Read Inside the Lines: Without a Trace series, a contemporary erotic romance novel for Free Online Page A

arch of her foot. She’s barely finished her glass of wine when he’s already pouring her another. She mentions texting him, and suddenly, he’s sent her some romantic, sexy message that turns her cheeks pink, even after settling into domestic monotony.
    I want that. I don’t want the messy, uncomfortable, unsure in-between. Alas, no one seems to have come up with a dating method that allows communication by osmosis. So I raid my closet, determined to find the right outfit.
    “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were moving out,” Noah comments from my doorway.
    Clothing covers my bed and floor, outfits that I’ve either discarded or deemed ready for Goodwill. I stick my tongue out at him, then drop onto my bed, deflated. “I have a date.”
    He mocks shock. “What is this? The impenetrable fortress of Lux Trace has a crack?”
    “Har, har.”
    “Aw, come here.” Noah crosses the room, pulling me into a hug.
    He’s always warm and smelling of a spicy fragrance, and right now, it feels good to be held, though I’d never admit to it. And don’t think I haven’t eyed Noah a time or two for myself. I adore him. He’s an incredibly giving, good-looking, and intelligent guy. Despite his rather wanton sex life, I know he’s lonely and looking for the right woman. But he’s a straight arrow, and I’m a labyrinthine bull’s eye. We’ve been friends a long time; I was actually closer to him in college than I was to Ella; he and I both took business classes, while Ella took marketing and PR classes. Eventually, it all evened out, and now they are both like family to me.
    I give myself the moment, then I pull free. “I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I have nothing to wear on a date with a normal guy.”
    He pulls out my desk chair and straddles it, resting his forearms on the back. “A normal guy? As opposed to, what? I thought Evan was pretty normal.”
    I dig through a mound of colors on the floor, looking for my red bra. “Evan was a submissive. He knew that about himself. This guy’s…not like that.”
    “He’s not submissive? Or he’s not like Evan?”
    I consider his questions as I delve into my closet again, determined to find an outfit I probably don’t have. Satisfied I’m hallucinating about a patterned skirt I could have sworn I purchased, I rest a hand on my pajama-clad hip and look at Noah. “Both. Neither. I mean, he’s definitely not like Evan. And he’s probably not all that submissive. Which means this is going to be an utter disaster, because you kind of have to love the life in order to live with it.” I hold up my pronged collar as an example of everything that won’t work with this date.
    “Or, it could be amazing because he’s something different. You’ve primarily dated in the kink world so far.”
    I narrow my eyes at him.
    “Don’t give me your sexy gaze, Lulu,” he teases, using a pet name he only employs when we’re alone. “Think about it. You’ve dated how many guys in the years I’ve known you, all of whom knew exactly what you were about, and they’ve been flops. Perhaps dating someone who can be, shall we say, ‘schooled’ and ‘trained’ wouldn’t be such a bad thing.”
    I snort. “Oh, trust me. I’ve tried the training bit. All I ended up with was a guy who thought I wanted threesomes every night. Which, don’t get me wrong, I enjoy, but not every night.”
    “Oh, God, tell me you have pictures or video to show me.”
    I toss my pillow at him. “Don’t be a guy.” I lie on the bed and stare at the ceiling, its off-white surface the perfect canvas for my frustrated thoughts. “You know what I really think the problem is?”
    “Hm?”
    “Me.”
    He rests his chin on his arms. “Come on, Lux, you just haven’t found the right person yet.”
    “Your sister said the same thing.” I sigh. “And I don’t know about that, Noah. I’ve dated men and women, lived with several, and I always leave before things get ugly. Maybe I