Just for now, we’re here together, floating impossibly over the void, holding on desperately and pretending it’s not there as he makes love to me with his mouth.
Then he pulls back, and when I open my eyes, there’s ground under my feet again. At least he’s still holding me, millimeters away, lips brushing mine as he steadily breathes.
“We shouldn’t have done that,” he says, voice rough with emotion.
“Why?” I ask. I just want him to talk because even with heartbreaking words coming out of them, his lips drive me crazy when they brush lightly against mine.
“All of it… it’s too complicated.”
“We can figure it out,” I say, reaching a hand up to run through the hair at the back of his head.
He takes in his breath in a small hiss. The divide stretches wide between us. I pull back to see his expression and my stomach turns to rock at the genuine regret there. “I’m sorry,” he says in a low voice. “I don’t know what came over me. I’m sorry if I misled you.”
“Don’t, don’t do this, A1pha. We were so close…”
“Close to what? Close to forgetting that this isn’t ever going to work? Close to forgetting that I don’t want this anymore?”
“I don’t think you know what you want, and I think you want me more than you know.”
“Maybe I do want you,” he says. “Maybe I’ve always wanted you. But too much has happened, and with everything in my life right now, I can’t deal with this…”
“It doesn’t have to be right now…”
“I can’t promise it ever. I don’t know if we’d ever make it like that, Kira. I’m sorry.”
I turn away from his gaze. I don’t want his apology.
I can hear his footsteps headed back toward the house.
“Go ahead, then,” I say, my voice choked by emotion. “Just run away like you always do.”
He stops, casts a last glance at me over his shoulder. “Oh, really? I thought you were the expert on that.”
It stings. Even after he’s gone back in the house and shut the door to the garage, leaving me alone with his beautiful, glistening cars, it stings.
Because he’s right. None of this would have happened if I hadn’t run away from him, right into Nate’s arms. Sure, I felt wanted, but what else did that solve?
I close my eyes to the overwhelming emotions swirling inside me and focus on external sensations instead. Cool air over my skin because it’s turning to evening, the smell of fresh grass, the whispers of bushes near the house rustling in the wind. An occasional bird cry.
When I open my eyes and look out across the street, a dark-haired figure catches my gaze. My heart drops, but instead of flipping around before getting a good look and running into the house, I just stay rooted in place and stare in shock.
I didn’t imagine him. He must have hid the first time so Alex didn’t see him. Sunglasses in hand, stocky figure silhouetted against the sunlight, dark hair waving in the wind.
Nate has found me.
To be continued in A1pha Part 2, coming soon. For pre-release notifications, subscribe to my mailing list, (my subscribers get the first (and sometimes early) access to new work).
The A1pha series is an episodic New Adult romance novella serial with releases every 2-3 weeks. For more information, visit me at blueashcroft.com or on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/Blueashcroft.
Note from the author:
Hi all! Thanks so much for reading Play Me. I know that cliffhanger is agonizing but I promise to keep a brisk pace so you don’t have to wait long. Each of the A1pha novellas is about half the length of one of my usual novels, and I plan on at least four parts for this series. That could increase depending on fan demand. One thing that has surprised me as an author is how readers sometimes can’t get enough of certain characters, long after I have ended a book or series. With the A1pha series, I can keep releasing additional material as long as there is fan demand.
Also, if you really enjoyed it, I’d love a review if you have the time. Reviews help an author gauge how well a series or serial is landing with fans.
In creating Play Me, I truly wanted to create characters that readers would want to spend time with, and I’m having a blast writing them. Feel free to contact me with your thoughts at [email protected]. I love hearing from fans.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Note from the author:
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Play Me: A1pha (Alpha) Part 1 Page 11