One Condition (The Lust List: Kaidan Stone #1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

hands me my drink and pulls me toward the edge of the dance floor. There are rooms back here with different colored velvet curtains across each door. He guides me into one with a deep blue curtain. There are a lot of people in here, but far fewer than the main room.
    Dark blue velvet couches line the walls, strewn with thick silk and velvet pillows. Strobe lights dance across the tile floors and low metal tables, but the music isn’t as loud as it is on the dance floor. He leads me to one of the couches.
    “Sit.” His voice is deep, commanding, like when he ordered me to get into his car. A little shiver travels down my back and settles at the base of my spine. I sip my drink as I sink into the soft couch. The drink is strong. I abandon the straw so it’ll get me buzzed faster.
    Kaidan sinks down a few inches from me, and his leg’s brushing my bare one. My leg tingles, and I swear I can feel every last charged atom of him through his jeans.
    He sips his drink and considers me. “You didn’t tell me who you were.”
    “Neither did you.”
    “I told you my name. I didn’t lie .”
    I swig my drink now and edge away from him. “Did you just buy me a drink so you could call me a liar?”
    He moves closer, erasing the distance I’d created. “You did lie,” he says, his face serious, all traces of teasing gone, “about why you were here.”
    “You stalking me? You could have just asked me.” I try to act smooth, but fail. Oh, no. What if he talks to my lawyer? I don’t want him knowing how crazy my dad was, how I got screwed over. “Besides,” I say, hoping I can shift his focus, “you left out, oh, everything about yourself.”
    He raises his brows, and the hint of a smile appears on his face. It’s like he’s waiting for me to continue, so I don’t.
    Dammit. I’m not feeding Mr. Lust List #1’s ego. Let him wonder what I know about him. I glance around the room, trying to play like I’m annoyed, or bored, and not all warm and fuzzy like I actually am. His strong hand wraps around the exposed part of my thigh, and my heart rate’s up again.
    He leans in close, and his lips are almost pressed against my ear. “Fine. Let’s start over. I’m Kaidan Stone.”
    I meet his eyes and see they’re dark, just like the other day in the garage. I’m hyper-aware of his hand on my thigh, his breath on my ear. The top button of his shirt’s undone, and I can seek tan skin peeking out. My heart thumps faster.
    “I’m Hayley Wade,” I say, forcing my voice to sound strong.
    “Nice to meet you, Hayley Wade. You know… We’re an item on the Internet.”
    “We are?” I suppress a smile. “That’s really weird, since I just met you.”
    “Right? But if it’s on the Internet…”
    “What?”
    “Then it must be true.”
    I let out a nervous laugh. “Can’t believe everything you read.”
    “No?” he says. “Can I believe everything they say about you?”
    “I wouldn’t.” I get a flush of pleasure at the thought of him looking up info on me, but at the same time, I’m praying to God he doesn’t bring up the shoplifting. How much does he know? As far as the world is concerned, I got caught shoplifting just once … one year ago. No one knows about all the other times, about my old habit. “How ‘bout you? Do the tabloids tell the truth?”
    “Depends what they say.”
    “Well, I don’t actually really read that stuff.”
    “But you know what they say about me .”
    “A little. Just that you’re trouble.”
    He smirks, and I find myself staring at his lips again. He lightly squeezes my thigh, and the space between my legs heats up. My drink’s starting to move through me, making me too warm. I gulp down more of it. This conversation needs to go somewhere else.
    “So… you come here often?” I ask. I’m so lame.
    He sips his drink. “Nope.”
    “What, don’t like to dance?”
    “I don’t dance,” he says. “So this is definitely not my scene.”
    “You never dance?”
    “Do