One Night: A BWWM Interracial Romance Read Online Free Page A

was fun to hear about publishing from an actual published author.  
    “Fair enough,” she said. “I guess I’ll just have to wait for the book to come out, Mr. Jake Cavanaugh.”  
    Jakes eyes squinted thoughtfully as she said this.  
    “Tell you what,” he said. “I’ll make sure to send you a free, early release copy, signed by yours truly. On my honor.” He placed a hand on his chest and bowed in her direction as he spoke.  
    Natalie giggled. “Deal,” she said. “But what do I have to give in return?”
    “I can think of at least a few things,” he said, eyeing her body up and down.  
    Wait a second.   Had she actually flirted with him? And was he responding?  
    She looked him over again. In the light of the fire it was still hard to pinpoint his exact features.   Were his eyes green or hazel?   Was his hair dark blonde or light brown? The fire did work wonders on all the angles and hard edges of his face and body. Strong jaw, complete with a dimple. Broad shoulders, curving down to biceps that were apparent even in a relaxed state.   Was that a slight ripple of a six-pack underneath the front of his shirt?  
    Natalie turned to face the fire, crinkling her face in confusion. She should probably make her way back to her room, but there was no way she could fall asleep now.   Besides, she liked being in the presence of this Jake Cavanaugh. He was handsome, and flirty, and obviously literate.  
    And after all, he had just wasted $100 dollars on her.  
    She ignored the implications of that thought and turned her attention back to her companion. It was time to pull in the reins on whatever direction this conversation was taking.  

    JAKE
    Jake could see the debate going on behind her eyes. She liked him, but she didn’t want to make it easy for him.  
    Why did women have to make things so complicated?  
    He had no intention of pressuring her, but he also wasn’t going to let a good thing go to waste without at least trying.  
    “So, rebound-mode?” he inquired, re-opening the subject.  
    She immediately cringed in embarrassment.
    Perhaps not such a good idea.  
    The cringe turned into a bitter smile as she stared into the fireplace.  
    “If you want the whole sordid story?” she offered, still looking at the flames.  
    He shrugged. “Sure, why not?” he said, wanting nothing of the sort, but if his sympathetic ear lead to other things….
    “The whole sordid story is, I caught my bastard ex-boyfriend cheating on me with some blonde tart,” she said simply.  
    “How do you know he was cheating?” he asked.
    “What would you call it if you found weeks worth of naked pics sent to the person you had just wasted 2 years of your life on?” she tossed back, turning to look at him with eyes far more heated than the fire before them.  
    His eyebrows went up and he pursed his lips in acknowledgement. “I guess that would count.
    “Seems to me like you owe him a little payback,” he offered, teasing around the subject. He threw in a smile and said, “or maybe you owe yourself a little fun.”  
    Her resentful frown stayed a moment longer before she took the bait and broke out in smile.   A quick laugh escaped her lips and she tossed back the rest of her “milk.”
    “Why not?” she said, eyeing him over the empty glass she kept next to her lips.  
    He watched as her eyes crawled down from his face to his torso. He leaned back obligingly to give   her the full view. Jake made it a point to keep in shape, running every morning and hitting the gym in the afternoons. Apart from his ritualistic bottle of whiskey, he wasn’t much of a drinker and he usually stayed on the healthy side when it came to diet.  
    He smiled when the roaming eyes paused between his legs. He had no illusions that he was so well-endowed that he filled out the front of the loose pajama bottoms enough to impress her. Without pants, he had had no complaints. If all went well, perhaps she’d be the judge of