Strip Me Bare Read Online Free PDF Page B

just a little.
    “My clothes only come off at night.”
    I frown trying to erase the image of him
seducing Emily out of my head.
    “Except with you, they can come off any time
with you.”
    “Good to know, but I’ve already seen you
naked so the mystique is gone.”
    He furrows his brow, “I know you’re upset
with me.”
    “Upset is too mild of a word.
Full-blown-pissed-off-hurl-something-at-your-head is more like
it.”
    “Like a dumpster?” Ryan teases.
    I purse my lips, “Talk.”
    “Can I get a cup of coffee first before I
spill my guts? I just got up.”
    I look at my watch, 12:17. Slacker.
    “I know what you’re thinking,” Ryan says.
“It’s an occupational hazard.”
    “I’d rather not talk about your occupation,”
I retort.
    “Do you want anything?”
    “Yes, another cup of coffee,” and a
Quaalude, “please.”
    “Still black?” he asks.
    I nod, surprised.
    “I told you, I remember everything,” he
smiles, then saunters to the counter.
    I can’t help but stare at him. His tall, lean
body dressed in a pair of dark washed jeans and a clingy gray
t-shirt. His sandy brown hair long and wavy on top and short on the
sides. He dominates casual-sexy.
    Ryan places my coffee in front of me, and
then takes a big swig of his own before he sits back down. If I
didn’t know any better I’d think he did that on purpose just to
give me a show.
    “You look different,” he says as he slips
into the chair.
    “In a bad way?” I shift in my seat, crossing
paths with a sunbeam shining down through the window.
    “No, in an unbelievable way,” he slides his
hand across the table and laces his fingers with mine. I really
don’t know how to interpret this behavior. We’ve been separated for
so long, yet he has no issues with PDA. Like we’ve never even been
apart.
    “Ryan,” I pull my hand away from his, “I came
here for an explanation, so can you cut the crap and just tell me
what happened so I can move on.”
    He straightens in his seat, a worried
expression on his face, “Is that what you want, to move on?”
    I stay silent, stoic, because I don’t know
what I want.
    “Okay,” he concedes, “But before I explain I
need to tell you something first, because I don’t know what your
reaction will be and I need you to know how I feel. I can’t let you
walk away without you knowing how I feel.”
    My mouth pops open a little.
    “Alana, I never lied to you about anything,
when I told you I loved you I meant it and I still mean it. I still
want us to be together, and this time I’m in it for life.”
    Life?
    “Losing you was the hardest thing I ever had
to endure. And now that you’re here, in front of me, I’m not going
to let you go again,” he runs his hand through his hair uneasily.
“Unless-”
    “Unless, what?”
    “Unless there’s someone else,” he taps his
foot under the table, his whole body shaking. “Someone you
love.”
    I laugh aloud, “Someone I love? You’re
hilarious.”
    His blue eyes widen, “Why is that
hilarious?”
    I shake my head at him as the anger does
revolutions in my chest. “Ryan, there isn’t anyone else. Because
you ruined me for anyone else.”
    His jaw drops, “Oh God, Alana, I’m
sorry.”
    “ Sorry? ” I respond lividly, “Ryan, I
gave you my heart, my soul, not to mention my virginity and the
very next day you disappeared without a trace. And now five years
later you have the audacity to tell me you still love me and that
you’re sorry. Do you think that’s going to magically fix it?
Fix me?” I crack my knuckles restlessly, “I can’t get close to
anyone, because I don’t trust anyone. Especially you. ”
    Ryan rubs his palms against his temples as if
this conversation is agonizing.
    Well I can tell you, it’s certainly
unbearable for me. “So, no. There’s no one else,” I say irate.
    He slides his forearms across the table
again, a pained expression on his beautiful face, “Alana, I don’t
know what else to say. I never