Read Unbound (Crimson Romance) for Free Online Page B

friend’s voice. “You want small talk, you call Kal. Running off at the mouth is his specialty.”
    “True. So where are you now?”
    “Shithole outside Baton Rouge. Bad beer, big loser dudes, same dumb kids. The women here are gorgeous, though. Voices like angels. Smooth and slow as honey. It makes up for the rest.”
    That’s so Luke , he thought. “Sounds like it does.”
    There was silence for a few moments. He shifted in his chair and struggled to figure out what he wanted to say.
    “Jack called,” Luke finally announced.
    “Yeah?”
    “Yeah. He told me Bridgett’s getting married. For real. Engagement party and everything.”
    “She is,” Dean confirmed. “Jack is ate up. Kalvin drug him out of the party tonight pretty fast. I think they were headed to Smitty’s.”
    “He thinks getting shitfaced is going to help?”
    “Maybe not, but it can’t hurt. He’s messed up.”
    “He sounded that way.”
    Dean traced the tiny cracks in the leather of the arm of the chair. Spit it out, he thought. Just spit it out!
    “I kissed Payten.”
    “Yeah?” Luke asked.
    “Yeah.”
    “I thought you were going to leave off her.”
    He blew out a deep breath. “I planned on it. The men in my family… It’s insane, Luke. My dad. Jack. I’ve got two uncles the same way. Jack’s never even been with Bridgett, and he’s walking around like a zombie. He acts like he’s lost his whole world. He honestly believes he has.”
    “What’s that got to do with you ducking Payten?”
    “What if I do the same thing? What if I become obsessed with her, then lose her? What happens then? I swear off women and spend my life alone? I don’t want to be closing in on sixty with no one but myself,” he said, thinking of his father.
    “Who’s the last woman you dated?” Luke asked.
    “What?”
    “Who’s the last woman you dated?”
    “I was sleeping with Charlotte Carols before Christmas,” he answered.
    “That’s not what I asked. Who’s the last woman you dated? When’s the last time you had a relationship? Had a girlfriend? Spent the night — the whole night — at a woman’s house?” Luke asked. “Have you? Ever?”
    “I’m missing your point.”
    “You’re already obsessed. You have been since forever. Get over it.”
    “Fuck you,” Dean muttered.
    “You called. You wanted someone to baby you, you’d have gone to Kal. You know it. You’re already as obsessed as Jack. And there’s something you need to realize.”
    “What’s that?” he asked.
    “Jack lost Bridgett without ever having her. He’s alone, and knowing your weird-ass family, he’s always going to be. You want to be in the same boat? You’re already alone. Say you date Payten. You lose nothing by having her for as long as possible. Added to that, say you never lose her. What if she lives to be a hundred and loves you every day of her life? You’re fucking missing that.”
    Dean tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair. “That’s an awful long speech for someone who supposedly doesn’t talk much.”
    “I’d tell you to think about it, but I know you already have. You’re on a crash course with no turning back. You just wanted to be sure you’re right. That’s why you called me.”
    “So you could tell me I’m right?”
    “Yeah. Moron.”
    Dean grinned. “You should come home.”
    “Doubtful. The water in the shower kicked off a second ago. My date’s about to discover there aren’t any towels in the bathroom.”
    Dean laughed.
    “You need any more talking off the ledge, or can I go get laid?” Luke asked.
    “I’ll talk to you later.”
    Luke hung up without replying. Dean turned the phone off and tossed it onto the coffee table. Standing up, he stretched and headed for bed.
    He knew Luke had been right. He was on a crash course. When he’d tasted Payten’s sweet lips earlier that night, he’d known there was no turning back. He wanted her. Desperately. He planned on having her. All he had left to do was