Read A Wicked Kiss for Free Online

whose opinion mattered. And I knew they’d want me to be happy, no matter who I was with.
    “You look lovely this evening,” Jasper said, raising our hands and brushing his lips across my knuckles.
    “You said that already.” I smiled at him.
    “And I meant it then as well.” He returned the smile, his eyes warm.
    It was so easy to walk beside him, to enjoy the feel of his fingers between mine. There was none of the first date jitters or nerves. None of the awkward pauses that came with not knowing what to say. We said what we wanted, when we wanted, and if we didn’t have anything to say, we stayed quiet. We were as comfortable in silence as we were talking. It was almost eerie how at ease we were with each other. I’d worried that things would get weird when we were around other people, that the way we were with each other wouldn’t work in a natural setting.
    It did work though. We were still interested in what the other one had to say, still made each other smile and laugh. Every time our fingers brushed or our eyes met for even just a few seconds, familiar heat flowed through me. It was a pleasant feeling, something that I hadn’t realized I’d missed in the last four months. The companionship that was more than just sex.
    It was building towards that though. I knew it from the moment he’d taken my hand, even if he hadn’t known it. I might not have wanted to ask him to stay at the house for an unknown amount of time because I was worried about things moving too fast, but I wasn’t about to give up the physical aspect of our relationship. My stomach twisted. I wanted him.
    We held hands as we walked back to Jasper’s car, but all of the light, airy feeling that had been between us had shifted, and now it was something heavier, darker. Not dark in a bad way, but rather something more visceral, more primal.
    He opened my door and then walked around to the other side of the car. He didn’t start the car right away, but rather turned towards me with a guarded expression on his face.
    “What’s wrong?” I asked, immediately concerned.
    His eyes darkened. “You didn’t hear them?”
    “Which ones?” I asked wryly, trying to suppress a smile. “The old women in the corner who were talking too loudly about how back in their day, a widow would wear black for a certain period of mourning? Or the man talking to the hostess about how long he thought it had been after Allen’s death before the two of us started sleeping together?”
    His face tightened and his hands flexed. “I should’ve known better. We should’ve gone somewhere else.”
    “It’s okay.” I put my hand over his. “I knew what it would be like. The people here love a good scandal, but they’ll forget about it soon enough.”
    “Is that what we are?” he asked. “A forgettable scandal?”
    I tilted my head, unable to read him. “Do you think of us that way?”
    He looked away from me. “I think I’m your late husband’s best friend and I’m your friend. The person you call when you need something from someone.” He looked down at his hands. “Whatever you need.”
    Something twisted inside me. “Is that what you think?” My voice nearly shook with the myriad emotions I was feeling. “Do you think I just call you when I need something? When there’s some problem I can’t fix on my own?” My tone hardened. “Or maybe when I want to get laid? Is that really the kind of person you think I am?”
    His head whipped around, his eyes wide. “No! Shae, no!”
    “Then what, Jasper? Am I using you?”
    That’s when I saw it. It was only there for a moment, and then gone, but I recognized it. If I hadn’t known him so well, I wouldn’t have caught it.
    “You do, don’t you?” I asked, not even trying to keep the shock out of my voice. “You think I’m using you. Fuck, Jasper! How could you think that?!” I started to reach for the door.
    He leaned across me and put his hand over mine. I turned my head and his face was