Prologue of Forbidden Fiancé
DEREK
The bass thumped through the walls of the house. It was too loud and too wild for the small living room packed with drunk, sweaty teenagers. Empty red cups littered every surface, and someone had spilled beer near the kitchen doorway, making the tiles sticky.
I kept my hand curled around my drink, which was soda, scanning the room for one person.
Paige.
She was laughing near the couch, her blond hair falling in loose waves down her back, catching the neon lights and looking far too angelic for a place like this.
The dark blue dress she wore was shorter than anything she had ever worn before. It hugged her lithe frame as if it were a second skin. Her hazel eyes sparkled with life, wild and rebellious, making my heart beat faster and my pants impossibly tight.
I had been in love with her since we were kids. But seeing her enjoying herself might have made me fall a little harder.
She looked beautiful. Too beautiful. Too tempting. And too damn far out of reach.
And might be too fucking drunk.
I pushed through the crowd, ignoring the elbows, the teenage sweat, the stench of beer and cheap cologne. When I reached her, I gently took her cup away.
“Hey,” I said, leaning close so she could hear me. “Slow down, okay?”
She blinked at me, cheeks flushed from the alcohol and heat. “I’m fine,” she said with a grin. “I promise.”
I didn’t trust anyone there. I trusted myself even less around her, but I trusted myself to keep her safe.
“Come with me,” I said, guiding her away with my hand on her back, glaring at any guy who even dared to glance at her. “I want you to meet some people.”
Some of my friends who were good and safe.
I introduced her around, saving Jack Mitchell for last. Jack had an annoyingly symmetrical face, easy smile, and the kind of confidence that made girls giggle.
Paige’s gaze lingered a second longer than I liked.
“He’s cute,” she whispered to me when Jack walked away.
I’m cuter.
I shrugged, pretending that it didn’t land like a punch. “If you say so.”
I didn’t think about it. Because tonight wasn’t about Jack. It was about making sure she didn’t trip over her own heels, didn’t drink too much, or didn’t fall into the pool like Jane Rosewood had two parties ago.
But then someone yelled ‘Truth or Dare,’ and because drunk teenagers were feral creatures, a circle quickly formed on the floor.
Paige dragged me with her. It didn’t take long for someone to turn to her with an evil glint in their eyes.
“Paige! Truth or dare?”
She lifted her cup dramatically. “Dare!”
The crowd cheered, and I felt my stomach sink.
Fucking hell. I had made sure there was soda in her cup, and still she was acting like she was tipsy.
“I dare you…” the girl smirked and continued, “To go into the Seven Minutes in Heaven room. But with a twist.” She held up a black piece of cloth and grinned. “Blindfolded!”
“Blindfolded?” Paige giggled, looking around. “Seriously?”
“Unless you’re scared…”
Paige was just tipsy and reckless enough that the challenge made her hazel eyes sparkle. “Give me that thing,” she said.
The cloth was tied around her eyes. My hands clenched into fists. I didn’t like it. I didn’t like not knowing who would go into that room with her. I didn’t like the way a few guys perked up, suddenly way too interested.
I didn’t like any of it.
But Paige squeezed my fingers before leaving. “I’ll be fine, Derek,” she said, assuring me as if she knew I was worried about her. “It’s just a silly game.”
Except it wasn’t a silly game to me.
When she stepped into that dark bedroom, blindfolded and tipsy… I knew exactly what I was going to do.
I was going in.
After every drunk person promised they wouldn’t tell Paige who it was, I closed the door behind me and slipped into the room.
She was standing near the window, and the moonlight from the open window made her look breathtaking.
The sight made blood pound in my ears. Her legs looked soft and long.
The black dress was stretched taut over her stomach and hips, making me painfully aware of every curve.
She wasn’t a girl anymore. She was a woman.
Did she feel the same pull of attraction as I did?
I swallowed as the door clicked softly, rubbing my clammy hands on my pants.
Paige let out a nervous laugh. “Hi?”
I couldn’t speak.
“Oh,” she said, tilting her head toward the sound of my footsteps. “So you want to be a mystery man. I see.”
I stepped closer. Not touching her, but close enough to breathe her in. Vanilla and something sweet from her lip gloss.
My hand brushed hers, and her smile softened into something smaller. More… vulnerable.
“To tell you the truth,” she whispered, fingers curling slightly as if searching for mine, “I-I’ve never done this.”
I took her hand in mine and gently rubbed soothing circles into her soft skin. She sighed, tension leaving her shoulders as her body melted toward mine.
I wasn’t expecting that. I just hope she can’t hear my raging heartbeat.
Her cheeks were rosy, and her pouty lips parted when I lifted my hand, cupping her cheek.
Her hand tightened around mine as she licked her lips, and I nearly forgot how to breathe.
I want to kiss her. Taste her lip gloss.
“I should warn you,” she whispered. “I’ve never done this either.”
I paused.
“I mean kissing,” she said quickly. “Like… you know. The real kind. French kissing. The one in movies. I’ve only ever done pecks, and I don’t even know if I was good at those, and—”
I smiled. She was rambling.
My Paige. Beautiful, nervous and completely unaware of how hard my heart was hammering.
I stroked her cheek, the pad of my thumb brushing along her bottom lip.
She stopped talking instantly.
There were rumors about me. How I was a player. But I had never kissed anyone. I was saving my first real kiss for her.
Maybe it was foolish to wait. But now… maybe my dream might come true.
So I leaned closer and kissed her.
It was awkward at first with our teeth bumping. Her hands hesitated before grabbing my shirt like she didn’t know what to do with them. My lips tingled, and my heart raced. She made a tiny squeak that nearly made me laugh against her mouth.
But then it got better. Softer, sweeter and fucking perfect.
We pulled away, breathless. The air in the room felt electric and charged with lust.
I wanted to take her home and strip her out of her stupid dress.
“Oh wow,” she whispered.
I barely had time to swallow before she grabbed me by the front of my shirt and tugged me down again.
“More.”
I could never say no to her. Her demand was an order.
So I kissed her again, harder this time. Her body pressed against mine, warm and soft, with her hands sliding up my arms, around my shoulders, then into my hair. I groaned when she tugged lightly. She arched into me, and I was so fucking done for.
My lips trailed down to her neck, tasting her skin and breathing her in. She let out a small, helpless moan that nearly unraveled every bit of control I had. I was so fucking hard, my cock aching for her—
Knock knock.
We both pulled away.
Her chest rose and fell rapidly, her lips swollen. I wanted to stay. I wanted another seven minutes.
Another seventy.
But I slipped out and went straight to an empty bathroom, splashing water on my face, trying to calm my racing pulse and the very obvious problem straining against my jeans. I don’t think my dick had ever felt so hard before.
My cheeks were burning when I checked my reflection in the mirror. My blue eyes glazed.
I’ll tell her tomorrow. Once she was sober. Once we were alone.
But when I stepped back into the hallway—
She was laughing with none other than Jack Mitchell.
She looked happy. Looking at him like he had hung the fucking moon.
When she saw me, she rushed over and grabbed my hands, her face bright with excitement.
“You have no idea how hot my first kiss was!”
My stomach dropped.
“W-what?” I asked, my voice low. “With w-who?”
She tipped on her toes, her pupils dilating as she whispered, “With Jack freaking Mitchell.”
My chest ached hearing his name leave her lips.
I forced a smile. “That’s great, Paige.”
She didn’t notice my voice straining. She didn’t see my jaw clench as she talked about him and how caring he was. Maybe I should’ve told her the truth. Grab her by the shoulder, kiss her and reveal to her it was me. Her best-friend. Derek Peterson.
But I didn’t have it in me to break her excitement.
Maybe I would tell her someday. Maybe after she got over him.
I promised myself I would.