Whispers of a Broken Halo by Abbi Glines

I wasn’t sure I’d ever heard Saint say that many words at once. My body was a mix of emotions. I didn’t want to hear he had imagined me while he was screwing Blush. Even if she was nasty to me most of the time, she hadn’t deserved that. I respected Saint, and I didn’t want him to change my image of him.

“Most nights, I relieve myself while thinking about touching you, being inside you. But there are nights when I have a woman begging me to fuck her, so I use her instead.”

I closed my eyes tightly. I wanted him to stop talking about it. Why did he insist on telling me all this?

“Why me?” I asked then, wanting to understand it. Was it because I was the only female here who wasn’t begging him for it? Did he like the challenge?

He didn’t respond, but I heard him move, and I knew he was walking closer to me. I hoped he left the bar between us and didn’t come too close. I wasn’t afraid of him, but his words had made me nervous. I didn’t know this side of Saint, yet it fit his appearance more so than the image in my head did.

There would be no barrier between us. He was behind me. I felt the warmth of his body, and I shivered, more nervous now than I had been. He ran a finger over my bare neck and down my back, causing me to tremble. I knew Saint wouldn’t do anything to hurt me, but I was still uncomfortable with this.

“I wish it weren’t you,” he said in a low voice. “It would be a hell of a lot easier if it was someone like Blush. But since the day you walked into this bar, I’ve wanted you. In the beginning, it was just to fuck the sweet innocence from your hot little body, but then I got to know you. It became more, and I never expected more.” His voice dropped even lower, and I felt his breath on my neck. “All I can think about right now is stripping off your clothes and burying my face between your legs. God, I bet you taste like heaven. Sweet as an angel.”

I shivered again. I’d never had sex with a man, but I knew all about it from movies and books. The idea of having someone lick me where he was talking about was exciting and terrifying. I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to allow myself to be so vulnerable. Yet it had to feel so much better than my own fingers.

His lips pressed against my neck, and I closed my eyes and inhaled sharply. His hands grabbed my waist, and his teeth gently bit my ear. “If you don’t tell me to move away now, Angel, I’ll be eating your pussy in less than a minute. You smell so fucking good, and, baby, you make me crazy.”

No! He was not going to be doing that.

I stepped away from him and shook my head while trying to take a deep, calming breath. I didn’t want to be turned on by his words or feel anything, but part of me did. There was a tingle down low, my nipples were hard from something other than the cold, and I was curious.

His eyes were locked on my breasts, and I knew he saw my obvious arousal. I crossed my arms over them.

Slowly, he lifted his eyes to mine. “I’ll get on my knees and beg.” His voice was rough now.

I shook my head.

“Angel, we don’t have to fuck. Just let me taste you. Let me hear you come while you’re on my mouth,” he said, taking a step toward me.

I backed up again. Oh, I wished he’d stop saying things like that. This wasn’t right. I didn’t love him or have feelings for him, but my body wanted to do bad things with him. Things that would ruin our relationship and my job.

I licked my lips and swallowed hard. His eyes darted to my mouth, and a dark expression came over his face.

“I’m a virgin,” I spat out in a panic.

His eyes shot back up to mine, and the dark expression was now one of shock.

“What?” he asked.

I nodded my head. “I am. I’ve never been with a man.”

He stepped back this time and ran a hand over his face as he looked away from me. “Fuck,” he muttered. “How the hell …”

I didn’t think he was truly asking me for an answer, but I gave him one. “I just … I’ve never been in love. I told you I was broken.” My voice was barely above a whisper now.

“In love?” He repeated it as if it were a foreign word that he didn’t understand. “You’ve never had sex because you’ve never been in love?”

I nodded.

He laughed then, but it was a hard laugh of disbelief.

“Okay,” he said, then closed his eyes for a moment before opening them to turn his head back toward me. “I’ll finish up here. You can go on.”

Panic set in. Was he going to fire me because I wouldn’t sleep with him? I didn’t believe Saint would do something like that, but he was telling me to leave. Would Marley let him fire me?

“Are you—” I stopped, not sure what to say, but knowing I had to fix this. We had to get back to a working relationship. “Are you mad at me?” I finished. Although I saw no reason he should be.

He shook his head. “No. I just can’t focus with you here. Wanting you like I’ve never wanted anything before and knowing you’re untouched. My head is fucked up. I’ll see you on Sunday night,” he said.

I had no response to that, so I nodded and headed for the back door.

“Wait,” he called out, and I stopped, wishing he would just let me leave. “Let me walk you out. It’s late and not safe for you.”

“I’ll be fine,” I told him.