for you to remember.”
“I see.” I stared at his tie on the ground and then back at him. What was he going to do next?
“Do you?” he asked as he stepped forward, and I watched as he undid the rest of the buttons of his crisp white shirt one by one. I felt like I couldn’t breathe as I watched him. It almost felt like I was in a dream. This couldn’t really be happening, could it?
“Yes.” I nodded, swallowing hard and staring at his olive skin as he took his shirt off and threw it next to his tie. “What are you doing?” I asked him, my eyes widening as his fingers fell to his belt. I watched as he removed it as deftly as he’d removed his tie. Whoa! I had not expected him to take off all of his clothes. He wasn’t going to go completely naked, was he?
“What does it look like?” He licked his lips and smirked at me.
“Why are you taking your clothes off?”
“Why do you think?” he said as he bent down and removed his dark navy slacks. He stood in front of me, almost naked, his white boxer briefs the only thing keeping him from baring all.
“Henry…” I said, my head starting to spin. My throat felt dry as I stared at him. Boy, was he sexy.
“Yes?” he said, and he smiled, a big, wide smile, before stepping out of his boxer shorts. He was naked now. Completely and utterly naked. My gaze fell to his cock. I swallowed again as I took it in. He was big, magnificent almost. I couldn’t believe he had just gotten naked in front of me. He was way too comfortable with me. I had to nip this in the bud before he went too far.
“Henry…” I said again and took a step back. My face was burning and my body was on fire. I was in way over my head and I didn’t know what to say or do. I groaned as I felt the wall behind me. He’d backed me into a corner, just as he’d planned. I was almost sure that he had me exactly where he wanted me.
“Yes, Lacey?” he said, his green eyes piercing mine knowingly.
“What are you doing?” I repeated, my voice barely a whisper.
“Showing you how easy it is to let go,” he said. He slammed the door shut and turned the lock. “Are you ready to hear my proposition now?”