One Night: A BWWM Interracial Romance Read Online Free

out of that silly bun. The shoes were still an issue, but with that face and legs of hers, he could forgive them. Almost.  
    She lifted her glass to him. “Still, we should toast to your accomplishment.”  
    He used the opportunity to tease her again. “No way are you toasting with that atrocity,” he chided. “You might bring me bad luck.”  
    He leaned in and stuck two fingers over the rim of the empty glass he had poured for her earlier and brought it closer to him.   He poured another shot of whiskey into it and smiled to himself as he saw her mouth shoot open in protest.
    “Are you just trying to get me drunk?” she asked. “I’m already starting to feel the stuff I poured into this glass,” she held up the almost empty drink she had in her hand.  
    “It’s bad luck to toast with a drink the honoree doesn’t approve of,” he replied.
    “That’s not true,” she said rolling her eyes. “If you’re just trying to get me into bed, you’re wasting your time. I’m anti-men this weekend.”  
    She immediately frowned after saying that, actually bringing a hand up to her mouth as if to push the words back in.  
    It was an interesting development. Jake had no interest in listening to drunken ex-boyfriend rants and was beginning to regret pouring her another glass. He didn’t mind her well lubricated if it meant she would be more amenable to certain activities.   However, he didn’t want her to start moaning about whatever man troubles she might be having.  
    “Sorry. I promised myself I’d stop thinking that way.” she said shaking her head vigorously as if to eliminate the thoughts from her mind.  
    “I should warn you,” she said with a sly grin, “I’m in rebound mode.”  
    That was perfectly fine with Jake.  

CHAPTER THREE

    NATALIE
    Natalie couldn’t believe it. Why in the world had she said that?
    First, she had basically admitted she recently had a bad break-up. The next moment she had confessed that she was ripe for the picking.  
    She looked at Jake across the table. The small twitch on the side of his mouth at her last words was not lost on her. Ugh, she really wanted to escape back into her book. What had happened to the agreement not to talk to one another? Now all of a sudden it was a spill-the-beans fest.  
    He seemed to take some pity on her, and decided to shift the subject back to toasting his book.  
    He lifted his glass to her and made a point of shifting his eyes down to the untouched second round of absurdly expensive whiskey he had just poured for her.  
    “To my seventh novel,” he said, waiting for her to pick it up.
    It was the least she could do.   She picked it up and joined him. “To your seventh novel. May it be a thousand times more successful than your previous six.”  
    She threw the glass back and swallowed it whole. The liquid fire that raged down her throat nearly put her body temperature on par with the crackling fire in front of them. She scrunched her eyes shut as she felt the flaming fingers tickle their way from her intestines out to her limbs. She gave a hearty shiver and loud gasp as the heat subsided. Oh boy, she was going to feel this in the morning.  
    She opened her eyes to see Jake staring at her with amused awe.   “That’s not exactly how you’re supposed to take it, but I suppose it’s better than the alternative,” he said, his eyes shifting to the milk on the table.  
    He lifted his glass again, nodded in appreciation and took a long sip of his own drink.  
    In an attempt to stray away from her earlier pronouncements, she brought the conversation back around to his book.  
    “So what is this book about?” she asked with overt interest.
    “Hmm,” he pondered, “I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.   Publishers like us to be very hush, hush about these things.”  
    Natalie laughed delightedly at this. Perhaps a little too delightedly.   The alcohol was already starting to affect her. Still, it