The One That I Want (Scorned Women Society Book 3) by Piper Sheldon (e book reader android txt) 📕

exhale. “I don’t want either of us to regret our time together. You want to get to know me so bad, then here you go. This is where I’m from.” She gestured to the apartments and back toward the bar. “Those are my people. Is that what you want to know? That I was a biker chick for a motorcycle club … If you met me back then, you wouldn’t even look at me like that …”

“Like what?” I leaned closer.

“Like I was something special,” she repeated back my same phrase.

“You’re wonderful, Roxxo. All I ever want is for you to be yourself around me.”

She fisted her hands, rubbing them along her arms. “That’s the thing though, isn’t it? I don’t know who I am. I’m not Biker Roxy anymore. I’m clearly not pulling off this corporate shit. I don’t know where I fit. Everybody seems to know themselves so well. Tonight, it was like all my worlds came clashing together. I shut down. I was embarrassed. I don’t know who the hell I’m supposed to be.” Her words shook with emotion as she finished.

She let out a long slow breath, her brows twisted with confusion. “I don’t think I knew I felt this way until just now,” she said with a huff.

“Who were you the night in Denver?” I asked.

Her gaze shot to me.

“Were you pretending that night?” I swallowed, afraid of the answer.

That night had meant so much to me. I had felt a connection to her on a level I never had experienced with anybody else. If she was faking it … I didn’t know if I could handle it.

“That night I wasn’t pretending to be anybody.” I looked up at her words. “I think that’s what scared me so bad.”

I couldn’t speak for the emotion that tightened my throat. I wanted to pull her into my lap and kiss her into oblivion. I wanted to tell her she fixed me that night. She took one of the worst days of my life and put me back together without even trying. How could I possibly even convey the depth of my feelings for her? I didn’t want to scare her. She already ran away at every turn.

I grabbed her hands. She looked down at them, her chest rising and falling.

“I don’t want you to be scared of whatever this is,” I said. “I don’t want you running away. I want you leaping toward me. There’s no rush for me.” I ran my thumbs along the soft skin of the back of her hands. “I don’t want you to regret a moment with me. Life can be too heavy to handle sometimes. Let people share the load, Roxy. If you can’t leave it behind, then let people help.”

“Thank you. I’m working on that,” she said with a grin.

I said, “There’s seven billion people on this planet. You aren’t alone.”

“Neither are you, Colonel.” Her bottom lip pulled into her mouth as she worried it. “If you want to talk about your dad …”

It was tempting to tell her everything but I just couldn’t talk to her after a night like tonight. After she’d been drinking. I suddenly felt so tired. “Thank you.” I squeezed her hand. “It’s getting late. Let me walk you up.”

Her mouth parted and then she said, “Sure.”

Chapter 18

Roxy

It was Saturday night in the Barn, the main event space for the Lodge, and the graduation party was in full swing. Or it should have been? I couldn’t tell if the party was fun. The DJ spun a bunch of songs I didn’t recognize and the teens took a lot of videos on their phones. They weren’t dancing exactly. Or if they did it was only for like twenty seconds and then they’d clump together looking at the video they made. I do not understand teenagers. I didn’t even fit in with them when I was one. When I was eighteen, I was partying with the Wraiths in ways that made this party seem like a toddler’s birthday.

I stood on the edge of the room, watching and debating if it was time to leave. My responsibilities for the night were complete. I could use a cocktail and a break from these shoes.

“Someone needs to show these people how to party,” a voice whispered in my ear.

The vibration trailed down my spine, kissing each vertebra before settling in my lower body. Just a whisper in my ear … just a scent of him and a cascade of horny rippled through me.

Get a grip, woman.

“Sanders,” I said. “Hey.” I fixed my bangs.

My relief at seeing him was instant. Things ended weird the other night. I had been drunk and knew I was acting like an asshole. I had been so overwhelmed I slipped into Old Roxy habits.

“You look beautiful,” he said.

I wore a little black dress, my go-to for nighttime events. It was a simple shift dress made of a heavy jersey-type material but was slightly shiny, so it looked professional with my black heels and matching silk stockings.

He grabbed my hand and spun me around to get the full view. I rolled my eyes but liked the way he ate up my body like a sugary treat from the Donner Bakery dessert case. Maybe we could forget that the events at Genie’s ever happened. My overshare. His refusal to share. Tonight, he seemed set on flirtation.

“You don’t look so bad yourself,” I said.

His black button-up shirt looked crafted to his body. The strength earned from all his time outside, pulled the material tight around his strong shoulders and biceps. He wore matching black pants and a thin belt, nothing outrageously fancy but he looked amazing. It was nice to see him in something other than khaki hiking pants. Not that I minded those either. I liked how he looked all the time.

“I clean up okay.” He shrugged, backing away to look up at me with a pouty smolder. The dirty, little flirt.

“I remembered you said