Foreign Love (An International Sports Romance) (Love in Shades) Read Online Free Page A

the anxiety, the – how do you say? – the anguish is the same.”
     
    I feel my heart flutter wildly against my ribs. And that’s when I know that I’m fucked.
     
    He understands…
     
    And suddenly, I’m desperate to get away from him.
     
    “I should leave. I should get home,” I say slowly as I gather my messenger bag and slide the strap onto my shoulder.
     
    His hand is on mine again. “I have not offended you, have I?”
     
    My lips curve just a bit as I shake my head. “No, you haven’t offended me. You’ve been a perfect gentleman,” I say. Then, I laugh, “Except for the part where you talked about sinking balls deep into me…but that was kind of my favorite part, anyway.” I give him a silly wink.
     
    Lucien laughs, too. “Ah, well the offer still stands,” he says, his copper eyes sparkling at me.
     
    Before he knew about my injury, it would have been so easy to say ‘yes’, to steal an orgasm from him without the intimacy I know he’ll demand. For chrissakes, even my best friends don’t know about my injury. I’m way too vulnerable to this stranger, I’ve opened the door too wide and now I’m standing just inside the threshold and I want to cross over because, dammit, I like this guy, but I’m afraid of where being weak could lead me.
     
    “How about we take it a step at a time?” I say, still smiling as I pull out my phone and slide it over to him. “Give me your number. Maybe we could go out again.”
     
    He shrugs a broad shoulder at me. “It was worth a try, no?” He takes my phone and keys in his phone number. Then, he hits dial and I see his own phone vibrating on the table between us. “So, now I finally have your phone number, Julia,” he says with a grin as he stands from the table. “I am a happy guy.”
     
    I’m blushing. I’m not the type of girl who blushes – I’m the type of girl who takes what I want with no apologies – but here I am, blushing.
     
    I rise to my feet, standing in front of Lucien. His hands cup my cheeks. They’re warm and just a little bit rough, but I’m not complaining.
     
    He stares down at me, a light glowing in his eyes. “ Tu est une poupée, Julia. Une poupée .” His lips touch my left cheek and then my right and I melt a little bit on the inside.

Chapter 8
     
    Lucien
     
     
     
    I’m smiling like a fucking idiot as I slip my key into the lock on the front door of my flat.
     
    I can’t believe my luck! I can’t believe I found her!
     
    After I got into the taxi at the airport that day, I never thought I’d see Julia again. And when she walked into the clinic this morning, it felt like I was awake in a dream. But sitting opposite her at that café, watching her ruin a perfectly good espresso with sugar and milk, I felt like the luckiest guy alive. I didn’t want to let her go again. I wanted to toss her over my shoulder and march back to my flat, caveman style. But she’s skittish, unsure, and I most definitely don’t want to scare her away.
     
    So, I took all that she offered me willingly and didn’t push too hard when she seemed reluctant to give me more. After coffee, we walked for a little bit and my arm ached to rope around her shoulder, but I resisted. Instead, I dug my hands deep into my pockets and just watched her.
     
    I watched her watching the artisans working hard at their craft as we passed their windowed storefronts. She watched the couples seated at street-side cafés, falling in love. She watched the buildings, drinking in the architecture. And there was so much fascination on her face.
     
    And as long as we weren’t talking about her knee, she was happy and grand, larger-than-life. But once the conversation moved to her injury and how it stalled her ballet career, she withdrew and became small.
     
    I hate seeing that pain on her face. But it’s a pain I recognize. It’s a pain I feel deep inside of me.
     
    I had offered to walk her home to make sure that she arrived safe, but she just