Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 129980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Telling herself she didn’t have to go through with the date, she dressed carefully. She’d already taken a long bath, the way she often did on her day off from school. She was grateful she’d bathed in scented water. She had to admit, just putting on the thong, garters and silk stockings made her feel sexier than she’d ever felt.
The dress clung to her body like a second skin, emphasizing her abundant curves. She had often tried to lose weight. She worked out and ran every day, but her body had curves. She didn’t lose weight the way she wanted, and eventually she decided with her body type, she’d just cover up. The dress showed every curve. She couldn’t wear a bra with the dress, and the plunging neckline showed the high rounded curves of her breasts.
After she did her makeup with the smoky eyes Andrii had requested, Azelie stared at herself for a long time. She didn’t look slutty the way she feared she might. She looked sexy—almost beautiful. Certainly not the way she normally looked.
She did her lips in a rose-petal red and then allowed her hair to fall in its usual mass of wild curls and waves down her back and around her face. She didn’t like that she couldn’t see the earrings when they were so beautiful, so she pulled the sides of her hair up and fixed them in a fancy twist. She thought that might complement the dress and show off the beautiful earrings.
For the first time in her life, she thought she looked beautiful. Even sexy. More than anything, she wanted to go to dinner with Andrii. That would mean she would have to pay him back for the dress and shoes. She could give the jewelry back to him unless it was costume jewelry—in that case she was going to keep it, even if it was on the expensive side. It would be wonderful just knowing she had the dress and shoes in her closet.
How was she going to get to the coffee shop? She didn’t want to chance riding the bus in the dress. She’d probably get robbed. She could wear a long coat and her tennis shoes and change. She picked up the note and read it again. He had a definite masculine scrawl. He’d signed it with a single letter. Not A, but M. What did that mean?
The last line told her he’d come for her at her apartment building. It probably hadn’t been the best idea to text him her address. She knew better than to trust any man with her safety, but somehow her need to see Andrii again superseded common sense. She glanced at the clock. He would be arriving soon. She didn’t really have the time to tell him not to come, that she wasn’t going after all.
She searched through her closet for a decent coat or sweater to wear with the dress. She had nothing. A puffy jacket and vest. That wasn’t going to go with the outfit. She didn’t want to ruin the look. She stared at herself for a long time debating and, in the end, decided she would go without a coat. It was San Francisco at night, which meant it would be cold, but she was willing to hope the inside of the restaurant was warm enough.
She picked up the little glittery bag that contained her ID, credit card and emergency cash. She was smart enough to know if things didn’t work out, she might need to find her own way home. No matter how attractive she found him, Andrii was a stranger. She had already broken enough of her rules just agreeing to go out with him.
Azelie texted him that she would be waiting downstairs. She didn’t want him coming up to her apartment. For one thing, he was obviously far wealthier than she was. She didn’t want him seeing her tiny space. And she didn’t want to forever picture him there. Or smell his cologne. Maybe it wasn’t cologne—maybe it was his natural scent. Whatever it was, she found Andrii Federoff intoxicating.
She tried not to obsess over the man as she took the elevator down to the first floor. She couldn’t help trying to dissect why she was so enamored with him when she wasn’t attracted to other men. When she was with him, she felt like she was under a spell. His voice mesmerized her. Sadness lurked in his eyes, and it felt very genuine to her. She found herself wanting to do whatever it would take to make him happy.
He was plainspoken, telling her exactly his feelings and what he found attractive about her sexually. She heard honesty in his voice. He might have sounded crude, but she had the feeling he did that deliberately to see if she would be offended. She had considered, for one brief moment, pretending to be. But if he was being honest with her, she wanted to be just as honest with him. She admitted to herself that the things he said to her sent heat waves through her body.